Saint Antoine Church Wedding

I am always moved by the wedding ceremonies in churches. So I was really exicted when Karina and Alper contacted me to photograph their Saint Antoine Church wedding. They live in Ireland, but since Alper is Turkish, they decided to have their wedding in Istanbul. We have been communicating with Alper over the phone to discuss the details, but it wasn’t until the week of the wedding, when they arrived in Istanbul, that we actually met. We scheduled a pre-wedding session with them for the same week, which I will hopefully post about at another time. This one is about the wedding day itself. You can read the story below the photos.

Simple bridal shoes wedding bouquet Groom texting the bride Bride and family passionate hug during the first look Bride takes the groom to her family Walking down the aisle Walk down the aisle St. Antoine church wedding ceremony speech during the ceremony at St. Antoine church Saint antoine church Ceremony Saint antoine church wedding Prayers during church wedding wedding ceremony at Saint antoine church Bride and groom leaving st antoine church Bride laughing after st antoine church wedding Bride and groom posing brother of bride hugs groom Bride kisses the groom at istanbul wedding impromptu istanbul henna night wedding cake at istanbul wedding reception

On the big day, I joined Karina and Alper at their suit in Beyoglu in the morning. Karina’s friends and family were also there to help her getting ready. During the preparations, Karina wanted to practice some Turkish wedding traditions, like writing the names of single friends on the soles of her shoes.

They didn’t want to do the first look with all the friends and family watching. They preferred it to be a more private moment. So Karina went upstairs to wait for Alper at the terrace, and she invited me there, too. I felt really privilaged to be allowed to witness and photograph that moment, which even their parents were not allowed.

We then went to St. Antoine, also known as St. Anthony of Padua Church, for the wedding ceremony. After the guests arrived, Karina’s brother walked her down the aisle. It was a beautiful ceremony.

For the wedding reception, we went to Angel Blue Restaurant, which has a great location on the Bosphorus. They did not have a chance to have a henna night in the days before. So an impromptu henna party was held during the reception, thanks to the efforts Birgul Hanim of Kirmizi Organizasyon.

It was a beautiful day for a beautiful couple. I wish them a happy life together.