Mia & Zak

The Melbourne cityscape was the most stunning backdrop for Mia and Zak’s classic elegance Melbourne wedding. The pair, who met taking language classes in high school (the groom to be even enrolled for an extra year just to spend time with the bride!) wanted a traditional day filled with contemporary elements, and throughout it all, respected and wove their Turkish heritage throughout the day.

With Wild Romantic Photography behind the camera, the couple went from dancing in the street, to a garden ceremony, urban city photos and a jam-packed, lively reception.

It was a day filled with magic – much like the day when Zak popped the question, Mia remembered “Zak surprised me by preparing a day full of events surrounded by my closest friends. Began with a surprise nail salon visit, followed by picking and purchasing a dress for the evening with, more friends waiting in the change rooms to surprise me. This was followed by a picturesque lunch at the Yarra Valley where I was surprised again as Zak flew in my friend from an interstate. We then were taken to Mornington Peninsula and surprised with a glamping tent to be dolled up and told to walk down to the beach where Zak was waiting with candles lit up around him. It was an amazing day filled with endless surprises and friends! (he recorded the entire thing!).”

The groom worked with Tailors Mark to create a custom tuxedo – including the wedding date stitched to the jacket’s inner pocket.

To pay homage to the couple’s background, the day kicked off with dancing, Mia explaining “In accordance with tradition, drummers attended Zak’s house where they danced with family members. They then attended my house where Zak arrived with his entourage to pick me up. Here, he saw me for the first time and we continued to dance outside further.”

The bride found her strapless wedding gown, with a sweetheart neckline at Raffaele Ciuca, telling “I was so overwhelmed at the beginning and really struggled with the process. I didn’t really know what I was looking for and I had saved lots of different styles on my phone. I visited many bridal boutiques and even flew to Sydney to find the perfect dress. I met with several designers and even chose the fabric. However not knowing what the gown was going to look like gave me anxiety and I chose to pick a dress that was already made. I eventually purchased a dress, however, four months before the wedding I decided it was not the dress for me and went shopping again and ordered a completely different dress.

What I eventually realised is that, there isn’t only one perfect dress out there. There are many amazing dresses to choose from and being the indecisive person that I am I just could not pick one. I also believe there is a lot of pressure on brides to look the best they’ve ever been which can be very stressful. I eventually picked a dress I was comfortable in and something that wouldn’t look outdated in pictures 30 years later.”

Mia and Zak chose Fitzroy Gardens for their ceremony, the couple walking down the aisle to a friend playing the Qanun. Mia remarked “The ceremony was our favourite part of the day. We had 250 people invited to the wedding however restricted the ceremony to 50 of our closest family and friends. We wanted this to be a very intimate occasion. We loved the idea of a beautiful garden ceremony during spring. The weather was beautiful and the music really set the tone for an intimate and relaxing gathering. We wanted the ceremony to be a time where we could mingle with our loved ones and take photos before the rush of the reception.”

 Grown Florist created floral arrangements in shades of green and white for the day, says Mia “Grown Florist is my number one destination for flowers. They have a beautiful range of flowers and I always knew that I wanted my flowers from Grown. I wasn’t really caught up on any particular flowers. All I wanted was a simple bouquet with a range of seasonal white flowers in an open loose garden style. I also wanted a long ribbon to be tied to the bouquet because it gave the flowers a beautiful look.
Some of the florals included were white roses, magnolia, white Dahlia and white blushing bride.”

Of their photographer, Mia tells “We knew in the first 5 minutes of speaking with Elle (Wild Romantic Photography) that she is the person who will be capturing our day. She is so lovely to work with and she really takes charge of the day. This is exactly what you need during such a chaotic occasion. She kept her focus on us the whole time and captured truly magical and candid photos. She was more like a friend on the day which really made us feel comfortable in front of the camera. We definitely recommend Bohemian Prints we had such a positive experience and our photos are truly beautiful.”

Mia and Zak chose Lakeside Banquet and Convention Centre for their reception, explaining “We had visited several venues however Lakeside catered for everything we were looking for. Considering they have had so much experience with Turkish weddings we felt comfortable enough to trust them on our special night. The food was a very important component for us and Lakeside provided a vast selection of foods which were equally delicious.”

Of their first dance, Mia remembers “There were many songs to choose from however Ed Sheeran – “Perfect” was newly released and the moment I heard it, I just knew that was going to be the song for our first dance. The lyrics really described our love and who doesn’t love Ed Sheeran at a wedding?”

Guests took home mini jars of Nutella, adorned with tags created by the newlyweds.

Mia and Zak enlisted Focus Film to capture their day on film. The film captures every moment (including that dancing!) as the day unfolded.

Congratulations Mia and Zak! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us! Thank you also to Elle from Wild Romantic Photography for sharing today’s celebration!