I'm wearing tails and waistcoat for my wedding, but this isn't the Home Counties. I'm getting married in Tehran to Bita Ghezelayagh, an Iranian architect who studied in Paris, and I'm determined to express my 'cultural identity'. What has my identity got to do with Four Weddings and a Funeral? Not much, but the Iranians will get the point. Better to be mistaken for Hugh Grant than a cultural doormat. As we walk to the Ghezelayagh house in the centre of Tehran where a bus will pick us up, I feel a mild sensation of dread. My people - my father, Nicholas (brother), Rory (oldest friend), Christina (cousin) and Camilla (relieved ex-girlfriend) - are undeniably different from the Ghezelayagh family and appendages.

LRB 5 July 2001 | PDF Download