july 2nd 2010

hello dear blog readers, this is mrs. balkaya tuning back in...!  yes we are married and yes it was a beautiful day in so many ways.  i'm going to hold off on posting pictures of the bride & groom et al until the september wedding, but i still wanted to capture the day here with the photos i've gotten from friends & family thus far.  

the day started at the kuafor, or beauty salon, where we spent about 3 hours being primped and prettied.  we all had our nails done while 2-3 men on average worked on our hair.  they really, really wanted to do our make-up, but based on what we were seeing on the other women who opted for this, we respectfully declined (80s revlon model really wasn't what i was going for).  was an experience!  this is pretty typical for my turkish kuafor, but they went a little above & beyond for the big day.  

julianne stopped in to say hello and ended up having her hair styled, too.  she also played an integral part in getting me out of there before 5pm (we arrived at 12:30!), by strong-arming the hair dresser.  thanks, jules!

mom enjoyed the attention!

and i tried not to cry as they pulled, teased, and did who-knows-what to my hair to put the veil in. ouuuch!

after leaving the kuafor, we stopped by the house to pick up some things and headed down to the hotel where a suite was reserved for the bridal party.  our dear friend serhat met us in the garage to help us with our things, led us up to the room, opened the door, and... SURPRISE!  alexa was HERE!  we screamed.  we laughed.  then, we sobbed.  she and ben really fooled us and we'll always remember it!  what a fantastic surprise.

shortly after the surprise it was time to get down to bidness with our makeup and general getting-ready.

my bouquet was delivered to the room and pretty much from then on it was a constant frenzy of mom and sarah helping me into my wedding gown amidst deliveries, friends stopping by, and increasing nerves.

looking out from our window as the hotel started to set up the scene for our wedding

finally, around 7pm, ben called and said it was time for him to come to my room with his grandmother.  in turkey, this is how it's done-- the bride and groom can't see each other before then, but they do meet before the actual ceremony.  he and his grandmother arrived and there were a lot of tears.  it was a very special moment for all of us, made even more special by having our family there to support us!

afterwards, we all headed downstairs to take pictures before the wedding guests began to arrive.  then ben and i went back upstairs to wait, while our family stayed downstairs to greet the guests as they entered.  

mom and dad and sarah were helped out by ben's family, and it was really fun for them to practice some turkish as they greeted the guests.

back upstairs, ben and i were greeted by some guests as well, as our close friends gathered in our suite to wait with us and have a toast.  it was so wonderful to pass the time with friends and helped us not get too nervous!

eventually it was time for us to make our grand entrance, amidst fireworks.  though it looked nice from this distance, it was hard to breathe, making it slightly comical for ben and i.  we entered to music we chose- 'when i get you alone' by robin thicke.  

we made our vows with a member from the municipality on this stage, along with 6 witnesses.  shortly afterward we had our first dance, and it was done!  

the party began and everybody seemed to have a great time...

...while ben and i went around kissing our 300 guests!  it's tradition to kiss each and every person who has come to support you, and we did just that.

married!

the next morning, despite everyone's exhaustion, we had brunch at the hotel with the whole family.

and that was it!