Iman Khan and Clairmont Cummings met when they were growing up as kids in Guyana and went on to co-found a restaurant management company together. “It was friendship at first sight,” Iman says. Throughout high school, the two were inseparable and remained best friends even when they headed to colleges in different countries. “We followed our lives in different directions, dating other people, having a baby (me), getting married (also me), getting divorced (yes, me), willfully oblivious to the love story that was developing between us,” she continues. In 2013, they finally found themselves single in the same country and started to officially date. After three years, and with a baby girl on the way, he surprised her by popping the question, complete with professional singers and a video production team, on top of the London Eye.
The two knew they wanted a destination wedding, but didn’t want to do it on a beach with tourists looking on. After searching in Toronto and New York, they found the Malibu Rocky Oaks Estate Vineyards and were smitten. The Elegant Ninja was hired to handle all planning and production and Poppy Design Co. stepped in for all their floral needs.
The bride flew from Guyana, where she was living at the time, to Toronto, where her mother is based, to shop for her dress. She chose a two-piece gown by Canadian designer Lea-Ann Belter. “The cropped French lace top coupled with the sweeping, airy A-line silk skirt with a thigh high slit gave off a celestial and ethereal vibe,” Iman says. She completed the look with an extra long veil, Swarovski earrings, and a Tiffany & Co. bracelet, that her mother gifted her. Rebecca Mahfood took care of her beauty look.
The groom wore a custom-made suit by Harry Rosen. The couple’s daughter, Kai, who served as the most adorable flower girl, wore Vera Wang “and came very close to upstaging the bride,” says Iman. The groomsmen were dapper in TOPMAN and the bridesmaids were all stunning in looks from Lulus.
On a sunny day in the Malibu hills, the couple stood on the most chic helipad and made their personal vows to each other. The aisle was lined with a luxuriant array of blooming flowers, and Eric Schwartz officiated the service. “As cliché as it may sound, it was the happiest and most profound moment of my life. I remember standing there thinking that I had never been more sure about anything in my entire life,” the bride says.
As the couple recessed and went to take photos, cocktail hour commenced with tastings of sambuca and Guyana’s renowned El Dorado rum. Then everyone sat inside, where a warm palette of blush and berry florals decorated the space, lit by candlelight and chandeliers. For dinner, a pomegranate kale salad, grilled salmon with Meyer lemon, and roasted chicken breast were served. The plated desserts included banana and Nutella bread pudding bites and Tahitian vanilla bean panna cotta with fresh berries, and as people danced to Caribbean sounds, they were free to help themselves to a gourmet donut and dessert table.
The couple had their first dance, fittingly, to “My Best Friend” by Hollywood Anderson, and then the DJ went back to a blend of soca, dance-hall, house, and Top 40 hits. “The cutest and most memorable part was our daughter, Kai, who was 20 months at the time, coming downstairs in her Batman pajamas to dance to her favorite song, ‘In My Feelings,’ by Drake,” says Iman.
“[At the end of the night,] we had every intention to invite our friends back to our hotel to party until sunrise,” Iman admits. “But we went back to our room (alone) and collapsed on our bed due to sheer exhaustion.”
