A wedding dress story by Tarisa T.
I was married on May 15, 2010 and purchased the dress just a week or so prior to the wedding! I had tried on several gowns while still living in the US with my mother, but couldn’t find anything before the big move to Cyprus. I tried on a few at a local shop with my husband’s two sisters, who spoke little English, but didn’t find anything I LOVED. It was recommended that I try the same shop that his sister used for her gown the year before: Akay in Istanbul.
This involved two separate flights to Istanbul…I was very nervous, but also I was very determined to get what I wanted and not to compromise or lose anything in the translation! I found 2 dresses that I liked different elements of which were combined to create my dress. I insisted that the dress be made (mostly) out of silk, as my husband, Hazim and I were going for an all natural theme for the wedding (and our lives:)
The seamstresses were amazing, as I had been told previously that it would be almost impossible to get what I wanted in silk! The first visit, I insisted that Hazim not be present, which made it quite nerve wracking with only his parents there to translate. The second visit it was just myself and him, and I made him stay behind a curtain to translate to the seamstresses for fitting, quite an interesting experience! While I fretted about a lot of things with my gown, ultimately it was the dress of my dreams, and several people told us it was the most beautiful wedding they had been to!
My wedding dress was worn three times! Our wedding photos were taken a week later after visiting with family and friends and when we were more relaxed 🙂 We also had a wedding celebration in Mount Clemens, Michigan, USA, on October 10, 2010, when I originally had the gown cleaned by Heritage (after being upset with a local drycleaner).
