Now, as the title suggests, I was lucky enough to get to go to a Turkish wedding last weekend. Although not technically a traditional wedding, there were plenty of traditional aspects and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to see something as important as a wedding celebrated in a different culture.
The actual wedding was on Saturday, but the festivities began Friday night with a düğün yemeği, which basically translates as wedding meal. So Friday after school, my host sister and I got picked up right after school and headed to Çine, a small town near Aydin. We changed in the car (quite a struggle considering the way Turkish people drive) and we got to the banquet hall where the dinner was held soon after. We were immediately greeted by lots of people and went to a table where they brought lots of bowls of different types of food. There were no plates so you just ate straight out of the bowls but the food was absolutely delicious. After awhile of people coming and going, everyone started clapping and cheering and I realized that the bride and groom had arrived. The bride and groom went around talking to lots of their guests and enjoying their party. As night fell, a traditional Turkish music group made up of drums and some horn type things (I don't even know how to describe them) began to play music and before long, many of the guests were dancing and having fun, even as it started to rain. More and more people came to the party throughout the night and everyone ate and enjoyed the company. I loved the atmosphere of the party and watching everyone dance was definetely a highlight for me. Much, much later, we finally drove home, after which, I promptly collapsed in bed and went to sleep.
There were tons of tables like this set up throughout the banquet hall. They had paper over them so once you were done eating, the waiters took the paper off, put a clean piece on, and it was ready for the next group of people.
Every table had a bag of bread on it and this was the table that held all the bags of bread that hadn't been used yet. Never in my life have I seen so much bread in one place.
The Turkish music group. The guy standing on the chair was having a lot of fun.
Saturday was an extremely log day devoted entirely to the wedding. It began with my host mom, host sister, and I going to the hair salon to get our hair and makeup done. It was really cool to get my hair done at the salon and it turned out beautifully, although I was a bit nervous since I couldn't really understand what she was saying to me. After several hours there, we had lunch at home and got all of our stuff together to go to Izmir, which is where the actual wedding was held. We went to my aunt and uncle's house in Izmir and everyone got dressed. We got some strange looks as we stood on the sidewalk outside their apartment waiting for a taxi since we were so dressed up (many people wore floor length dresses). We took the taxi to a beautiful hotel where we got to have snacks while we waited for the ceremony to begin. During all the waiting, I met another American who was there with his wife, which is always exciting. Then, the ceremony began.
My hair all done up before the wedding. I guess the salon was not prepared for a random blonde girl to come in because all the pins in my hair were black.
This was by far the shortest ceremony I have ever been to, which was fine since I couldn't understand any of it anyway. There were no bridesmaids or groomsmen so there was no real processional like they usually have inThe U.S. It actually felt like a sports game or something when the bride and groom came in because they played very loud, upbeat music as they walked in together, holding hands. She had an absolutely beautiful white dress and they looked very happy. The ceremony consisted of the minister (I don't think that's the right word for this person but it's all I can think of) talking some, the bride and groom and their parents all saying yes, everyone signing a form, and the bride and groom kissing. It took less than 5 minutes for the whole thing to be done. After the ceremony, all of the guests took pictures with the bride and groom and more snacks were served. After awhile, the reception hall was opened so everyone headed to their tables in there.
The place where the bride and groom stood during the ceremony. It was decorated so beautifully with all the sunflowers and fall leaves.
The bride and groom during the ceremony.
The reception hall was absolutely beautiful and also absolutely enormous. There had to be at least 50 tables with at least 15-20 people at each. Music played and everyone ate and talked until the bride and groom came in and had their first dance. The eating continued throughout the evening and was only occasionally interrupted to go dancing. I quickly realized that Turkish dancing is very different than American dancing and I am not good at Turkish dancing. I just kept thinking how awkward it was going to be when the couple is looking at their wedding video and there's a random blonde girl dancing really, really badly in it. But I had a lot of fun trying it and spending time with various members of my family. A belly dancer also came midway through the reception and performed which was really cool to watch. I got to see several other traditional Turkish dances too. I also got to talk with a girl who is half British and half Turkish so she is fluent in both languages and I really enjoyed that. The party went on for hours but my family left around 2 AM. We got home and all went to bed because we were exhausted from a long day.
The reception hall.
Me and my sisters.
Me and my sister.
I am so glad that I got to see this wedding and I loved getting to spend the time with my family. Thanks for reading! Have a good week! Hoşçakal!
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