Horseback Entrances and Caviar Nuggets: A Paris Wedding With Main Character Energy

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French fashion creator Camille Callen and Nima Kooshki married over one September weekend outside Paris, starting with a civil ceremony at the town hall and continuing with a traditional Iranian ceremony in the gardens of the Pavillon Royal de la Muette, the royal hunting lodge Louis XV commissioned in 1764. The bride arrived on horseback in a veil inspired by a Spanish Madonna, the cocktail hour served chicken nuggets topped with caviar, and the whole crowd was singing on the lawn by 9 p.m. The next morning, the celebration turned into a family brunch and naming ceremony for their son, Arya. Photographer Manda Razaf and his team captured every chapter with an editorial eye and a rare sense of timing.

Location: Île-de-France, France
Style: Regal, Persian, Festive
Time of planning: 6 months
Number of guests: 100
Setting: Royal Hunting Lodge
Season: Fall

Camille and Nima met two years ago in Ibiza, an island that still holds a special place in their hearts, and it was love at first sight. Things moved quickly, and after only nine months together Nima proposed in Ibiza on Camille’s birthday, surrounded by their closest friends. She had absolutely no idea it was coming, and sharing a proposal with the people she loves was something she had always dreamed of. A few months later, their son Arya joined the family.

Nima was born in Iran, and the couple wanted his heritage and Iranian traditions to have a meaningful place in the day, blended with a more contemporary approach to everything around them. Anything too rigid or formal was off the table, since their priority was a crowd that moved around, reconnected, ate, danced and celebrated together. Camille also believes the choice of photographer and videographer deserves serious thought, because their work is what remains of the day, so the couple chose people who could recognize emotion and capture it at exactly the right time, with videographer Antoine Boucaut filming the weekend alongside the photo team.

Civil Wedding

The couple chose to experience everything in a single day, starting with the civil ceremony at the town hall in the morning and ending with the party at the Pavillon Royal de la Muette. It was a big celebration for a civil wedding, and it is only the first chapter, because a secular ceremony is planned for next year with a different color palette and atmosphere. For this first round, the couple fully embraced the traditional side, and having loved ones there from the morning opened up room for simple, spontaneous moments that no timeline could have scripted.

Camille wore a Cult Gaia dress with Cult Gaia shoes and a Victoire Vermeulen veil, pairing a short scalloped hem with a cloud of tulle for a city hall look with real fashion credibility. Her bouquet, carried only for this ceremony, was the detail she was proudest of, with the flowers attached to a small silver ring and cascading down from it so she could carry it like a little handbag.

They left for the venue a little later than planned and, in the meantime, ended up having lunch at a Chinese takeaway in their neighborhood with their witnesses, everyone still in wedding clothes and Camille still wearing her big veil. That lunch had the whole table laughing, and the mix of an everyday ritual with the fact that they had just married made it unforgettable. From there, the group traveled to the Pavillon Royal de la Muette together.

Bride's Morning & Fashion

Camille got ready with her witness, who stayed by her side throughout the day, while Arya was in the next room, and parts of the schedule were built around his routine and naps. Through her work, Camille attends many events with schedules planned down to the minute, and she worried she would spend her own wedding focused on the timeline.

Everything was carefully prepared and there was still plenty of room to go with the flow, which she credits to Superplanner, a planner who saw things the same way she did and knew exactly what the couple wanted to achieve.

After going back and forth between several styles, Camille was certain about one thing, and that was a dramatic veil reminiscent of a Spanish Madonna as a tribute to her heritage. The long fall of lace around her face recalls the mantles worn by the Virgin statues carried through Seville during Holy Week, and she paired it with a Victoire Vermeulen dress in Calais lace for the Iranian ceremony, the Leavers lace woven in northern France since the 19th century. Her other outfits for the weekend also came from Victoire Vermeulen, whose designs were exactly what she had envisioned for those two days. The striped walls and hexagonal terracotta tomettes of her room, classic French country house details, framed the lace in warm color before the ceremony.

Her beauty brief was to still look like herself, with makeup close to what she usually wears, refined with flawless skin and slightly more defined eyes. Her bun looked unfussy yet was secure enough to hold the veil, and it did not move all evening, a choice that made her happy because it truly felt like her. The final touch was her everyday perfume, Angels’ Share by Kilian, which lasted for hours and still smelled just as good at the end of the night.

First Look

Camille and Nima fell for the Pavillon Royal de la Muette immediately, and its history played a major role in the decision. Set in the heart of a royal forest about 45 minutes from Paris, the 18th century hunting lodge was designed for Louis XV by Gabriel, the royal architect behind the Petit Trianon at Versailles, and a recent restoration returned it to its former glory while preserving many original features.

The expansive gardens, sweeping forest paths and reception rooms sealed the choice, while bedrooms on site meant their witnesses and closest loved ones could stay with them, and the party could run without any time restrictions. Superplanner found the venue and guided the couple through six months of planning for 100 guests. “For us, everything went perfectly, and I know that was thanks to her. We saw things the same way: she understood our wishes and knew exactly what we wanted to achieve.” says Camille.

Nima wore a custom made Suitsupply tuxedo in a very dark navy, an understated choice the couple made on purpose, saving the three piece suit for next year’s larger celebration. Against Camille’s lace, the near black navy works as a quiet frame, with clean lines that let the bride’s veil carry the drama.

