Israa Al Seblani, Ahmad Subeih

Ahmad Subeih married Israa Al Seblani in Beirut, Lebanon on August 4, 2020. On the same day, the Lebanese city made headlines.

Subeih and Al Seblani were having a photo shoot with their wedding photographer Mahmoud Nakib outside Le Gray Hotel at the Saifi Square in Beirut when a massive explosion shocked and devastated the capital city of Lebanon. The photographer told CNN, “We were filming an outdoor photo session for the bride and the groom then we heard an explosion.”

“That was the first explosion,” Nakib continued. “We thought that is was far away. We continued filming normally. In just one second, the sky turned black and we heard the second explosion.”

At least 135 people were killed by the blast and more than 5,000 people were injured. While the cause of the explosions is still unclear, authorities are blaming thousands of tons of highly explosive material stored for years in a warehouse in unsafe conditions at Beirut’s port area.

The wedding video went viral. Here are 10 more facts about Subeih:

1. He is a Beirut native.
2. He is a businessman.
3. He is the owner of Sergio Dutti, a Beirut-based fashion store for men.
4. He loves horses.
5. He is a fan of Rafa Nadal, Eden Hazard, Ronaldinho Gaucho, Lazar Angelov and Raphael Varane.
6. He has visited several European tourist destinations including the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, Noord Aa in Zoetermeer, Netherlands and Waregem, Belgium.
7. He got engaged to Al-Seblani on July 25, 2017.
8. He and Al Seblani originally planned to get married in the United States. Their wedding kept getting postponed while they were waiting for the U.S. federal government to approve his immigration status.
9. He was 34 years old when he and Al-Seblani got married on August 4, 2020. When the blast happened after their wedding with Al-Seblani, he rushed her to a nearby restaurant but she ran back out to help injured people.
10. On August 5, 2020, he and Al Seblami returned to Le Gray Hotel to retrieve belongings and passports. They had planned to spend their first night as newlyweds in the hotel but it was damaged by the blast.