Marrying in Turkey
Turkey is a coastal wedding destination with a city at its heart. Istanbul brings the Ottoman palaces and waterfront mansions of the Bosphorus, with hotels and event rooms for weddings of every size. The Aegean and Mediterranean coasts bring the Bodrum peninsula, with its marinas, beachfront resorts and boutique hotels in gardens; the beaches and resorts below Antalya, which the tourism office counts at 300 days of sunshine a year; Fethiye and Göcek, with near-shore islands, pine forests and one of the best-known yachting harbours in the world; and Çeşme and Urla on İzmir's coast, beaches on one side and vineyards, olive groves and farmhouses on the other.
Inland, Cappadocia is the one landscape unlike any other in Europe: cave hotels, underground cities and the fairy chimneys of a UNESCO World Heritage site, with hot-air balloons at dawn and the option of a ceremony in one.
The law is simple and strict. Only a civil ceremony conducted by the local marriage registrar has legal validity; religious ceremonies are not legally binding and are held alongside the civil one. The paperwork takes three to four days once the documents are in order, there is no minimum residency, and a British passport holder visits without a visa for up to 90 days.
The seasons
- Best
- Shoulder
- Peak
- Quieter
5 Star view Our reading of the wedding year, from the months below.
- Best months
- May, June, September and early October
- Shoulder season
- April and late October
- Peak season
- July and August
On the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts the average reaches 27 to 30°C in July and August, with days above 35°C in Antalya and Bodrum, so summer ceremonies are held late in the day. Istanbul is at its best from March to May and again in September and October, at 16 to 23°C. Cappadocia is a spring-to-autumn destination, April to October; outside that window nights fall to freezing and there can be snow.
The weather, month by month
Lower row: average rainfall in the month, mm
Lower row: average rainfall in the month, mm
Reference Istanbul: climatological normals 1929 to 2000, Turkish State Meteorological Service, through the WMO World Weather Information Service. Antalya: climatological normals 1929 to 2000, Turkish State Meteorological Service, through the WMO World Weather Information Service. Read 5 October 2026.
Daylight and sunset
The bar runs from sunrise to sunset on the 15th of each month. A ceremony is usually timed an hour or two before the sunset shown.
Calculated From the coordinates of Istanbul, local time, for 2027.
Ramadan and Eid
For couples and guests who observe them, the dates to plan a wedding around.
| Year | Ramadan | Eid al-Fitr | Eid al-Adha |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 8 Feb to 8 Mar | 9 Mar | 16 May |
| 2028 | 28 Jan to 25 Feb | 26 Feb | 5 May |
Calculated From the Umm al-Qura calendar. The observed dates follow the sighting of the moon and can fall a day either side.
The areas of Turkey
Istanbul and the Bosphorus
The bridge between East and West: Ottoman-era waterfront palaces, historic mansions along the Bosphorus and the city's grand hotels, for weddings from a dinner on the water to several hundred guests. The widest choice of venues in the country.
Bodrum
A peninsula of ancient sites, marinas, beachfront resorts and boutique hotels with gardens, with seafood as the table's point of pride. The most sought-after coast for international weddings, at its fullest in summer.
Antalya
The Mediterranean beach resort coast, with the Taurus Mountains behind it: luxury hotels and beach resorts of every size and the most direct arrival, 13 km from its own airport.
Fethiye and Göcek
The TurkAegean coast: crystal-clear water, near-shore islands, Butterfly Valley, pine forests to the shore and Göcek's yachting harbour, for a wedding that moves between land and boat.
Çeşme and Urla
İzmir's coast. Çeşme for beaches, yachting and windsurfing and an intimate wedding by the water; Urla, a short drive inland, for vineyards, olive groves, farmhouses and villas and a country wedding on organic Aegean cooking.
Cappadocia
Cave hotels and fairy chimneys in a UNESCO World Heritage landscape, with hot-air balloons at dawn. For couples who want the one setting nobody else has, and a small guest list.
What venues are like
Counted The Turkey venues by kind, counted from the venue records when this page loaded.
Bosphorus palace and waterfront mansion
Istanbul's Ottoman palaces and the historic yalı mansions along the water, for the grandest dinners in the country, with the city as the view.
Beach resort
The large hotels of the Antalya and Bodrum coasts: beach, pool, rooms for the whole party, and a wedding team used to international guests.
Boutique hotel with gardens
Bodrum's smaller houses in gardens and the Çeşme and Urla properties: intimate, a short walk to the sea, the whole hotel to one party.
Cave hotel
Cappadocia's hotels carved into the rock, with terraces facing the valleys and the balloons.
Vineyard and farmhouse
Urla's vineyards, olive groves and restored farmhouses: a country wedding with the Aegean a few kilometres away.
Gulet and yacht
From Bodrum, Göcek and Fethiye, a traditional wooden gulet or a yacht for the celebration on the water.
How large a wedding the Turkey collection takes
Counted Counted from the venue records when this page loaded.
For a large or private celebration
- Take 300 guests or more
- 9 of 11 venues
- Whole venue to yourselves
- 1 of 11
- Your own caterer welcome
- 0 of 11
- Largest
- Çırağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul, up to 2000
Counted Counted from the venue records when this page loaded.
