My Big Fat Turkish Wedding

I don't think a lot of people know that Greek culture and Turkish culture are so similar. But so many of the things in this movie remind me of my first experience attending a Turkish wedding. The dancing, the singing, the family, the food, and the love. All of them are there in full affect.

I absolutely loved learning the dances, meeting Sefer's family, and attending both the wedding and henna ceremony. It was wonderful!






I think Sef's trying to be all cool before the wedding. But I love it! The converse shoes definitely make the outfit.










Sefer's mother and sister, Cihan, are dancing in a traditional style at the wedding reception.






The Jewelry Ceremony

The main reason for the jewelry ceremony is to help the new couple a little bit financially because the wedding ceremony, renting the house, buying all the new furniture and everything else that comes with starting out is so expensive. I think this is where the practice started but now it’s just a tradition. Even if the couple is wealthy the guests still must give gold or they are looked down upon. Usually, during the ceremony, a line is formed to give the jewelry to the bride and money to the groom. First the couple’s immediate family give their jewelry to the bride. This jewelry must be the most magnificent of all! Then it’s the relatives' turn, after all the relatives give their gifts it is finally bride and groom's friends' turn. If one of your relative's son or daughter marries before your son or daughter and you didn’t give any jewelry, that family will not give anything to your son or daughter when they decide to marry. If you gave expensive, they have to give expensive, if they gave a cheap one, then it’s up to you what you give. (Usually if a family has financial problems, it’s looked down upon if they wont give anything but they must explain the situation to the father of the bride. If the family can not afford to buy a gift but are able to give at least something, usually the family will give something more expensive in return. -Sefer


Helin, Me, and Cihan at the wedding.

The Wedding Cake

I don't know if it is some kind incarnation of the western style wedding cake or what, but it is quite increadible.

Henna Night

Henna Night is celebrated by the female relatives of the bride and groom. The night before the wedding the women come together to sing and dance and celebrate however they choose. The bride must apply henna to her hands and wear a red dress. She also wears a red veil over her head and around her hands.(Some people say that red symbolizes the bride’s virginity and something about blood showing her purity and innocence during her first experience after being married.) The women involved in the ceremony also put henna in their palm and if men are involved they will put it on their finger tips. Usually the bride cries during the henna ceremonies because of a song which says, "I’m in a place that I don’t know anything about and I miss my mother.. bla bla". (This references the tradition in which the bride is taken from her home and moved to the home of her husband. -NG) Right after the crying session there is another song for belly dancing and the other ladies force the bride to belly dance which is a little ironic because she cries when she dances.. In the old times and still in East, Henna ceremonies are a platform for the single women to display their beauty to the mothers of the other men. (I think this has something to do with the competition between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law -NG) So you can ask how I know these things… When you are a little kid you are allowed to goto Hennas with your mother and maybe the guys are having fun and drinking while kids are always at kina. - Sefer