"It Felt Like Stepping Into a Lifelong Dream": Yasaman & Ashkan's Wedding at La Cartuja de Ara Christi, Valencia

Author: Natali Grace Levine
Wedding date: 09/04/2025
City: Valencia

Love Story

Yasaman and Ashkan met on Bumble in 2020 - in the middle of a pandemic, when meeting anyone felt almost impossible. She joined the app on New Year’s Eve, and the very next day, there was a match. “From that moment, we have been inseparable.”
They are both dentists based in Toronto, both Iranian-Canadian, both people who love to travel and gather the people they love around a table. The foundation was built on shared values and shared culture, and it held. By February 2024, Ashkan had planned a proposal on Praia da Alvorada beach in Rio de Janeiro - a vacation, a sunset, the ocean behind them, and the sky turning golden. Yasaman was completely surprised and overwhelmed. It was, she says, unforgettable.
And then, because Ashkan had spent seven years studying dentistry in Valencia and had once quietly mentioned that he would love to get married there someday, Yasaman made it happen. She never imagined it would actually become reality. A year and a half later, 138 guests from 34 cities and 17 countries gathered under the blue dome of La Cartuja de Ara Christi. “That night, surrounded by people we love from all over the world, is something I will carry with me forever.”

About Your Wedding

One and a half years of planning, 138 guests, and a vision that Yasaman held clearly in her mind from the very beginning: a romantic yet rustic celebration with a terracotta and fuchsia palette, filled with wildflowers and warm emotional energy, in a historic venue with a dome open to the sky. The kind of wedding where you dance, dine, and celebrate under the stars, surrounded by everyone you love.
The concept was considered personal as it was. Both Iranian-Canadian, with families and friends spread across the world, Yasaman and Ashkan wanted to bring everyone together somewhere that felt special to all of them but was home to none. The design blended Spanish architecture with their Persian heritage - modern and elegant, culturally layered, and entirely their own. “We wanted to bring everyone together in a destination that felt special to all of us but was home to none.” A Sofreh Aghd alongside Spanish artistic styling. Two worlds, one vision, and not a single compromise along the way.

Morning Details

The morning began at La Cartuja de Ara Christi itself - the same venue that would hold the rest of the day, already glowing with the particular quality of a September morning in Valencia. Yasaman’s jewelry had been custom-created by Goharbin, a 160-year-old jeweler in Iran - pieces that carried history and meaning long before they were worn. Her wedding ring was custom-made after trying on several designs; Ashkan’s was from Cartier.
The stationery - invitations, menus, place cards - had been designed by Lotus Wedding Cards and shipped from Tehran. The Persian details were present long before the ceremony began, woven into every paper detail, every carefully chosen piece.

Bride Getting Ready

Yasaman got ready at the venue, surrounded by her mother and her mother-in-law - the women who mattered most, in the place where everything was about to happen. Her dress was Pronovias Privee, found at Ferre Sposa in Toronto after six months of searching - six months of trying, returning, reconsidering, and finally arriving at the one that felt exactly right.
Her veil and hair accessories were custom-made by Blair Nadeau Bridal in Toronto, and her shoes were Gucci. Her bouquet, designed by Taller de Clo, reflected the romantic and natural style she had envisioned - wildflowers and warmth, exactly in keeping with everything else. And then there was the detail that made the first look what it was: “He insisted that he did not want to know anything about the dress, the silhouette, or the model, so that it was a real surprise on the wedding day.” Six months of searching, she kept entirely to herself.

Groom Getting Ready

Ashkan got ready at La Cartuja de Ara Christi with his best friend - a Suit Supply tuxedo, the venue outside the window, and the particular quiet of a morning spent in the city he had loved for seven years. He had lived here, studied here, and once said out loud that he would love to get married here. The morning of September 4th, that wish was hours away from becoming something real.

First Look

He had refused to know anything. Not the designer, not the silhouette, not a single detail - so that when he saw her for the first time, it would be completely, entirely real. Behind one of the main entrances at La Cartuja de Ara Christi, it was.
“When Ashkan saw me, he was overwhelmed and emotional. He told me I looked beautiful and could not hold back his tears.” For Yasaman, the moment was simpler and just as complete: “For me, it was pure happiness. Seeing his expression of love and admiration in that moment meant everything.” His tears. Her happiness. Between the two of them, the moment needed nothing else.

