Maddy + Tolga by Kyra Boyer

Tell us how you meet each other?

We met via the good old swipe right technique, Tinder. Our celebrant did a wonderful job of compiling our story from a questionnaire that we’d filled out for her and shared the story from both sides. It was June 14th 2017, a cold dark night in Melbourne and we’d agreed to meet at a wine bar in Brunswick, Mr Wilkinson.

Maddy was running 10 minutes late, and when she arrived, Tolga had a glass of Tempranillo in hand waiting. Maddy was looking for any excuse to leave the house to escape a bad temporary housemate, and had already decided she was staying for at least 2 drinks. She stayed for 4. We chatted for hours, Maddy did a muppet impression at one stage, and Tolga still wanted a second date! Dating was easy and we felt really comfortable with each other from the start. Our lives intertwined nicely, with our family and friends falling in love with our partners as much as we had.

Tell us about the proposal?

Tolga had toyed with the idea of proposing while overseas on holiday together in Turkey and Greece, but we were over for a wedding, and meeting up with Maddy’s brother. So with so many events and plans, he decided to wait until we had returned. The holiday didn’t end up being as planned and took an eventful turn. So when we returned to Melbourne, we went out on a Thursday night to our favourite modern Turkish restaurant for a little together time. It was a hot October night and we’d had a lovely dinner in St Kilda. Afterwards, Tolga had planned to propose during the sunset at the beach in an intimate private setting. As it was a hot night, everybody and their dogs were out walking, and the sunset quickly disappeared. Tolga felt defeated so we drove home as the moment wasn’t there. But.. when we walked into the kitchen it was perfect, in front of some beautiful flowers in our home where we spend so much time together, Tolga asked Maddy to spend the rest of their lives together. We cried happy tears and danced together and called our families to tell them the wonderful news.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…

Tolga is Turkish, as you may have guessed by his name, and grew up in Melbourne. He is a product manager in technology. Maddy grew up on a farm in north east Victoria, and moved to Melbourne for uni to study Radiography. We are yin to the other’s yang, and fit perfectly together. We love travel, food –  whether that’s eating out or cooking together. We got a dog at the end of last year; Betty, so we love walking and playing with her ; she keeps us endlessly entertained.

Tell us about your special day, was there a specific theme or style? Tell us a little about the setting, the styling and some of your favourite details…

Originally, we were meant to get married on April 18th, 2020. But like so many others’ plans for 2020, we had to change ours too. We had then thought perhaps September, but Melbourne lockdown had other plans. We knew we didn’t want to wait too long, and having been a month out before having to cancel we had most things all ready to go. When lockdown was finally looking to lift, we took the gamble and locked in a date in 6 weeks, which paid off (thankfully).

We wanted a wedding that reflected us as a couple. Our vibe was relaxed, urban and romantic. We knew we wanted a warehouse venue and twotonmax was a perfect venue for us.

Alex Mantle delivered such a fun and heartfelt ceremony, and afterward the party started! We had a cocktail wedding and danced the evening away.

Honesty Flora, our florist did an amazing job. We were blown away by the floral arbour and the bouquets she created for us. Having our wedding between so many public holidays, and over a weekend where so many flower markets and growers have breaks, we left the colours completely up to her with whatever flowers she could get. It was better than we could have ever imagined, and worked so beautifully with everything else we had planned.

Tell us about your main outfits:

Maddy- I knew what style I wanted, something modern yet timeless, and in a gorgeous fabric. I went shopping with my bridesmaid Kelly, and my mum. We went to a variety of stores and the more styles we visited and dresses I tried on, the clearer the picture I had of what I wanted, and it wasn’t out there. Kelly studied fashion design, and I had seen her beautiful work before, so when she insisted that she could create my perfect gown, I had 100% faith that it would indeed be perfect. Due to time constraints, and me not wanting to put too much pressure on her, I found Stacey Popovski to help create the blouse. Due to COVID and Kelly moving out of Melbourne, I only got to try on the Blouse and Skirt together 2 weeks before the wedding, and they came together like a dream.

Tolga- I had tried on a suit jacket at Reiss for my brother’s wedding and loved the fit and style they have. So when I went shopping for the suit, as soon as I stepped into the store I found what I was looking for.

What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?

We wanted to keep a few Turkish traditions, but with COVID we had to put a twist on them. We had the Kiz-alma (the picking up of the bride) at Mr Wilkinson, the bar we’d had our first date at. This also acted as our first look. It was a special part of the day, with just the two of us for the first look, and games and celebrations with our closest family and friends at the bar before the ceremony. We had some photos there and on the streets of Brunswick that were just beautiful. We even ducked into a nursery for some dreamy pictures, a perfect location considering how many pot plants we have in our 1 bedroom apartment!

Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?

After a year of lockdowns and cancellations, just live and enjoy every moment you can together. Don’t wait, say yes, and don’t get hung up on the details.

Photography: @kyraboyerweddings | Videography: @tomohehirfilms | Ceremony and Reception location: @two_ton_max | Celebrant: @marrymemantle | Bride’s blouse: @_popovski | Bride’s skirt: @_kelly.stevenson | Groom’s suit and shirt: @reiss | Groom’s tie: @beautieuk_ | Rings: @grewandco | Bride’s shoes: @edwardmellershoes | Groom’s shoes: @aquila_est1958 | Earrings: @caroujewellery | Hair Piece: @edenbstudio | Clutch: @fromstxavier | Makeup: @andreag_makeup | Hair: @hairby_jessicakate | Fragrance: @narciso_rodriguez | Bridesmaid’s attire: @rebeccavallance | Bridesmaid’s earrings and clip: @ambersceats | Entertainment: @musicbox_entertainment | Flora: @honesty_flora | Catering and Beverages: @refreshevents