Arizona is where both Ozzy Ozkan and Christian Kirk are from. It’s also where the latter began his career in the NFL, when he was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals out of Texas A&M. (He’s now a wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars.) “We’re both from Arizona and obviously found love in Arizona, so there was a lot of history,” Ozzy says. “Our venue [the Silverleaf Club in Scottsdale] also gave off an Italian vibe, which doesn’t happen very often there.” Ozzy and Christian worked with Audrey Wood Events on their big weekend.
A social couple with lots of friends, they wanted a truly fun experience for their 190 guests, including NFL friends Trevor and Marissa Lawrence, Josh Allan, Larry Fitzgerald, Kyler Murray, and A.J. Green. “We love interacting with people and having a great time, so we wanted to do something that wasn’t along the lines of a traditional wedding,” Christian says. “We wanted a party weekend with some formality to it, but mostly [we wanted] everybody to have fun and celebrate. We didn’t want our guests sitting down the whole time and dreading the ceremony.”
The Welcome Party
The welcome night really kicked things off. Guests had just arrived into town, and the couple’s DJ, Natty Rico, who Ozzy and Christian have seen play before, was on hand to perform. “We ended up extending the welcome party an extra hour because everybody was having so much fun,” Christian says. “Everybody gave such good feedback, too, in regards to meeting everybody the night before the wedding. So when they did show up to the big day, they weren’t saying hellos and shaking hands.”
The couple served custom drinks with names imagined by Christian. One was “The Brick & Beam,” named after the Jacksonville venue where they got engaged. (Christian’s teammate Trevor Lawrence and his wife Marissa, an event planner, helped him pull off an elaborate proposal.) “The Envy” was a tribute to the building where Christian lived and where he and Ozzy met. “Love in Malibu” was a nod to one of their first weekends together, when they went on a helicopter ride around Los Angeles.
The Morning Of
The couple slept apart before the ceremony, which Christian said created anticipation. Ozzy had a quiet morning getting ready with her family and close friends. “I knew I would have a lot of emotions that day and nerves, so I wanted to start it pretty slow and small and intimate, which was a big reason why I didn’t want bridesmaids,” she says. Her mom helped her into her dress, and she did first looks with her father and brother.
“On the wedding day, you’re just kind of floating around because there’s so much anticipation...you’re trying to keep your nerves at bay. But the closer it gets, the more those nerves start to rise,” Christian says. He met his close friends in his suite, and then they left for the venue on a party bus. Christian’s dad helped him put on his suit.
The Wardrobe
Ozzy had a clear vision of what she wanted, and quickly found a Zuhair Murad dress that fit the bill. “I always knew I wanted to walk down the aisle in lace. I wanted something that was all lace, with long sleeves,” she says.
For her reception look, Ozzy quickly gravitated towards Vivienne Westwood. “I wanted to be very classic and timeless. I didn’t really want to be trendy,” she says. She visited the designer’s boutique in New York City but found that the one she truly loved, the Camille, had been discontinued.
“I went and tried out other dresses and nothing was doing it for me. I really wanted the Camille and loved how it made me feel,” she says. She soon got a call from an employee from the store “and she was like, ‘Ozzy, I got the dress in.’ I found the Camille, it’s in my hand.’” Ozzy was thrilled. The dress was too big for her, but she bought it over the phone and had it tailored immediately.
Christian and his dad took their own shopping trip to New York, too. “But Tom Ford obviously does it. They’re pretty undeniable when it comes to the tuxedo,” he says. He wanted something classic but with a bit of a twist, and ended up with a double-breasted jacket with a peak lapel. For the reception, he wore a white dinner jacket with a satin lapel.
The Ceremony
Walking down the aisle as Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful” played was the greatest moment of the wedding for Ozzy. A violinist and pianist both performed the song as she entered the room. “I don’t think anything can mentally prepare you for that,” she confesses. “It’s such an amazing feeling, being able to walk down the aisle and see Christian. I had my parents walk first and wait for me...I loved that because I had Christian in front of me along with my mom and dad.”
Ozzy and Christian were married by the pastor from Texas A&M, Christian’s alma mater, who is very important to them. “I’m not a big crier. So Ozzy was always like, ‘You better cry on the wedding day,” Christian says. “I said ‘no promises,’ because it’s hard to get me to cry. Sure enough, once everybody walked down the aisle and those curtains closed and the music started to play, I immediately started crying.”
The Reception
Ozzy and Christian were excited to enter the reception as Mr. and Mrs. Kirk, and, within seconds, invited everyone for a 20-minute dance-off. Christian then gave a speech before he and Ozzy slipped away to change into their second looks. “I loved that moment, because we got to have a little bit of time to ourselves, which was really special. We switched into our second looks, and then we walked back out for our first dance,” Ozzy says. Their first song was “Biblical” by Calum Scott.
Things really got going after the speeches. “It was a lot of dancing—the band really picked up the energy and everyone was just having a great time running back and forth from the dance floor to the bar,” Ozzy recalls. Her favorite part was when the band invited her and Christian up onstage to dance to “Shout.”
The After-Party Surprise
Ozzy and Christian asked guests to send their shoe sizes along with their RSVPs. “We had a Nike shoe boutique where we passed out Air Force 1s, so everybody could change out of their uncomfortable shoes and dance the night away,” Christian says. “All the guests loved that,” Ozzy adds. “From there, we just kept going. [There were] glow sticks, we had it all.”
Ozzy Ozkan and Christian Kirk’s Wedding
Adrienne Gaffney is a features editor at ELLE and previously worked at WSJ Magazine and Vanity Fair.