Photoshoot Before The Ceremony

They never left the venue. It was a deliberate choice - Yasaman had wanted the day to feel natural and uninterrupted from the very beginning, and La Cartuja de Ara Christi made that easy. “The venue itself, with its historic architecture and timeless atmosphere, provided everything we needed.” The arches, the gardens, the stone, the light - all of it already there, already extraordinary, already theirs.

Ceremony

She arrived by classic car with her father. A Thousand Years by Christina Perri played live as she pulled up to the beginning of the aisle. “Seeing all my loved ones seated on both sides and Ashkan standing at the end of the aisle looking at me with love and admiration was overwhelming.” The walk itself, she says, was the most emotional moment of the entire day - “it felt surreal, like I was living a dream I had carried with me for a long time.”
The ceremony was held at La Cartuja de Ara Christi, with a Sofreh Aghd created by their planner and florist team - a Persian wedding spread where each element carries its own meaning: the mirror and candles for clarity and light, and items representing love, prosperity, and harmony. Sugar cones were gently ground over a cloth above their heads, symbolizing sweetness in the marriage ahead. A tradition that had traveled from Iran to Valencia and felt, in that garden, entirely at home.

Photoshoot After The Ceremony

After the ceremony, the venue opened up around them in a new way. The same stone walls, the same dome - but everything had changed. Yasaman and Ashkan moved through La Cartuja with their photographers from Derando Studio, the historic architecture holding their portraits the way it had held everything else that day: quietly, beautifully, without needing to be asked.

Wedding Venue & Decor

“The vision of getting married beneath the blue dome had always been in my mind - and seeing it come to life felt surreal.” La Cartuja de Ara Christi was the only venue Yasaman ever seriously considered. A historic monastery outside Valencia, with a domed ceiling open to the sky and architecture that does most of the work before a single floral arrangement has been placed - it was the right setting from the first moment she imagined it.
The palette that filled it - terracotta, fuchsia, soft pinks, and greens - was the result of the hardest planning decision Yasaman faced: choosing the base color for the table linens and aisle, a choice that influenced everything else. She went back and forth many times. The final palette, vibrant and elegant in equal measure, brought everything together exactly as she had envisioned. Florals by Taller de Clo carried the wildflower spirit through every arrangement, and wedding planner Lorena from Eventos Clandestine translated Yasaman’s ideas into digital sketches that made the entire vision visible before a single detail had been finalized.

Couple's Advice

“Choose vendors who not only understand your vision but also bring positive energy into your planning journey. The experience becomes so much more meaningful when you feel supported and surrounded by people who genuinely care.”

Reception

The first dance was to Gole Aroos by Aref Arefkia - a Persian classic that holds deep cultural meaning, and one that carries even more weight now. The artist passed away shortly after their wedding, and Yasaman says the song has become even more precious because of it.
The reception itself delivered on everything she had hoped for: a live jamón carving station, freshly cooked scallops, signature cocktails, palate-cleansing sorbets between courses, and a dance floor that stayed full until the end. “I wanted our guests to feel the love in the air and leave with full hearts and tired feet from dancing and celebrating all night.” By every account, they did.
Behind the day was Lorena from Eventos Clandestine - a planner who, as Yasaman puts it, “became much more than a planner. She turned into a friend and now feels like family. She guided us through every challenge and brought our vision to life with creativity and heart.” The photographers and videographers from Derando Studio and Paipai Prod created a space where the couple felt completely comfortable, capturing the day's most genuine emotions without ever intruding. The kind of team that doesn’t just document a wedding - they understand what it means.

Wedding Team

Photographer Derando Studio Wedding
Planner @eventos_clandestine
Venue @cartujadearachristi
Videographer @paipaiprod
Flowers @eltallerdeclo
Stationary @lotus.weddingcard
Catering @gourmetcateringyeventos
DJ @djabtin
Live Band @dacapo.music.oficial
Hair @jaimelozanoperruqueres
Makeup @raquelcastillo
AudioVisual @somosgentedebien
Lighting @thelighteam_ledilux
Wedding Dress @Pronovias
Groom's Tuxedo @SuitSupply
Veil and Hair Accessories @blairnadeaubridal
Jewelry @k.goharbin

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