Halal catering, service without alcohol, a private celebration for the ladies and a prayer room are arranged venue by venue: ask when you check your date. See the Turkey venues for 300 guests or more.
Airports and transfers
- Istanbul (IST) The main gateway, 35 to 55 km from the city, 35 to 60 minutes by road.
- Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) On the Asian side, 12 to 45 km from the centre depending on the district, 20 to 50 minutes.
- Antalya (AYT) 13 km from the city, 15 to 25 minutes; 30 to 45 minutes to the beach resorts.
- Bodrum-Milas (BJV) 36 km from Bodrum, 45 to 60 minutes by road.
- Dalaman (DLM) For Fethiye and Göcek: Fethiye is up to 95 km away, up to two hours by road.
- İzmir Adnan Menderes (ADB) 18 km from İzmir, 20 to 30 minutes; the gateway to Çeşme and Urla.
Every wedding coast has its own airport, and a private minibus or coach from the airport is the usual arrangement for a wedding party. Istanbul connects worldwide; the coasts connect to Europe directly in summer and through Istanbul year round.
Marrying legally in Turkey
Only a civil ceremony conducted by the local marriage registrar is legally binding. The paperwork takes three to four days once the documents are in order, there is no minimum residency, and religious or symbolic ceremonies are held alongside the civil one.
- 1Three to four days before
The paperwork
Passports, birth certificates and certificates of no impediment, apostilled at home and translated into Turkish by a notary in Turkey, go to the local marriage office with a health report issued in Turkey and passport photographs.
- 2The day
The civil ceremony
Conducted by the local marriage registrar. A couple who do not speak Turkish have a notary-approved interpreter present.
- Paperwork
- 3 to 4 days
- Residency
- none required
- Legal form
- civil ceremony only
- Health report
- issued in Turkey
Already married at home?5 Star view
Many couples complete the legal or religious marriage in their own country and hold the celebration here. A ceremony with no legal effect needs none of the steps above: the venue and the planner arrange it.
Who needs a visa
Travelling from the United States
American citizens with ordinary passports visit Turkey without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. The Turkish foreign ministry asks for a passport valid for at least six months from the date of arrival.
Travelling from the United Kingdom
British passport holders can visit Turkey without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, for tourism or business. The passport must be valid for at least 150 days after the date of arrival and have at least one blank page.
Travelling from the Gulf
Ordinary passport holders of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman visit Turkey without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, and Qatari citizens for tourism for up to 90 days within six months. A resident of the Gulf who holds another passport follows the rule for that passport.
Other nationalities
Turkey is not in the Schengen area, so Schengen days do not count here. Other nationalities check the Turkish e-Visa service or the Turkish consulate before travelling.
Reference gov.uk: Turkey entry requirements. goturkiye.com: How to get married in Türkiye. Kuşadası municipality: marriage application procedures for foreign nationals. Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs: visa information for foreigners. Checked 5 October 2026. Rules change: confirm with the authority that will marry you before you book.
Accommodation
Guests stay where the wedding is: in Istanbul along the Bosphorus and in the old city; on the coasts in the resort or boutique hotel that hosts the wedding, which often takes the whole party; in Cappadocia in the cave hotels.
At the table
Turkish cooking is regional and seasonal: olive-oil dishes and seafood on the Aegean, kebab traditions inland, Ottoman palace cooking in Istanbul, and a breakfast that is a meal in itself.
Meze
The small dishes that open a Turkish table: olive-oil vegetables, yoghurt dishes, cheeses and herbs, shared before the main course.
Aegean olive-oil dishes and seafood
Vegetables cooked in olive oil and the day's fish and seafood, the cooking of Bodrum, Çeşme and Urla.
Turkish breakfast
Cheeses, olives, honey, eggs, breads and tea, served long on the morning after a wedding.
Baklava and the sweets
Baklava and the wider family of Turkish desserts and dried fruits, the end of a wedding dinner.
Tea, coffee and Turkish wine
Turkish tea through the day, Turkish coffee after dinner, and wine from the vineyards of Urla and the grape-harvest regions.
What planners tell couples
Only a civil ceremony is legally binding
A marriage is legal in Turkey only when conducted by the local marriage registrar or census officer. Religious ceremonies are not legally binding and are held alongside the civil one, as are symbolic ceremonies on a terrace, a beach or a boat.
The documents
Passport, birth certificate, a certificate of no impediment or capacity to marry, a health report and passport photographs (one municipality asks for five each). Foreign documents are apostilled in the country of origin and translated into Turkish by a notary in Turkey; documents from honorary consulates are not accepted. The certificate of no impediment, the birth certificate and the health report are valid for six months from issue. British couples swear an affidavit of marital status instead of a certificate of no impediment and have it legalised before travelling.
The health report
Issued in Turkey by the municipality's population directorate or an approved hospital, on the spot: the reason to arrive a few days early.
Allow three to four days
The tourism office advises three to four days to complete the paperwork, depending on where you marry. There is no minimum period of residence.
An interpreter at the ceremony
A couple who do not speak Turkish must have a notary-approved interpreter present at the civil ceremony.
Summer heat on the coasts
July and August afternoons pass 35°C in Antalya and Bodrum; coastal weddings are held in the late afternoon and evening, and May, June, September and early October are the planners' months.
