M E L I S S A & B A T U H A N
From their first meeting on the dance floor of a Latin bar, Melissa and Batuhan’s romance was worthy of the big screen. A proposal in Istanbul led to a stunning wisteria-themed wedding on Scotland Island – a beautiful and unforgettable celebration – this bride’s story is a MUST-READ!
F R O M T H E B R I D E…
The Meeting…
Batuhan and I met at Vivaz Latin bar/restaurant in the Rocks, Sydney in 2008. I had been out with friends and decided at midnight we should all go Latin Dancing! It was a spontaneous decision and I had no idea at the time that decision would change the rest of my life! We had a few dances together and spoke briefly enough to find out that Batuhan was a professional Latin Ballroom dancer and taught lessons in Sydney. Not thinking anything other than I would like to get back into my dancing again, I turned up to his class on the Monday! He said if you want to be a good dancer you have to be serious and determined, so that made me very ambitious!
He was surprised to see me, and thought I must be interested in him! (to this day he tells people I stalked him)!! But I simply wanted to become a dancer! He was very professional and we were friends for a few months first before realising there were strong feelings! We were going Latin dancing at least three nights per week and realised in a way we were dating! It was the most natural and beautiful progression and that’s why we knew it was real and something very special!
Love…
Looking back now I think that subconsciously we knew it was love from our first full conversation we had the first time we officially went dancing together. In between dancing we got to know each other. When Batuhan told me to guess where he was from I guessed Spain first, then every place in South America before getting anywhere close to Turkey! He explained that he had finished his engineering degree in Turkey but he really wanted to be a professional dancer. So he decided to follow his heart and pursue his dancing career, which then brought him to Australia, and he got sponsored to work within weeks of arriving in Sydney. He was a go-getter and I loved the fact that he would rather spend his life following his heart than doing something that didn’t make him completely happy! This is what I believe in and how I live and I knew I had met someone very unique and special just from this first conversation.
The Proposal…
We got engaged on September 19th 2011 in the middle of the Bosphorous in Istanbul! It was the best night of my life! (along now with our wedding night)! We had just travelled Turkey and Greece for a month and it was the last night of our trip staying at the Ciragan Palace on the Bosphorous, the most amazing hotel!!
I wasn’t expecting anything to happen as I knew about the hotel and thought if he was going to propose he would have made the hotel a surprise! I was busy starting to pack our suitcases for our flight the next day and had asked Batuhan to get me some Sudafed from the reception, when he came back to the room he was in a panic and told me to hurry there was a surprise for us, he had no idea what it was but said he had been told it was a gift from his best friend we had visited in Turkey! We ran down to the lobby and then outside to the lawn, (I thought we were going to have dinner at one of the restaurants along the water) but we kept going right to the waters edge and suddenly were escorted on to a private yacht with a captain and a personal bar man! We were handed mojitos as we got on the yacht. Batuhan said that his friend knew the captain so got us a private Bosphorous tour! The way he was reacting I had no idea it was all his doing! He was just as surprised as me!
It was magnificent watching the sunset over the Bosphorous and seeing the Agia Sophia and Blue Mosque in the background! The boat pulled up to a restaurant under the Bosphorous Bridge and the waiter collected a five course meal to bring onto the yacht. (I thought this was just part of the tour package)! Still believing it was a gift from his friend. The captain then informed us we would do one last tour and then go back to the hotel, we got to the middle location and suddenly the engine stopped. We could just hear the soft waves hit the yacht and everything felt still. Then our song came on!! ‘No Air’ by Jordan Sparks. I still didn’t realise what was happening!! The captain had said we could play our music and I just assumed that song was shuffled on Batuhan’s ipod!
Then Batuhan asked me to dance, we swayed with the boat, I started to get butterflies,
And THEN.. Batuhan got down on one knee!!
I balled my eyes the second he did that.
He proposed to me with beautiful words and by asking me if I would give him three children, still crying I said yes, then he pulled out a ring from his pocket and placed it on my finger. The ring had three intertwined diamonds on it (which he had found on our trip and also organised the whole proposal while we were travelling)! He told me that these three diamonds represent our three children to come. It was absolutely magical!!!!
