Tell us about you and Pedram as a couple.

Pedram and I met when we were both working at a Persian restaurant while trying to make extra money in college. He had moved from Tehran, Iran, a few years prior and I was in my last year at Villanova University. Flash forward to 9 years later, with me going through four years of medical school and now in my third year of residency in Emergency Medicine in a hospital in North Philadelphia, we are living happily with our french bull dog Lulu. When not working, we enjoy going for walks with Lulu, eating out at restaurants, and traveling whenever we get a chance. Pedram mostly works from home, which works out well with my hectic residency schedule, and makes spending time together a lot easier. When we had gotten married, we had been together for over 8 years, already experiencing so much growing together. We felt like this was not only a wedding celebration. but a celebration of already enduring so much and growing closer every year because of it.

How did he propose? 

Pedram proposed in Fornalutx, Mallorca in 2017, right before I graduated from medical school. We went on vacation to celebrate my graduation, first to Mallorca alone, then met up with friends traveling to  Seville and Cadiz. He had heard about this town, Fornalutx, that is at the top of the Soller Valley and deep within the Serra de Tramuntana mountains, which calls itself the “prettiest village in Spain.” We started the day going to several of my favorite beaches in Mallorca including Cala Deia and Sa Calobra. Then in the evening we had planned to stop in Fornatlutx for dinner. He had me walk all these meandering stairs to the highest point, passing by little cottages on the way up. Once at the top, he got down on one knee, said a lot of words that I was too excited to listen to, and I said yes before he even asked me to marry him! I then went on to put the ring on my right hand, instead of my left and we took all these photos in the spot where we got engaged with the ring on the wrong finger! We then went on to have dinner in the town with the sun setting and the rock faces looked like they were on fire with pink sunset reflecting off of them. It was truly perfect!

Describe each other in 3 words:

About Pedram- dependable, patient, HOT AF.

About Fiona: sexy, smart, kind.

How did you know your Lovers Society Carter dress was THE one?

I had chosen one weekend where I wasn’t working and my aunt and mom were able to make it down to Philadelphia from NY. I had made appointments at three bridal salons in one weekend and I told myself I was going to decide that weekend. I had been engaged for over a year at this point and had done a lot of online dress searching and thought I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. After going to the first two bridal salons, I was disappointed that dresses I had seen online that I thought I wanted were not what I expected in person. When I went to Lovely Bride Philly, I was a little pessimistic and right before trying on the Carter Dress I had actually just finished telling the associate I doubt I would find the right dress this weekend. As soon as I put the Carter dress on I was IN LOVE. I thought the unique lace pattern was perfect for my Spanish finca wedding, and it had just enough structure without feeling restrictive or strangulating. I felt that it accentuated my curves, while also being appropriate and not too revealing. Every dress I tried on afterwards simply could not compare to the Carter dress and I bought it that day!

We LOVE your bridesmaid dresses. How did you choose the perfect blush color palette for your babes?

For that- my bridesmaids should get ALL the credit. My number one priority was that my closest friends felt as beautiful and comfortable as possible. I know being a bridesmaid is an honor, but I also feel that women can frequently get stuck wearing a dress that doesn’t fit their body type and I would hate for any of my bridesmaids to feel uncomfortable or unhappy on my wedding day. So I had asked that they wear a dress that is any shade of pink, and either off the shoulder or bare shoulder to match my dress. Everyone took their time to find what was best for them and they all looked so beautiful! Blush dresses have been pretty popular this year, so it was just coincidental that most of the bridesmaids ended up wearing a blush shade. They killed it!

Tell us about your experience at Lovely Bride Philly!

The associate that helped me that day was amazing. She pulled all the right dresses and was so knowledgeable. She knew all the designers and the dress names and was so helpful in getting me in and out of the dresses. The salon was not over crowded and I think there was only one other bride-to-be in the salon the same time as me. I did not feel overwhelming, and all the staff were exceptionally kind. When trying on dresses she knew exactly where to pin and clamp in order to get the fit I was looking for. I feel like Lovely Bride had the perfect amount of dresses to choose from, as the very large salons can feel overwhelming with too many choices, and some were too restrictive. It is obvious that Lovely Bride very thoughtfully hand-picks what dresses to offer, and the vision is truly unique.

Any dress shopping advice for Our future Lovelies?

Don’t overthink! We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make sure everything is “perfect”. Perfection is subjective. Be kind to yourself, and enjoy the experience!

Describe your wedding vision/  Mallorca is so magical! How did you choose your wedding destination? 

If I had to choose one word to explain my vision for my wedding, it would be: intimacy.  We wanted something small because we wanted every person there to feel truly special. We wanted each guest to know how important they are to our life and our love story and how much we appreciate them taking the trip halfway across the world to experience our definition of paradise. Most of Pedram’s family is still in Iran, or in different countries across Europe. I knew if we had a large wedding in New York where I grew up, it would primarily be my friends and family, and it would feel more like a party for the bride, instead of a celebration of us equally. So, we wanted to have something small and intimate with every person feeling so special for being there.

I had been to Mallorca several times in the past, and I wanted my friends and family to experience Mallorca.  To me, Mallorca is true magic. It is a paradise, full of beautiful beaches, charming villages, soulful hill towns, rustic villas, great restaurants, and opportunities for so much adventure. Pedram initially was drawn to it for its rock climbing and deep water solo diving opportunities. I loved the desolate rock beaches, that I believe make Mallorca the most beautiful place in the world. Mallorca has a vibe that is incomparable to any other destination, and the perfect combination of romance and beauty. I initially came across our venue, Son Berga, online and immediately fell in love.  It’s a 16th-century property surrounded by vineyards, olive trees, and the foothills of the Tramuntana Mountains, with all the rustic charm  we could ask for.   I had a great wedding planner with lots of experience in Mallorcan weddings that knew all the greatest vendors that put every little detail together beautifully. The venue was so naturally gorgeous, that it essentially spoke for itself. I wanted everyone to feel as though they were in the middle of no where, experiencing something they had never experienced before, and enjoying every single moment of it. During cocktail hour we drank Aperol Spritz by the bucket loads while feasting on croquetas, sobrasada, black pork rib coca, iberian ham shoulder among many other delicious foods. Also, to encompass as much scenery as possible, we we started off the experience for guests with a welcome party at a beach club near Palma called Balneario Illetas, with a backdrop of yachts sitting on crystal clear blue water. We rented small boats to peddle out into the ocean, while guests slid down slides into the water.  With our wedding ceremony in the mountains, we wanted to make sure guests got some great experience on the Balearic Island beaches as well.

What was your first dance song?

Our first dance song  was “Your Song” covered by Ellie Goulding, but our true wedding song, that we consider more telling of our relationship, as well as our choice in music is “Tonight and Every Night” by Robin Schulz. We had it played as our Macaron Cake was brought out.

What will you remember most about your wedding in 10 years?

I will never forget sitting at the U-shaped dinner table, with my husband by my side, and all my closest friends and family smiling and laughing among amazing food, copious Spanish wine, endless candle light, surrounded by fairytale twinkle lights and the Mallorcan Tramuntana Mountains. It was perfect, and kept thinking to myself- “How lucky am I? To have over 50 amazing people fly halfway across the world to celebrate our love in the most magical of places?”. It was unreal.