When Jasmin Karibzhanova and Sam Sutcliffe began mapping out their wedding, they faced a logistical puzzle familiar to many modern, internationally minded couples. Jasmin was born and raised in Almaty, Kazakhstan, while Sam is a Canadian of Chinese-English descent who spent a portion of his youth growing up in Hong Kong. Today, the couple lives in Toronto, creating a relationship and a shared life that naturally spans multiple continents and cultures.
After friends introduced them in 2022 and Sam proposed during a trip to Turks and Caicos in 2024, they quickly realized that virtually any location they chose would require a long-haul flight for a significant portion of their guest list. Rather than fighting this reality, they decided to lean into it. If their loved ones were going to board long-haul flights regardless, they wanted to give everyone an unforgettable excuse to travel somewhere genuinely thrilling.
The spark for their destination came from an unexpected source: Jasmin’s father suggested they consider Istanbul. The location offered a compelling suite of practical advantages. Turkey does not require visas for Canadian or Kazakh citizens, and Istanbul boasts direct flight paths from both Toronto and Almaty. Furthermore, the historic metropolis offered a much more vibrant and culturally rich backdrop than standard European destination wedding locales, such as the rustic countryside of France or Italy. Given the bride and groom’s respective backgrounds, an east-meets-west theme aligned effortlessly with Istanbul’s unique geography, bridging Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait.
Ahead of their June 2026 wedding for 160 guests, the couple brought together an intricate, high-production celebration featuring a boat journey to a secret venue, a breathtaking waterfront ceremony, and a deep immersion in Turkish hospitality and cuisine.
Hire Two Planners
Living far away from their chosen destination, the couple recognized early on that orchestrating a large-scale destination wedding would require substantial local and international expertise. Their initial outreach to Turkish wedding planners met with unexpected hurdles, primarily stemming from cultural and linguistic divides.
Western wedding traditions diverge in subtle ways from local customs, and the language barrier created communication roadblocks. Seeking a team with a firm grasp of large-scale European and Middle Eastern celebrations, they expanded their search and ultimately partnered with Matthew Oliver Weddings, a London-based firm specializing in luxury destination events.
By sheer coincidence, the London team had recently established a connection with Aylinly Events, a Turkish planning agency that was eager to collaborate on high-end destination celebrations in Turkey. This serendipitous pairing gave Jasmin and Sam the best of both worlds: a powerhouse combination capable of managing complex logistics while honoring local traditions.
Planning sessions moved forward through weekly Zoom meetings with the Matthew Oliver team—specifically lead planners Bertie and Georgia—while the Turkish team coordinated seamlessly via WhatsApp. The responsiveness of the local creative partners left a lasting impression on the bride.
The Turkish approach to hospitality is extraordinarily hands-on. The local team worked tirelessly across time zones, proving to be among the most dedicated creative professionals the couple had ever encountered.
Make Two Planning Trips
During their engagement, the couple traveled to Istanbul twice to lay the groundwork. Their first scouting trip took place roughly a year before their target wedding date. They required a venue spacious enough to comfortably accommodate their substantial guest list while offering a genuine connection to the city. They fell instantly for the Peninsula Istanbul, a sprawling property comprising four distinct buildings situated directly on the Bosphorus in the historic neighborhood of Karaköy.
The hotel felt seamlessly integrated into the fabric of the city. Guests could step directly out into the energetic streets of Istanbul while enjoying magnificent views overlooking the Golden Horn. The Peninsula brand also held a sentimental touchstone for Sam and his family, given the historic roots of the Peninsula group in Hong Kong.
Despite the hotel’s scale and the availability of standard event packages, the staff displayed remarkable flexibility, proving entirely willing to customize frameworks to match the couple’s vision. The venue’s deep knowledge of local vendors and proactive problem-solving ensured that no creative idea was summarily dismissed.
Make It Easy for People to Come
When the invitations went out, the couple anticipated that the considerable distance might deter a fair number of guests, particularly those traveling from Canada. Instead, they were met with overwhelming enthusiasm. Many friends viewed the wedding as a rare and exciting opportunity to visit a destination they had never explored before.
Recognizing their guests’ willingness to travel, the couple felt a strong sense of responsibility to ensure everyone was properly cared for. The bride designed the weekend experience to be entirely guest-centric, going to great lengths to simplify travel logistics. Alongside a comprehensive wedding website featuring detailed event schedules, they curated personalized travel tips, suggested local itineraries, and pre-booked a guided tour of Istanbul for early arrivals.
Choosing the Peninsula also proved advantageous due to its central location, surrounded by a diverse array of accommodations at various price points. Younger friends opted for hotels situated near the city’s vibrant nightlife and bars, while older attendees selected properties closer to cultural landmarks and museums. Ultimately, roughly a third of the wedding attendees checked directly into the Peninsula.
Go Big on the Aesthetics
Both Jasmin and Sam brought deep creative backgrounds to the planning process. They run a film production company together, Jasmin studied theater and worked as an actor, and Sam’s parents are celebrated architects. They approached the visual design of the wedding as a serious artistic endeavor, knowing that many of their guests hailed from creative industries.
