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Our Wedding in
Vogue Adria
Friday, September 13th was a special day for Azra Hajdarević, a successful makeup artist based in New York City. She and her fiancé, Alex Pepperman, a theater director, actor, lecturer, and founder and artistic director of the SoHo Shakespeare Company, decided to get married at their favorite New York spot, Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Boathouse, Azra tells me. It was a dream come true, we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful venue for our wedding. Built in 1905, the historic Boathouse features interesting architecture, lush greenery, and a beautiful lake. We held the cocktail reception and ceremony outdoors, followed by dinner and dancing indoors. With 100 of our favorite people celebrating with us, our dogs walked down the aisle carrying our rings—which made the moment even more special.
Azra arrived in the United States at the age of twenty as a refugee after the war in Bosnia. Although she studied fashion design and art history in Michigan, she decided to become a makeup artist, and a very successful one, as her portfolio includes some impressive collaborations such as those with Isabella Rossellini, the band Maneskin, Duo Lipa, Hayley Mills and many others. She is also an expert in clean beauty , and with her sister Amra she founded the holistic brand Terra and Co, for natural care and dedicated to supporting women. Just like when she and her family were starting a new life in the US, it is still important to Azra to be surrounded by her loved ones and family, which was confirmed by her and Alex's intimate ceremony. Although, she admits to me, Alex has changed her view on marriage. We were people who swore they would never get married. But 2.5 years ago when we met, since our first date, each one has only gotten better. Sometimes we feel like we're going to explode with love, and it just keeps growing. Last year, while we were in Scotland, Alex proposed to me. I had no idea, but I knew my answer had to be 'yes'. As a very unconventional couple, Azra and Alex also organized a unique wedding where the historic location was a beautiful backdrop for the tradition they wanted to color their day with. We wanted to combine our cultures, Bosnian and American-Hebrew, so we started with sevdalinka and continued with the traditional Hebrew song 'Hora', when everyone danced in a kola.
About the lucky number 13 from the beginning of the story, she told me an interesting coincidence. Considering that Alex was born on the 13th, I was on the 13th, and our first date was on the 13th, we didn't need any other signs. We knew that 13 was our lucky number, so we chose Friday the 13th for our wedding day. Some consider it an unlucky day, but for us it became the best day of our lives. The special custom-made dress for Azra was designed by Selma Berisalić Starfinger, a famous Bosnian designer who lives and works between Los Angeles-New York-Sarajevo, and one of Azra's very close friends. My wedding dress turned out even better than I ever imagined. Selma offered to make my dream dress, and she put a lot of love and effort into creating this little masterpiece. With the support of the production team in Los Angeles, the process went smoothly, and Azra took her dress to New York two months before the wedding.
As a non-classical bride, Azra always knew she didn't want a traditional white dress. I'm more of a gold and champagne person, so Selma and I chose fabrics together, which she magically transformed into something truly unforgettable. We envisioned a silk dress, called the 'Bosnian Fairy', and we wanted it to include gold hues and details with a sheer section over the basic shape that follows the body line, Azra tells me about her wedding dress, which is a subtle homage to tradition and her Bosnian origins. The silk part of the dress goes from the neck to the floor, the back is open, and the skirt has a full circle. Selma was the only one who knew that our first dance would be the sevdalinka 'Mene majka jednu ima', and we both agreed that silk with a full circle would be the best for the dance. Selma continues, after she described her vision to me, we immediately began the process of creating the dress of her dreams. Everything flowed naturally through our interactions – Azra was involved in choosing the shade of the material, and during the rehearsals we agreed on the final details. Her smiles and the sparkle in her eyes always confirmed to me that we were going in the right direction.
It was similar with Alex's suit. Amazing designer and friend Terry Singh created a suit that wasn't traditional black, but a true work of art that reflected Alex's style and grace. The highlight of his ensemble was the pleated men's skirt that matched the pleated sections of Azra's dress.
As for the decorations, they were just as unconventional as the unique aesthetic of this creative New York couple. Since the Boathouse location had large windows and plenty of natural light, Azra and Alex felt they didn’t need a lot of floral arrangements or additional decorations. We wanted the space to be personal and reflect who we were, so we made table runners using pages from Shakespeare’s books and added small vases filled with fresh herbs like sage, lavender, and rosemary. My friend Elaine Winter, an incredible set designer, helped bring our vision to life.
New York photographer Paul Kim of I Do I Do Studio singles out one of his favorite moments of the day as the one before the formal wedding and the casual after-party, when he shot their first look , which they had arranged in advance as a walk through some of the city’s iconic locations, such as the Brooklyn Bridge. When Alex turned around and saw Azra, their expressions said it all. It was as if they had just won the lottery; their eyes shone with a love that was pure and eternal. It was incredibly emotional to capture that moment – that unspoken connection.
Kim also emphasizes how much the atmosphere between near and dear ones could be felt that day. Their connection with their families was also something special. It was felt through every hug and interaction. Azra, a talented and accomplished makeup artist with an extensive network of people, organized a wedding that I would single out among the countless celebrations I have documented during my 18 years as a wedding photographer. Every detail was carefully chosen with so much love and expertise, and the entire team she assembled – from the makeup artist and hairstylist to the dress designer, videographer and set designer – were incredibly talented artists in their fields.
