How We Pulled It Off: An East-Meets-West Wedding in Istanbul

Go big on the aesthetics

Both Jasmin and Sam have creative backgrounds—they work together on a film production company, Jasmin studied theater and acted, and Sam’s parents are celebrated architects—and approached the aesthetics of their wedding like an artistic pursuit. “We knew that a lot of our guests would be from the creative world, and we were particular about how we wanted things to look,” Jasmin says. They suggested high-level elements like the color scheme (dusty blue and rich mulberry), and then their planning teams, along with the creative studio Event Lab, filled in the gaps with more ideas.

One key element in ensuring the wedding’s cohesion was the furniture production, for which they worked with AND Event & Design Studio to create items like modular custom chairs and a platform drenched in a velvety maroon for the ceremony space. Another was the florals, designed and arranged by Fluida Design. For the eye-popping ceremony, the flowers were lush and architectural, almost alien-like, while for dinner the arrangements were tighter, paler, and more romantic.

“I wanted it to function like a play: There’s a rising energy, then a reveal, then a resolution,” says Jasmin of the aesthetic journey. In Fluida Design, they found a creative partner that pushed them in all the right directions, outside a typical wedding comfort zone. “The initial proposition was a lot more neutral colors, just whites and greens, and then our floral team was like, ‘Well, why don’t we just do color because that’s just more interesting?’” Jasmin recalls. And as much as the couple cared about the look, they were happy to let the experts be the experts. “We were like, ‘Well, we would like for you also to just have fun with it,” she says. “Do whatever you want.”