Halay is the most common form of folk dance for weddings, against traditionally played with the zurna and the davul. It is a cycle of the same melody that begins slow and speeds up, with people dancing together holding each others hands or fingers and dancing together.
Different regions have different traditions with the halay dances, though it's rare you'll find a single wedding in Turkey without it being played and danced to!
The ceremony itself is amazingly simple. The bride and groom choose a witness apiece, and then an officially sanctioned employee of the municipality or local authority (nikah memuru) pronounces you married. This employee is neither a religious authority or a legal expert, but instead is simply a representative of the local government and recognizes your marriage. The whole process takes around 15 minutes from start to finish. Once witnesses and the bride and groom have signed the official marriage document, it's given to the happy couple and the ceremony is over – time to celebrate!
Gold and money are the main wedding gifts in Turkey, and there's typically even a ceremony after the official marriage is complete. The bride and groom don sashes and guests come up one by one to take pictures with them and pin gold or money onto the sashes. The money is then supposed to be used to help the couple get started in life, whether to buy a house or anything else they need to begin their new lives together.
Weddings are typically followed by a grand feast for all the guests and of course dancing and celebrating, often long into the night! While the music is more likely to be Turkish, in general this is probably similar to the rest of the world, and the "top of the pops" music that plays all over the world is just as likely to be heard at a Turkish wedding celebration as anywhere else.
