Arabs develop taste for Ottoman theme weddings

ISTANBUL

The Esma Sultan is a lavish site for weddings in Istanbul. Last year there were 350 foreign weddings in Turkey. Hürriyet photo

Hot on the heels of all the Turkish television programs that have become popular in the Arab world, Arabs are increasingly looking to Turkish event planners to organize Ottoman-inspired weddings, according to daily Sabah.

In fact, Arabs are now viewing Istanbul as their primary wedding destination and are spending millions of dollars to make their wedding dreams a reality. In Istanbul alone this year, there will be 350 foreign weddings. These weddings, ranging from $150,000 to $2 million, will also spur employment.

Big wedding on June 15

The son of Irfan Allana, one of the world’s largest dry food and frozen meat producers, is planning such a wedding on June 15 at Istanbul’s Çırağan Palace. They have hired the Turkish event planner A 46 to plan the wedding, which will host 750 guests from New York, London, Mumbai and Abu Dhabi. The wedding will include a performance by Turkey’s renowned whirling dervishes, according to the source. Due to the recent popularity of Turkish television shows glamorizing the Ottoman period, there has been a boom in “Ottoman-Palace Weddings.”

Another company, owned by Candan Kıramer and Betina Mahler is getting ready to organize a wedding in the Turkish seaside resort town of Bodrum for a Saudi family. Similarly, Cremano wedding and Beyhan Bağış Anatolia brand will organize an Ottoman-themed wedding in Dubai.

Arabs now prefer to use Turkish wedding planners because of their designs and taste, according to daily Sabah. This has pulled the rug from under the British, who used to dominate this sector.

In Turkey alone every year there are 650,000 couples getting married and brides spend a total of $195 million a year on bridal gowns. Every year there is a 20 percent increase in the number of weddings.