Onur Albayrak, a Turkish wedding photographer, has been swamped with messages of appreciation since he made the news for refusing to take the wedding photos of a couple after realizing that the bride-to-be was a minor.
The incident took place in the eastern province of Malatya on July 5 where Albayrak was going to take the wedding photos of a couple at Turgut Özal Nature Park.
The photographer told Turkish media outlets he noticed the bride-to-be didn’t look like an adult. He asked the groom her age and learned that she was only 15.
“The groom had come to my studio some two weeks ago and was alone. I saw the bride for the first time at the wedding. She’s a child, and I felt her fear because she was trembling.”
Albayrak then reportedly refused to continue as the wedding photographer and attempted to stop the wedding.
“I can’t take pictures of a child bride,” Albayrak reportedly told the client, who angrily argued that Albayrak was bound by their contract to shoot the wedding.
The argument soon turned physical when the groom attacked him as he was attempting to leave, Albayrak says. The photographer ended up breaking the client’s nose in the fight, according to Turkish media reports.
Albayrak confirmed the reports in a Facebook post, which has been met with widespread approval, attracting thousands of likes and hundreds of overwhelmingly positive comments.
“People call me from every corner of Turkey and thank me. I received thousands of messages on my phone. There were some who sent me flowers. A 65-year-old woman sent me a message saying, ‘I want to hug you.’ I am very happy for raising awareness of this issue,” said Albayrak.