Special
Bridal
Special
Bridal
The Wedding Diary
‘Running my jewellery line and planning the wedding were two different jobs in their own right. I think it’s good to keep busy and stick to a normal routine – it stopped me from turning into a ‘bridezilla’ and panicking over the small things like what colour the tablecloths should be!’
London-based designer of LeiVanKash jewellery and socialite Leila Kashanipour married her husband Alex last July in Monaco. The style icon talks us through those all important decisions, finding that perfect dress and harmonising two cultures in a flawless day that remained both traditional and personal.
LeiVanKash Flora Feather Bracelet
‘I am Iranian and my husband is French, but he knew how important it is to ask my family first before proposing to me. He took my father out, they spoke and the rest is history! In December 2010 after two years together, he took me to New York and proposed the traditional way down on one knee.’
‘My family are mainly based between Iran and the US and my husband’s are in France, so the location of the wedding took some thinking. We thought about NYC, but we wanted our guests to make a summer holiday of the occasion, so we finally decided on Monaco in France – in between America and Iran and easy for all of our European friends. It’s also a pretty dreamy and romantic place!’
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‘I’m not a huge fan of hen parties, so instead I had a wonderful dinner organised by my close friends at Mossimans in London…with a rather embarrassing cake!’
LeiVanKash Persepolis chandelier onyx ring
‘My biggest piece of advice to any bride to be is to get a wedding planner. I had one and even then it was still manic. I just can’t imagine how people do it on their own! It doesn’t matter though. On the day all the stress just goes away and it feels perfect.’
‘I was a very relaxed bride and my mum was more excited about finding the right bridal dress than I was! We went to Pronovias on Bond Street and I only tried eight dresses. I decided on Elie Saab in February and it was ready two weeks before the actual day! On the night of the wedding, part of the dress was getting in the way while dancing, so I went to the back with friends and tore part of it off. You got to do what you got to do! As for the shoes, my beloved mother was fixed on the traditional white, but that was a no go for me. Strolling through Harrods one day I came across these Sergio Rossi’s, with just the right amount of crystal! (P.S. I had to buy a white pair too to keep my mum happy, but I still haven’t worn them to this day!)’
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