Turkish Wedding Photography
Turkish Wedding Photography is very different to photographing a standard wedding; there are many more cultural traditions to capture throughout the day, especially in the evening. There are often many more guests at a Turkish wedding as well, usually around 200-400!
A Turkish marriage is of huge importance in Turkish society and has been since the earliest times. The union of the bride and groom is not just a foundation for family but a union of man and woman in all aspects of life.
Last week Paul and Gemma had the opportunity to photograph the lovely Seyde & Mehmet at their Turkish wedding at Boreham House. It was a wonderful day and a pleasure to be a part of. Turkish wedding photography is a lot more challenging than normal as there are lots of traditions throughout the day and evening and so many more guests.
The wedding started with a ceremony inside Boreham House followed by reception drinks in the grounds. With around 300 guests the atmosphere was brilliant; Turkish weddings involve the large family groups of the bride and groom along with their friends. Family is extremely important in Turkish culture, something that was clear throughout the day.
The evening celebrations are a big part of the wedding, there’s lots of dancing and mixing with guests, something that makes Turkish wedding photography such a pleasure as there is so much emotion and excitement to capture. The evening starts with the entrance of the bride, groom and bridesmaids to the reception, the procession starts with a drummer and piper who lead them into the room and around the dance floor. The music then kicks in and the bride and groom have their first dance. As Seyde & Mehmet took to the dance floor their guests greeted them with congratulatory kisses and showered them in money.
Following the first dance Seyde & Mehmet greeted their guests table by table before sitting down for the speeches. Mehmet’s best men started proceedings followed by a wonderful speech by Seyde’s brothers and father and finally Mehmet gave his speech. It was clear how important family is in Turkish culture from the thanks Mehmet gave for the help they had in organising the wedding.
This was further emphasized by the dancing that took place next. In turn the band called groups of family members to the floor to dance and be greeted by guests. Again each group was showered with money as they danced. The atmosphere was amazing, especially when the band called all the cousins and friends of the bride and groom to dance. The dance floor was completely full with everyone dancing together and enjoying themselves.
After the dancing and cake cutting came the Testi pot dance. This is a dance traditionally undertaken by the single guests, they take it in turns to dance in a circle with two clay pots. It is bad luck for any of the guests to break the pots before the bride and groom dance. The other guests clap and cheer for those dancing as they again shower them in money. Finally the pots are passed to the bride and groom who dance with the pots, teasing their crowd by pretending to smash the pots, keeping the suspense going. Finally Seyde & Mehmet smashed the pots onto the floor revealing sweets for the children to collect.
The final part of the evening is similar to a standard recieving line, except the guests greet the couple with gifts of money. Seyde & Mehmet each wore a sash which guests then pinned money to. These monetary gifts are given instead of presents.
The whole day was full of tradition, culture and family which really makes Turkish wedding photography, and Seyde & Mehmet’s wedding in particular, so enjoyable .
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