Fairytale Wedding: We Said 'I Do'
Today I'm so excited to share my most exciting post yet. MY WEDDING DAY! Ahhh It was truly the happiest day of my life and you'll see why. I couldn't stop smiling. I probably shouldn't forget to mention that we ended up planning this wedding in 5 weeks. We were engaged for 6 months and it was a classic Sazan move to wait last minute to get the ball rolling. lol Okay, let's re-live the magic. I'm going to share some intimate pictures with you and take you through the big day. :)Our small ceremony took place at a private residence in Malibu, California on Friday, May 8th. The forecast kept saying it was going to rain all day. I was a little worried because it was cloudy all morning. I remember taking a moment in the car on the way up to Malibu and praying with Stevie's mom for the sun to come out. Literally 10 minutes after we prayed...the sun came shining out. By the 6pm ceremony, the view was perfect.
This place was insane. We were originally going to have the reception party on the roof top overlooking the ocean but we were afraid it would get super windy at night so we decided to party inside (which is just as breathtaking).
Getting married outside was a must for Stevie and I. We're big nature lovers so we knew that being near the water would be the perfect backdrop for our ceremony.
You know how they say on the day of your wedding the bride gets super psycho and panicky? That totally wasn't the case for me. I was the calmest I've ever been in my life. I was a little shocked hahaha. It was such a chill day and everything went smoothly.
This dress originally looked NOTHING like this.
Funny story about THE DRESS: Because I waited so late to plan this wedding, when I went dress shopping I was shocked that most places said it takes 4-6 months to get your dress sized, altered, with multiple fittings etc.. I WAS LIKE WHAT PLANET HAVE I BEEN LIVING ON AND WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THIS. HAHA. Basically I had a couple of options. 1.) I had to buy a sample dress off the rack and make it work somehow or 2.) Find a bridal store that offers tons of dresses, pick one, and take it to a really good tailor to transform it into your dream dress. I went with option 2. I decided to go to BHLDN (Anthropologie's bridal line!) which is down the street from my house. The original dress (below) had sleeves which looked a little too grandma on me, but I loved the whimsical flow at the bottom of the dress. I knew with a good tailor, there was hope!
Stevie and I agreed not to see each other before the ceremony so we took our individual pictures with the photographer a couple hours before. Our photographer and friend Jon kept me focused! I was like a giddy school girl because I knew Stevie was in the opposite side of the house getting ready and I kept getting so excited. ha!
I mentioned the funny story on my Instagram about the flowers at my wedding. When Matty our florist asked me what flowers I wanted for the wedding, my bouquet..etc my response was, "Pretty ones!" With that being said, I had no clue. I gave Matty and his team full control over the flower situation (which I know must've felt like a lot of pressure for them) but they killed every detail! I wanted my bouquet to be simple and elegant. Matty went with white peonies which I absolutely loved!
How handsome was my groom!?!? Most grooms just "show up" the day of the wedding. Stevie played a huge role in the wedding planning process. There were days when I literally couldn't get out of work assignments and/or bed because I was so exhausted from a long week that he would take charge and coordinate with our planner and handle all of the details. He didn't want me to stress. LOVE HIM.
The Ceremony + Reception
Finally. The best part. Our ceremony was super intimate with just 35 guests. I walked down the aisle to one of the first songs we ever loved together, Bon Iver: Holocene. The moment I walked down and saw him at the end of the aisle, I was fighting back the tears. I felt God's presence all over me and the prize He was about to bless me with for the rest of my life. It wasn't easy getting to the alter (so many cultural obstacles over the years) that only Stevie, myself and God can comprehend. I couldn't help but think back to everything we've been through over the past 3.5 years and the journey to get to this moment. And in that moment, I felt like I won the lottery.
Our families praying over us moments before we exchanged our vows. So special!
We decided to write our own vows which was my favorite part of the ceremony. The day before the wedding, I tried practicing but I kept crying after the first sentence. LOL #GetItTogetherSaz
The moment after the kiss. Offically Mr. and Mrs. ;)
We took these photos right after the ceremony. As you can see, we were so overwhelmed with joy!
The Dinner Reception
Dinner was so special. We had Kurdish food!!!!! Niroj restaurant in Malibu catered our wedding food. We served tons of traditional Kurdish cuisines to our guests. I love this photo of Stevie feeding me Dolma. Culturally, it truly meant so much more than what you see here. I love that he embraces my culture and values these small details. <3
I'm so excited to spend the rest of my life with my best friend. He makes me soooooo happy!!!!!
I hope you enjoyed re-living my wedding day with me and that it inspired you to embrace love! I mentioned this wedding was super small and intimate because it was only Part 1 of the celebration... I'm excited to share that we will be having a bigger reception party with more family and friends this July in... TEXAS!!!!!!!! It's our home state and where we fell in love.
There's a few special people I need to thank for helping Stevie and I make this wedding happen. Caravents team (Cara + Meredith you rock!), Matty and ThePetalWorkshop team, Mina, Jane (you were the MVP!), Our families and specially my big sister Sayran (thanks for being with me every step of the way), and mama Hendrix (thanks for being our right hand woman), Richard (thank you for keeping things on track), Jon Volk (you brought our vision to life!), Block of Joy (amazing videography team), Lisa Montero (You made my hair look so fleek!!!) and Lyndsay (for giving me the best makeup of my life) and Niroj restaurant (their Kurdish food was so good!) and of course all of our amazing guests who are a blessing in our lives!
Cheers to getting another wedding!!!! #Part2 #StevieandSazan
