Frankly, I was very proud when dear Nazanin contacted me and liked my photos and asked me to take photos of her own wedding. She was a fiber artist and was doing amazing works. It is really exciting for people from two different visual branches to interpret and like each other’s works. Nazanin and Charlie live in Kansas, USA. They chose to get married at a fabulous hotel in Antalya, Turkey: Akra Barut Hotel. You can read the whole story of “Antalya Akra Barut Wedding Photos.“at the bottom of the page…
Importance of Antalya
Akra Barut Hotel is a hotel located on the cliffs in the center of Antalya with a wonderful Mediterranean view. Moreover, it is possible to descend from the cliffs to the seaside with stairs and enter the sea from the hotel’s beach. Although we were in November, the beach was quite full. One of the biggest features of Antalya is that you can swim in four seasons. You can even ski in the ski center, which is 1 hour away, and swim in the afternoon. Antalya is a big city that welcomes around 10 million tourists a year. You can find 405 hotels with only 5 stars in the city. Akra Barut is one of them.
Serenay a photographer from Antalya was together with me in this wedding from beginning to end and provided great support. I thank her very much. During the preparation, the bride and groom got prepared in separate rooms and then we took a tour around the hotel for photo session. There are so many alternatives in the garden of the hotel that it is not easy to choose the backgrounds for shooting.
Persian Wedding Ceremony
We went to the hall where the wedding and the night would be right after the photo shooting. Nazanin and her family were originally Iranian and the wedding was made according to Iranian traditions. My favorite wedding tradition is the wedding table where the couple sits. This table is decorated with various food and accessories. For example, candlesticks and candles are placed to make the couple’s future brighter. The double-faced mirror symbolizes the fate. Seven kinds of herbs and spice pairs for protection from evil eyes. Objects that drive the devil, provide fertility, provide happiness and fertility and lots of food.
Married and happy women hold a scarf on the couple’s head during the wedding ceremony and one wishes the couple’s life to be happy by rubbing the hard candy molds together. After the wedding, the couple serve honey with their fingers and wish the life to be sweet. Both American and Iranian guests watched this wonderful ceremony and traditions with interest.
Knife Dance
The dances started immediately after the wedding and continued until the end of the night. It was a great party. Another fun Iranian tradition is the dancing with the knife in the hand during cake cutting. Here the groom tries to get the knife from the girl who is dancing and holding the knife in her hand to cut the cake. Sometimes the groom talks, sometimes he gives money to the girl to get the knife. One of the things that made this wedding even more meaningful to me was that I received the Fearless Award for the photo I took while there relatives where hugging Nazanin during the cake cutting.
Endless thanks to dear Nazanin and Charlie who have invited me to this wonderful day. I wish you happiness.
Antalya Akra Barut Wedding Photos by Ufuk Sarisen
