Well, the day finally arrived and our first task in the early afternoon was to get ready and drive to the couple’s new house where official photos were taken with family. The groom looked very smart, polished and not at all nervous whilst the bride looked truly gorgeous in a traditional long off-white dress and carrying a bouquet of apricot roses.

Photo shoot over, we drove to the reception hall where men and women were immediately separated by a screen in the middle of the room as is the custom. Three hundred people were expected and the hall soon filled up with expectant guests.

The bride and groom arrived a while later, clapped into the room in welcome by a group of close friends and family and slowly made their way to the “love seat” at the top of the hall stopping to speak to all the guests on the way.. Then the first party began.

Plenty of dancing, merriment and eating delicious food followed until we left thehall at 10pm to drive to the private family gathering and more partying.

Then the fun really started.

In Iran it is customary to decorate the bride and groom’s car with bouquets of flowers front and back and to follow them in convoy with everyone’s hazard lights flashing and horns blaring all the time. Firecrackers and sparklers are let off out of the car windows and there is plenty of shouting and whistling. Alarmingly, in the middle of the dual carriageway all the cars stopped in the road and the men got out and started to dance to music playing on the radio. Not bothered about holding up the traffic this continued for a few minutes until they returned to their cars and continued the drive to party number 2.

More dancing and yet more food until the early hours when time was called.

Thank goodness; I can’t keep up-they party like maniacs.