Negar Ghodstinat and Amir Farhang
Wedding Date: September 12, 2014
Location: Tehran-Iran
THEIR STORY
“As clichéd as it is, ours is a fairytale love story”, gushes Negar. With the pair’s mothers college friends who’d kept up their friendship over the years, Negar and Amir had known each since they were one. They’d see each other occasionally at parties and family gathering, but there was never anything between them romantically.
Then they moved to different sides of the world and didn’t see each other for around 15 years. Then two years ago when Negar was in Dubai for business they ran into each other and, “fell madly in love.” Negar went back to London where she’d been living for over seven years, quit her job and moved to Dubai to be with Amir. On a holiday in LA in June 2013 visiting their mums they decided on the spur of the moment to get married. Within a few days they had a civil wedding ceremony and then headed to Mykonos for a friend’s wedding, on the same evening, which turned into an unplanned honeymoon.
Then to celebrate with very close family and friends (and to keep the mothers happy) they planned a small (for Iranian standards, that is) intimate ceremony in Tehran in Sept 2014.
With their mums taking over the planning, the only big tension Amir and Negar experienced was dealing with the ever-growing guestlist. “We asked for 50 people and settled for over 100 in the end!” laughs Negar.
The couple then flew to Ibiza and Barcelona for a second honeymoon – without their mothers.
THE WEDDING
Venue: A family friend’s house in Tehran- Iran
Number of guests: 120
Theme: modern with touch of classical Iranian wedding. The aghd spread was a mix of antiques pieces of our family belongings and modern touches.
Dress: Custom made
Veil: Custom made veil
Tux: Hackett of London
Shoes: Royal blue classic Manolo Blahniks for the bride and black velvet Louis Vuittons for the groom
Rings: A custom made engagement ring with a cushion cut diamond and simple matching gold Tiffany wedding bands.
Invitations: A picture of the couple aged three holding hands.
Bridesmaids: Negar’s sister, Golnaz.
Flowers: A mix of white roses and orchids.
Music: The couple compiled a compilation of their favorite songs; a fun mix of current and oldies, but goodies including music by Leonard Cohen, Nat King Cole and Asaf Avidan.
First dance: What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.
Food: Guests enjoyed a mix of Iranian and western dishes including meat and fish.
Favours: Iranian sweets (noghl) wrapped in a white silk fabric.
Cake: The couple opted for a simple two-tiered strawberry, pineapple vanilla cake
Unique touches: Each guest got gifted with white wooden fans that had their names and wedding date engraved on them, tea light holders with their initials and the quote, ‘A true love story never ends’ plus a pack of matches with the inscription, ‘Negar & Amir, A Perfect Match!’
Honeymoon: Mykonos, Ibiza and Barcelona
NEGAR’S TOP TIPS
1. Know that no matter how much you plan, stress and try to be perfect, lots of things will go the opposite direction, so don’t try too hard… it’s the only day that is all about both you and your partner so have fun together and cherish the start of your new life together.
2. Try to spend as much time as you can with your loved ones as the day goes by a lot quicker than you think.
3. Make sure you have friends who take good pictures as many special moments may not get captured.
LITTLE BLACK BRIDAL BOOK
Make-up artist: Negar’s talented cousin Sasha Ghodstinat, an award-winning make-up artist for Laura Mercier in London, Sasha.ghodstinat@lauramercier.com
Photographer: Childhood friend Sam Eshaghi who is based between LA and Iran, samieshaghi@gmail.com
Shoes: The Level Shoe District, The Dubai Mall, (04) 5016888
Dress: Rami Al-Ali made Negar a dress for the wedding party (04) 3945607.
