Real Wedding | Sweet L'Amore

Nasim Tabatabaei and Jean-Daniel Boitel tie the knot in a beautiful ceremony in Cannes.

WEDDING DATE: September 7, 2012 LOCATION: Château de la Napoule, Cannes

THEIR STORY

Despite both living in Dubai for 10 years and sharing many mutual friends, it wasn’t until a night out with pals in Zuma restaurant in 2009 that fate took over and Nasim and Jean-Daniel finally clicked.

Sharing similar interests and hobbies, the pair instantly hit it off, eventually spending more time together as friends. Their relationship soon developed, and after six months of dinners and movie dates they finally became an official item.

Their love continued to blossom and two and a half years later on February 3, Jean-Daniel surprised Nasim with a weekend getaway to Istanbul. Following a romantic dinner at Leander’s Tower, a tower lying on a small islet located at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait, 200m from the coast of Istanbul, Jean-Daniel proposed with a beautiful princess-cut diamond ring.

The ecstatic couple immediately started preparations for their big day. Both wanting a destination wedding with close friends and family, they decided to tie the knot in Cannes, where Jean-Daniel had spent most of his childhood.

Nasim and Jean-Daniel decided to wed in one of the most historic museums in the South of France with 200 of their close friends and family. After four days and nights of festivities they got hitched at 10am on September 7 and continued the festivities the same evening at the Château de la Napoule.

The newlyweds took the party to Ibiza before honeymooning in Bora Bora.

THE WEDDING

VENUE: Château de la Napoule, Cannes (chateau-lanapoule.com). This historic site, settled by the Romans 2,000 years ago, is renowned for its museum and stunning architecture.

DRESS: Nasim’s dress and veil were made by Saghar Rad, an Iranian/French designer based in Paris. Jean-Daniel’s suit was a Givenchy tuxedo.

SHOES: Nasim wore Jimmy Choo’s while Jean-Daniel wore Armani.

WEDDING RINGS: Nasim’s was a custom-made, princess-cut diamond ring while Jean-Daniel’s was from the Cartier love collection.

BRIDESMAIDS: The bride had two bridesmaids: her twin sister and her cousin.

DECOR AND FLOWERS: Decorations and bouquets were a combination of baby’s-breath and orchids with lots of candles to add to the romantic ambience.

MUSIC: With guests from all four corners of the globe, the different cultures were represented in the music with authentic Iranian, French and Arabic tunes as well as golden oldies and commercial pop.

FIRST DANCE: Chris Brown’s Beautiful People was the entrance song while the first dance song was Love by Nat King Cole.

FAVOURS: Guests received customised funky sunglasses and specially designed fans bearing the couple’s initials and the date of the wedding. Female guests were also given pashminas.

CAKE: Strawberry cake.

UNIQUE TOUCHES: Catering for and recognising the different nationalities represented at the wedding. The wedding cards were written in three languages: Farsi, French and English. Table settings and printed table names, reading “Love, Happiness & Life” were also in three different languages.

HONEYMOON: Embracing their adventurous side, the couple decided to celebrate their nuptials in an activity-filled holiday in Ibiza, before embarking on a relaxing getaway in Bora Bora in the New Year.

NASIM’S TOP TIPS

List your hobbies and favourite things and incorporate them in your Big Day – your wedding should represent you and everything should be a prettier version of you.

Don’t stress about the small things, you’re the only one who will notice them. Everything will eventually come together and will be perfect.

Enjoy every moment from when you get engaged to planning your wedding and the entire festivities. It passes by so quickly.