Welcome to our wedding website!

Our story began in the Fall of 2015. The first conversation we had, we talked about where we come from, our families and what brought us to the USA. John moved to Richmond from his hometown of Izmir, Turkey in the year 2000 after his family won the green card lottery. Reina's path took her from Amman, Jordan to UVA (home of the 2019 Men's Basketball National Champions - GO HOOS!) in 2009 and then to Washington D.C. Being from similar parts of the world, we had an instant connection and understanding of each other. We shared stories and memories from home and longed for the feeling of love and safety that came with that. For months after crossing paths, we knew there was nothing that could keep us apart. The more time we spent together, the more we realized we were missing something in our lives, and it was each other. After endless hours of driving up and down I-95 to be with each other (and people who are familiar with I-95 traffic know how treacherous that was), we decided that this was more than just a friendship and liking, it was much more than that, so we decided to take the next step and meet each other's families. As soon as that happened, we knew we were meant to be. The similarity in our cultures made us realize very quickly that the future would bring us both together. Although we knew for a while we wanted to take the next step, it wasn't until the Summer of 2018 that we decided that we were ready. Going back to our roots and culture, we decided that our engagement would be similar to what we envision our life to be: an intimate occasion with our family and closest friends. There was no surprise proposal, but it sure was a magical and emotional day, exactly what we thought our first step to forever would be. We finally found our feeling of safety and home in each other, and are so excited to start our new life together! It will be a great honor for us to celebrate this next chapter in our lives with you. See you in Richmond!