Wedding Theme…
The theme for our wedding was a midsummer nights dream/ modern Romeo and Juliet. And the main aspect was our love for wisteria flowers, which influenced the colour theme of lilac and magenta and white throughout the whole wedding! It was modern but timeless at the same time, we wanted to feel and for our guests to feel like we were all in a dream. When I walked into the ceremony with the wisteria all above and my fiancé at the end of the aisle, I felt like I was in heaven.
The Ceremony…
On a property called Bangalla on Scotland Island. We rented Bangalla for four days and decorated the pavilion room next to the pool with 500 wisteria flowers. It was our dream to get married under wisteria, and when we saw the property we knew that the sandstone and wooden open pavilion would be able to turn into our dream ‘chapel.’ We organised a chartered ferry to pick up guests to and from the island. After the ceremony we had drinks, canapés and a Spanish guitarist playing and time for guests to enjoy the property, while we took photos. In the ceremony we incorporated Greek, Turkish and English. We did the traditional Greek crowns and rings and we also had a sand ceremony, which my parents poured sand from Greece, Batuhan’s parents poured sand from Turkey and Batuhan and I poured sand from the Bangalla beach to represent the blending of our lives and families together. We loved and respected both of our backgrounds equally.
The Reception…
At my Dad’s restaurant Limani Seafood Restaurant, 11 Narrabeen Street Narrabeen. It is right on Narrabeen Lake and overlooks the beautiful surrounds and faces the sunset. Both of my brothers got married there too so it is a sentimental place for us all now. We continued the wisteria and theme at the restaurant and had it draping from the roof with hanging lights to have more of a fiesta party feel!
Pre-wedding Celebrations…
We had a traditional Turkish Henna night, which was amazing! My in-laws brought me a traditional costume and all of the equipment needed from Turkey. There is a traditional song played which is about the bride leaving her family home and going to her husbands, it is sad and happy at the same time. My bridesmaids danced around me holding candles, and with a sheer veil over my face I was brought to tears (it is a very moving experience) and at this point my future mother in law placed henna on my hands with gold coins (representing her acceptance of me). We then had all the girls at the party getting henna art on their hands! And we belly danced all night! It was such a unique experience for everyone! We all had the slightest evidence of henna still on at the wedding!
The Dress…
I designed my wedding dress inspired by wisteria flowers and by the theme and feel of the entire wedding. I knew that standing under all the wisteria in the ceremony would need something quite timeless as the wisteria itself would be the main feature of the wedding! I also designed my wedding dress with inspiration from my mother’s wedding dress, as I wanted to keep sentimental value within our wedding. Batuhan also wore his father’s officer uniform from Turkey, which all the men in his family wore for their weddings.
I found and fell in love with a French corded lace. It’s pattern had wisteria-like flowers flowing down from the scalloped edge. Being a fashion designer it was hard to settle on one idea as I had so many different ideas with fabric and designs and could have done just about anything! When I found the lace I decided that it in itself was so beautiful, so decided to do a full lace gown. I contemplated cutting it up and re appliquaing it over a dress but kept coming back to the full lace as it was. I was in love with the lace! I believe lace is a beautiful keepsake and tells a story like a piece of art.
The gown had long lace sleeves one from the top of the shoulder and one from off the shoulder, I loved the pattern of the lace wrapping over skin and even had the lace trailing right down to my finger tips. The back of the dress was all lace with no under structure so again you could see the pattern of the lace on skin. Technically this was quite challenging as the front of the dress had a corseted structure. The skirt had a simple slim-line lining with a small train and the lace with full long train, I kept it simple as again I just wanted the lace to be the focus. Overall I wanted a timeless dress that could continue as an heirloom for my future children.
