This as my final post in the series covers my favorite item on the wedding spread – the Wild Rue Tray (Sini-ye Esfand – سینی اسپند ). The series started on June 20th with a brief description, with postings on June 24th, 29th and July 2nd, but unlike the previous 3, this post, will is dedicated to Sini-ye Esfand and the pictures are from various weddings.
In many cases, a tray of 7 multi-colored spices is used called “Sini-ye Aatel-O-Baatel”, which consist of Poppy Seeds, Wild Rice, Angelica, Salt, Nigela Seeds, Black Tea, and Frankincense
First, where is it on the spread I’ve been using all along?
Both forms of the decoration are meant to ward off evil spirits, and the evil eye.
It is one of the most elaborate, decorations, that can be very simple, or extremely complex, with lots of hidden meanings, and traditions. Generally, the tray is made of silver, and in many cases a mirror is placed in it on which the decorations are done. Some mirrors may have even had decorations and etchings done to them prior to having the wild rue added.
Here is a close-up from this wedding:
It is also common to burn wild rue around the bride and groom, in order to ward off evil spirits. This process is especially important during the arrival of the bride and groom to take their seats for the ceremony. The leader of the procession will have a container with hot coals, on which the wild rue is spread, and it smokes similar to incense.
And now some more trays from previous weddings… 
This one below, is actually The Herb Tray (Sini-ye Aatel-O-Baatel)
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