They established a high-level color palette featuring dusty blue and rich mulberry, leaving their planning partners and the creative studio Event Lab to flesh out the finer details. Spatial cohesion was achieved through custom furniture production. Working with AND Event & Design Studio, they commissioned modular custom chairs and a ceremony platform draped in a rich, velvety maroon.
Florals were entrusted to Fluida Design. For the striking, architectural ceremony, the floral arrangements were lush and avant-garde, while the dinner tables featured tighter, paler, and more classically romantic compositions.
The aesthetic journey was designed to unfold like a theatrical play, featuring a rising energy, a grand reveal, and a harmonious resolution. Pushed by their floral designers to embrace bold color rather than safe neutrals like white and green, the couple happily stepped outside their comfort zone and gave the creative experts full artistic freedom.
Kick Off With a Little Kitsch
The wedding festivities commenced on Thursday with an intimate rehearsal dinner hosted at the hotel for close family and friends. Friday brought the official welcome party for all 160 guests, who gathered at the Peninsula at sunset to board boats bound for a mystery location.
The vessels carried the group to the Rahmi M. Koç Museum, a cavernous, transport-themed exhibition space located along the Bosphorus. After touring venues that felt somewhat similar in energy to their main wedding site, the couple stumbled upon the museum and fell in love with its eclectic charm. Housing a private collection of vintage cars, boats, submarines, and aircraft crammed into a hangar-like setting, the venue provided a delightfully kitschy, high-contrast counterpoint to the refined elegance of the Peninsula.
The Silk Road-themed evening immersed guests in Turkish culture through music and food. Stalls serving grilled köfte, döner, and stuffed bulgur balls (içli köfte) created a bustling bazaar atmosphere, while a live dessert station prepared fresh lokma—fried dough balls drizzled in sweet syrup. Floral displays playfully incorporated local vegetables, such as towering garlands of fresh peppers, and traditional evil-eye pendants were distributed as party favors.
Don’t Back Down From the Rain
The wedding day began with an uncharacteristic drizzle, a rare occurrence for early summer in Istanbul. A primary factor in choosing the Peninsula was its expansive waterfront terrace, where the couple envisioned exchanging vows at sunset against the backdrop of the Bosphorus strait and passing maritime traffic. The vision was so vital to them that they opted against creating a rainy-day backup plan for the open-air platform.
While planning teams gently suggested alternative setups, the bride held firm to her vision. If rain fell, it fell; she refused to isolate their guests from the city, even in wet weather. A brief delay allowed the weather to clear, enabling the outdoor ceremony to proceed without soaking attendees.
The wait proved worthwhile. Usually functioning as a quiet herb garden atop the Peninsula property, the repurposed terrace provided an exclusive space where guests enjoyed sweeping views of the city while remaining delightfully insulated from its bustling energy.
During the ceremony—officiated by family friend and noted Canadian philanthropist Nancy Lockhart—the soulful strains of the Muslim call to prayer drifted across the water as passing riverboats slowed down to observe the celebration. The moment captured the couple’s desire for genuine integration into the life of Istanbul.
Celebrate Under the Rainbow
Following the ceremony, guests transitioned to an adjacent courtyard for cocktail hour, enveloped in romantic mauve pink tones that tinted the custom lounge furniture, drink tables, and surrounding curtains. Nodding to a travel theme suggested by the Peninsula staff, the cocktail hour featured bellhop-attired servers and an escort card display composed of ornate golden keys adorned with pink tassels.
This key wall cleverly concealed the adjacent dining area during setup, creating a dramatic visual reveal when guests were invited into the next space. The dinner enclosure was framed by towering blue curtains and the soaring, permanent upside-down umbrellas suspended over the courtyard. Tables were arranged in long, flowing lines that maintained uninterrupted sightlines to the water.
Though impossible to engineer, the morning’s brief rain showers yielded a spectacular reward: a magnificent double rainbow stretching from the Asian side to the European side of the Bosphorus, leaving an indelible memory for the groom and attendees alike.
Highlight the Best of Turkish Culture
While the welcome dinner leaned heavily into casual cultural immersion, the wedding day itself embraced a more traditional Western structure infused with thoughtful Turkish elements. Earlier in the day, Sam treated his groomsmen to traditional spa treatments at a local hamam.
The wedding dinner showcased the finest elements of Turkish gastronomy. Canapes included black-ink bread with mussel dolma, a lemon consommé, Ezine cheese with quince, and simit bread crumble. The main meal commenced with a traditional mezze platter followed by a first course of duck or mushroom baklava.
Work Within the Noise Ordinance
Following dinner and heartfelt speeches from loved ones, the reception moved to the dance floor, energized by the sounds of the Uninvited Jazz Band. Guests enjoyed a classic two-tier wedding cake flavored with dark chocolate alongside white chocolate and raspberry, complemented by a selection of miniature sweet bites drawn from the Peninsula’s renowned high-tea service.
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To comply with local city ordinances requiring outdoor sound to conclude after 10 p.m., the celebration migrated indoors to a nearby ballroom for late-night dancing. The after-party space was bathed in scarlet tones and featured a bold black-and-white checkerboard dance floor. DJ Live from Elan Artists spun tracks into the early hours as the newlyweds uncorked a champagne tower.
Above the bar hung a custom poem written by Sam, capturing the spirit of the international gathering: “Silk Road’s starting point / union atop ancient roots / celebratory love.”
