Istanbul Elite World Hotel wedding : Zeynep and Burak

Zeynep and Burak knew eachother since mid-school. As years passed by, their friendship slowly turned into love. Zeynep was a cabin crew in a major airline, so she traveled a lot. And Burak had an assignment in Africa for a period of time for business. All those times spent apart helped keep their love fresh and strong.

Zeynep had a very close relationship with her loving mother and relatives. Observing their interactions, I could tell that it would be an emotionally packed wedding day.

There was another Turkish wedding tradition waiting for us outside. There was a drum-and-horn duo playing loud. So there was dancing and singing on the street.

Burak’s grandmother would not be able to make it to the ceremony, because of her age and health. So we all stopped by at her apartment to receive her good wishes. I was prepared to witness some very emotional moments there. But instead, it turned out to be a fun time, especially after the groom’s pants gave in while bending down to kiss her hand.  So the bridal party spent some time with the grandma, except Burak, who had to wait in the next room while his trousers were getting fixed.

During the ceremony, Zeynep’s mom was going through many emotions. In her face there was pride, joy, sadness, all at once. Seeing her like that made me emotional as well. While photographing her soul, I was actually hiding my tears behind the camera.

After the ceremony, we went to Elite World Hotel for the reception. Burak was a big fan of Star Wars. He was even dreaming of a Star Wars theme for the weeding. This did not happen, but his friends had a surprise for him; They showed up on the dance floor in a Darth Vader costume.