Wedding traditions of Istanbul
A city of civil registry halls, henna nights, gold coins pinned on the bride and drum-and-zurna processions.
Istanbul is where Turkey's many regional wedding customs meet, because families from the Black Sea, Anatolia and the Balkans all live here. A marriage is legal only when registered at a municipal marriage office, and most couples add a religious nikah and a large party. The bridal shopping streets around the Grand Bazaar and the gold shops are part of every engagement.
A wedding here
The sequence often runs from the asking visit, where the bride serves the groom coffee (sometimes with salt as a test of humour), to the engagement, the henna night, and the wedding itself. During the party relatives pin gold coins and bank notes on the couple in a gift ceremony. Halay line dances and a davul and zurna band lead the procession in many families.
Where weddings happen
Couples sign at a district marriage office, some of which are in historic buildings, then hold a hall reception or a garden or Bosphorus-side venue. Photo sessions happen at the shoreline, in parks and in old quarters such as Balat.
The season and the calendar
Weddings are busiest from late spring to early autumn and on weekends. Many couples avoid Ramadan, and some families avoid the period around Eid al-Adha for the main party.
Wedding customs of Istanbul
Also part of it, and being written: Nikah (The religious contract, usually after the civil one.), Turkish wedding (The regional ways of the wedding in Turkey.), Zurna (The reed instrument paired with the davul drum.).
A wedding trail idea for Istanbul
- Grand Bazaar The jewellery and gold quarter where engagement rings and bridal gold are bought.
- Mahmutpasa and the Eminonu shops Everyday shopping for trousseau goods and fabrics.
- Balat and the Golden Horn A common backdrop for wedding photography.
Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, venues and wedding-season dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
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Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Halay: Post of Moldova, Public domain, source
- Henna night: Izzah Zainab, CC BY 2.0, source