Uma Ramiah Photo
Kate and William spent $33 million on security. Kamran and Fereshteh had a City Hall guard on duty downstairs.
Kate wore ivory duchesse satin Alexander McQueen shoes with hand-embroidered lace. Fereshteh? Gold slippers from T.J. Maxx.
With the eyes the world focused on a royal spectacle of a wedding in London Friday, New Haven hosted its own affair at City Hall — dubbed a “royal” wedding by the one dignitary who happened to pass by.
The wedding of Kamran Bayegan, 63, and Fereshteh Kowssar, 64, cost nowhere near the estimated $70 million spent on Prince William and Kate’s wedding. But it was certainly no less romantic.
“We’ve known each other since we were 5 and 6 years old,” said the bride, smiling and shimmering in a knee-length gold dress. The couple met as young children growing up in Iran.
The two exchanged wedding vows, and rings, on Friday afternoon under a flower-covered archway in the atrium of New Haven’s City Hall on Church Street.
The wedding, it seems, was 60 years coming.
“Our mothers and grandfathers were friends,” Fereshteh said. “So we’ve been friends since youth.”
But life had its own twists and turns. “He got married and I got married. He got divorced and I got divorced. Then 30 something years later, we found each other again,” said Fereshteh, whose name means “Angel” in Persian. She’s been teaching Persian language courses at Yale University for nearly 20 years.
The pair came together again in 2003 at a concert. A Kurdish music band was playing at the Asia Society in Manhattan, and Fereshteh wanted passes to the show.
“So I looked Kamran up, I thought he could get tickets.”
He did. They’ve been together since.
Kamran, who lives in New York City and teaches computer science at the United Nations International School in Manhattan, said the two plan to continue living apart until Fereshteh retires in a few years.
“Then she will probably move to be with me in New York,” he said.
“But until then, we have weekends, holidays and summers together.”
The Wedding Party
While the Prince and Princess entertained 2,000 guests at their lavish affair, Fereshteh and Kamran enjoyed the company of six of their closest friends, from both New York and New Haven.
And while Kate Middleton’s Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen dress is rumored to have cost between $300,000 and $450,000, Fereshteh was clad in an ethereal gold dress from H&M with black leggings and matching flats from TJ Maxx—in appearance living up to the meaning of her name.
Kamran sported a dark grey suit he’d previously purchased from Macy’s. His tie bore the emblem of the royal kingship of Iran (a lion in the sun). “He doesn’t believe in what the symbol stands for,” Fereshteh said. “But it was my brother’s tie. He passed away two years ago.”
Kamran wore the tie to honor his memory. The bride wore an antique ring on her right hand that once belonged to her mother, also passed.
“We wanted to have a sense of our family here with us today,” she said.
The ceremony — which cost a cool $50 — took place in front of the office of Mayor John DeStefano, who happened to pass by once vows were exchanged.
“Oh — it’s a royal wedding,” he said, smiling, and was quickly drawn in for a photo with the group.
He stood on the end, not wanting to get between the newly married couple.
In London, it seems, the Queen and Prince Charles shelled out an approximate $600,000 for a luncheon and dinner reception. Fereshteh and Kamran planned to treat their wedding party to an intimate lunch at Union League Cafe on Chapel Street right after the ceremony.
“And I may make a traditional Persian meal at my house for everyone another night,” Fereshteh said.
And what of being married on the same day as the royal couple? The pair said they hadn’t really considered it.
“I think maybe we should ask how they feel about getting married on the same day as us,” said Fereshteh, smiling at her new husband.