Ceremony

The ceremony took place outdoors in the gardens and followed Iranian customs faithfully, exactly as they are practiced in Iran, honoring the traditions Nima grew up with. Camille finds the symbolism of the Iranian ceremony deeply moving, and the couple wanted those traditions to have the place they deserved. Their entrance on horseback, accompanied by music and violinists from FOMO, was especially emotional, and the moment Camille saw all their loved ones gathered in front of them, she already had tears in her eyes.

Guests sat in two blocks on the lawn facing the building, and Camille’s veil stretched far across the grass behind her, a length of lace that reads as dramatic from above as any couture train. The couple took their places on white wrought iron garden chairs beside a sofreh laid with bowls of sweets and nuts, the offerings that stand for abundance and a sweet life in Persian tradition, with white flowers keeping the spread in step with the rest of the design.

Seated side by side, the couple married beneath a length of lace held over their heads, a gesture from the Persian aghd, where loved ones raise a fine cloth above the bride and groom as a blessing. In the honey ritual, Nima and Camille each dipped a finger into honey and offered it to the other to taste, a wish for the sweetness they hope to bring into their life together. The exchange of rings was just as emotional, and Camille loved that their commitment was expressed through gestures that were both simple and full of meaning. Among the moments that stayed with her most was the hug she shared with her grandmother at the end of the ceremony, overjoyed that she could be there.

The walk back down the aisle was pure release. Nima threw a fist in the air, Camille laughed with her veil gathered in one hand, and guests on both sides were on their feet applauding, many of them filming the moment on their phones.

Cocktail Hour

Camille felt the strongest emotion of the day just after the ceremony, as the couple made their way toward the cocktail reception. She had chosen Billie Eilish’s Ocean Eyes to play at the end, a song she had listened to alone for years and that had often brought her to tears, carrying so many of the emotions, dreams and hopes she held for the life she imagined. Standing married beside Nima and facing everyone they love, she could still see the emotion in their eyes, and it felt as though a silence had fallen around them as the two of them waited for the song to end.

"Hearing that music, which I had always listened to alone, in a moment shared with my husband and everyone we love was overwhelming. It carried so much meaning for me, and suddenly it was the soundtrack to the happiness I had hoped for so deeply."

Camille, the bride

Manda Razaf and his team stayed close through this stretch of the day, and their images hold exactly the kind of unguarded emotion Camille hoped to keep, while Cara Content Studio captured content from the day for social. Knowing those precious moments have been preserved means a great deal to the couple.

At the cocktail hour, food was treated as design. The couple wanted highly structured arrangements, precise lines and a presentation inspired by fine dining, and with Grand Chemin on catering, the spread curled into a spiral table. Servers wore white gloves, caviar landed on chicken nuggets, and that combination summed up the spirit of the evening as festive, generous and never too conventional. Drinks came from a large mirrored cocktail bar with Cosmo Club Paris behind it, pulling the garden toward a Seventies Paris nightclub mood.

Reception

The vision for the reception grew out of the Pavillon itself. Rather than a seated dinner, the reception centered on music and celebration without compromising on food. FOMO provided the music from the beginning of the ceremony until the very end of the night, moving from violins to singers and double bass and finally to the DJ, and the atmosphere they built carried through the whole day and evening.

By barely 9 p.m., everyone was outside singing, and the party never stopped. Several guests told the couple it was one of the best wedding parties they had ever attended.

After dark, the lawn became the dance floor. Camille danced in her lace slip with one arm in the air beneath a giant glowing moon on the grass, Nima matching her energy a few steps away, and at one point the bride was lifted high above the crowd in a moment that, in black and white, looks straight out of a Sixties society party.

Day Two

The celebrations continued the next day with a brunch, during which the couple held a secular naming ceremony for Arya. Filled with love and meaningful symbolism, it gave the weekend an even more personal, family centered dimension. For Camille, getting married with their son, then nine months old, by their side was what made the wedding truly unique, and she loved how naturally their family life found its place in the celebration.

Arya wore a long, traditional christening gown, and Camille wanted something with plenty of volume to wear alongside him. She chose another Victoire Vermeulen creation, and she loved walking around surrounded by all that volume. Arya’s gown came with a matching bonnet, and Nima joined them head to toe in white, so the three of them moved through the day as one family look.

The decor carried the palette from the reception into daylight, with pleated fabric lampshades, draped white linens and soft folds of fabric giving the brunch tables a sculptural, almost dressmaker feel.

Advice from the couple:

• My best advice would be to hire a wedding planner, but above all, to choose the right person for you. Someone passionate, dedicated, and genuinely happy to share the day with you—someone who truly understands you.

• Couples are often told to enjoy every moment because the day goes by so quickly, and it’s true. But to really let go, you need to know that someone is taking care of everything behind the scenes. On our wedding day, I didn’t have to manage a thing. I simply enjoyed the day, the evening, and our guests. That made all the difference.

• I would also advise couples to give a lot of thought to choosing their photographer and videographer. Beyond our own memories, their images are what will remain of the day and what we’ll treasure for the rest of our lives. For me, it was essential to work with people who could recognize emotion and capture moments at exactly the right time. I’m so happy with the people we chose.