Since I am in Turkey visiting my parents for our annual vacation, I thought it would make sense to blog one of the latest weddings I shot in May- which was a Turkish Wedding at White Willow Meadows in Columbus, Ohio. Both bride and groom was Turks, along with their parents. Groom’s mom found me through referrals and the fact that I can speak Turkish with their relatives coming from Turkey was a big plus:)
Now, onto this gorgeous wedding and some of our traditions. Disclaimer, I left Turkey 17 years ago and some traditions are more modern now but we still like all these traditions and I am glad that the families went this way. If you want to see some of the other Turkish couples’s I’ve shot- including my sister’s and one in Istanbul, see HERE.
First, ” Getting” the Bride . In Turkish weddings, the wedding day start with Groom’s arrival to Bride’s family house, to pick his bride. Yes, you guessed it right: they see each other before the ceremony- this is the tradition. They get ready separately but then they meet before the ceremony. In order for Groom to “get” his bride, he has to pass the door protected by friends&family. The tradition is to give them tips:) Nothing big, but f&f has to be ok with the amount before opening the door:) Once the groom gets the approval, the door is open and they leave the house together. Outside there is a crowd waiting for them with music. They dance together on the street to tell everyone that a celebration has started. Then they get in a car and drive away- followed by a convoy of friend&family. Blasting horns on the way to the venue is also a tradition-to again tell everyone that there is a celebration:)
Once arrived in venue, we got the bride&groom portraits done along with family photos. It was a very hot day but White Willow Meadows’s gorgeous venue helped a lot. I love a venue where you can use indoors for photos as well!
And the ceremony… it’s pretty similar to American way. We just don’t read wows but everything else is similar:)
Then off to reception! It’s again pretty similar with one addition. It starts with Bride&Groom’s entrance with a special dance. My couple did a pretty a very elegant choreographied dance as their first dance. Then their parents gave a speech. And here comes the additional part we have in Turkish weddings: exchange of gifts. In Turkish weddings, as a gift it’s very common to give gold sheets or jewelry. And per tradition, the couple either collects it while visiting tables or a line gets formed to hand them their gifts.The drastic lighting at White Willow Meadows helped me highlight this part pretty well!
While guests listening to live Turkish music during dinner, I took my couple out for some sunset photos at White Willow Meadows. The hot day ended with an amazing golden light and again it helped us to create some amazing photos for my couple:)
Back in Reception, everyone danced with Turkish music on a full dance floor. This is one of my favorite part of Turkish weddings: we do LOVE dancing! Everyone gets up:) After capturing some fun moments of this reception at White Willow Meadows I left, but made sure I ate some Turkish desert first:)
This was a fun wedding to shoot for me and I feel lucky to be there. I hope you enjoyed all the traditions and I could tell them with photos:)
xox
Nursah
