We are very excited to welcome all our guests to the wedding on the 7th September and wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to a few particularly special people who are travelling great distances to celebrate the occasion.
Nadire and Serif Gunes
Wedding Responsibility: Honoured Guest and Wedding Orator, respectively
Nadire and Serif, have become like another mother and father to Huri since her sister, Yeliz, married Kaan in 2010. They have met up all around the world as Huri has traveled the globe. Matt first met Serif amca and Nadire teyze during his 3rd visit to Huri in February 2017 and prepared Matt for meeting his future in laws. During their most eventful meeting, in Turkey, Serif amca even saved Matt after a bout of hamam induced dehydration.
Matt has done something the Bagdat sisters were unable to and beat Nadire in an ultra competitive tennis match without losing a rematch (as of 13th August 2018).
Serif amca has the very important job of wedding orator during the big day so you’ll be seeing a lot of him.
Yuli Liang
Wedding Responsibility: Bridesmaid
Yuli and Huri met when Huri moved to China, whilst working for Kirpart in Shaghai. The two became best friends, meeting at least once a week to have dinner or hang out. Even though Huri and Yuli have had a 12 hour time difference, they have stayed in touch and Huri considers Yuli to be closer than a sister. The below picture is from one particularly dangerous trip to Guiyang…
Hyosun “Sunny” Choi
Wedding Responsibility: Bridesmaid
Sunny, originally from Korea, and Huri met in New York by chance when Huri was working as an au-pair and Sunny was visiting from Canada. After trading pictures (before the advent of selfies), the two became tourist buddies over the next few days in the big apple. Huri last saw Sunny in Thailand in 2014 when they decided to meet after 7 years of not seeing each.
Daronda and James Patterson
Wedding Responsibility: Honoured Guest
Daronda is the woman responsible for bringing Huri back to the western world with ZF in Rogersville, Tennessee. The HR manager for the manufacturing facility reunited Huri with her sister, Yeliz, to well and truly shake up the plant. Since 2014, Daronda and Huri have become friends in addition to being colleagues, regularly meeting each other for lunch or dinner. Since Huri moved to Michigan, Daronda’s training budget is in a far healthier state.
Brandy and Todd Holt
Wedding Responsibility: Bridesmaid and Groomsman, respectively
Brandy was Huri’s first Tennessean friend. The girls met at a book club meeting in December 2014. Since that day, Huri met with Brandy at least once a week to visit the shady Macados establishment in the heart of Kingsport to share their love of bad karaoke. Brandy has been subjected to her fair share of very spicy food and public speaking (she was signed up for Toastmasters soon after) since that day. Brandy, and her husband Todd, moved to Pensacola, Florida in 2017 but Brandy and Huri have continued to meet for girls weekends since.
Demi, Elson, Nana and Yoyo Wang
Wedding Responsibility: Bridesmaid, Groomsman, Flower Girls
Whilst at Toastmaster, in 2015, Elson was doorstepped by Huri with a request to supply her with impromptu hot pot. Elson and her wife, Demi, duly provided Huri with her fix of spicy food and they became close friends, before introducing Yeliz and Kaan to extend the group. Huri adores Demi and Elson’s daughters, Nana and Yoyo, regularly sharing movie nights and sleepovers. Huri can’t wait to see Nana and Yoyo as flower girls on the wedding day.
Gul and Hasan Naturoglu
Wedding Responsibility: Honoured Guest and “The Man On The Ground”/Financial Advisor, respectively
Hasan and Huri worked together at Kirpart, in Turkey and were the non-Fatih components of the fearsome foursome, who made the workplace a happier place to be. Hasan, the smart designer, who would regularly go out of his way to help everyone (even the hopeless people, much Huri’s disappointment) always provided a sympathetic ear for Huri as she coped with the difficult members of the office. Hasan has been integral in the wedding preparations, organising everything from hotel to minbus reservations and pre-payments. Hasan continues to help Huri in her almost daily battle to manage her Turkish finances.
Gulsah Girenitlioglu and Family
Wedding Responsibility: Honoured Guests
During Huri’s company paid trips to Istanbul to hang out in coffee shops and sip frappuccinos, she also studied a little bit of Chinese. It was here that Huri met a very sweet, confident and generous girl called Gulsah. Gulsah provided Huri with her first real taste of football due to her love of Fenerbahce and taught Huri many inappropriate football songs… Huri met and became friends with the entire Girenitlioglu family, even sharing frogs legs with Gulsah’s father in China.
I’m a Project Manager with a deep passion for both professional and personal growth. Designing and building the next generation of vehicles is incredibly rewarding, but it comes with its challenges—especially for someone as emotionally invested as I am!