Bridesmaids’ Dresses…
The theme for my bridesmaids was very floaty, feminine midsummer nights dream/ romantic. I hand dyed silk satin and silk georgette in various tones of dusty pink and lilac. They gradated in colour when they stood next to eachother you could see the subtle difference in shades. Each dress was individual but kept the same floaty and layered feel. I also hand dyed pieces of my French lace used in my dress and colour matched it to their dresses. They each had a feature of lace appliquéd to their dress. As my dress was all about the lace, and more of a classic line I wanted the bridesmaids to have flow and softness and designed my wedding dress and bridesmaids as a complete collection.
Groomsmen…
Our groomsmen wore charcoal suits with white shirts and silver ties, black belts and black shiny shoes, all of which was purchased by Batuhan’s family in Turkey and brought over! The groomsmen had a soft lilac rose button hole.
The Flowers…
Our flower theme for the wedding was roses and hydrangeas. My bridesmaids had soft tonal pink and purple flowers, with a small amount of mint green. My flower girl and junior bridesmaid had floral head wreaths with the same combination as the bridesmaid bouquets. My bouquet was a white waterfall of roses and hydrangea, this was inspired by my grandmothers bouquet she had at her wedding. It also had the same fall as the wisteria used in our decorations.
Decorations…
Our reception kept a similar feel to the ceremony but ventured more into the magenta colours and brighter party fiesta feel. The wisteria hung above the dancefloor with hanging lights, and all the tables were decorated with pink and purple lace tablecloths. Large white vases were centre pieces with full arrangements of pink and purple roses and hydraengeas. The bridal table had extra magenta and purple lace fabrics draped to frame it and I made hand made silk flowers which were bundled together as feature points. The bomboniere for each guest had their name tied to the bundle which also served as the place card on the table.
On The Menu…
We had a sit down meal at the restaurant. To start with guests were served a Mediterranean meze platter of seafood, meat and dips, a traditional Greek style starter. Followed by mains of Greek lamb with creamy lemon sauce and dill (my dad’s recipe) and a Barrumundi dish famous at Limani! For dessert was Greek Bougatsa, a cream and pastry and of course the wedding cake!
Wedding Favours…
We had handmade lilac bookmarks made in Turkey with a special copper art form and engraved on the back a message to our guests and the wedding date. We put sugar almonds and small chocalates and they were wrapped in my hand dyed silk organza fabric.
Special Memories…
Throughout our ceremony there was a beautiful rainbow right through the middle of the aisle and shining on us, you can see it in many of the photos. I believe this was the presence of my beautiful cousin Maria who passed away in 2009. I was also wearing one of her favourite bracelets which my Aunty and Uncle in Greece gave to me for the wedding.
When the celebrant asked Batuhan if he would take me as his wife instead of just saying yes, he yelled out at the top of his lungs, ‘YES’!! I love his presence in the moment!
Once we arrived at Narrabeen lake, we had a white horse waiting for us which I got to ride on along the lake to get to the restaurant, and then there were traditional Turkish drummers and musicians playing as we approached the restaurant.
After my dad’s emotional speech he invited Batuhan up for a Greek dance together to show his acceptance and love, and together they smashed plates Greek style! while the bouzouki player was playing Greek music!
And finally Batuhan breaking out into a solo dance to the song ‘fever’ when he was taking off my garter and throwing it to the single guys! It was so entertaining because it was unplanned and spontaneous! He made throwing the garter a full song performance!!
Honeymoon…
After our last dance at Limani, we got a water taxi back to Bangalla on Scotland Island there we stayed in a beautiful wooden and sandstone cabin. We stayed on the property for three nights and kept the wisteria up in the pavilion until the last minute to enjoy candle lit dinners under all the wisteria and remember our beautiful ceremony!
We went to Hawaii for two and a half weeks! We stayed in Honolulu, Maui, Kuai and back to Honolulu for a few days. We have always wanted to go there and we loved it! We hired a mustang in Kuai and a jeep in Maui and explored the islands! The waterfalls are amazing!!
Suppliers…
Photography Craven Images Ceremony Venue Bangalla, Scotland Island Reception Venue Limani Seafood Restaurant Bride’s Gown and Bridesmaids’ Dresses Melissa Kritsotakis, MK Boutique Styling Designers in The City Cake & Flowers Drisia