When the marriage is short and the wedding is expensive, they found the solution in a 'half' wedding.

08.04.2025 22:40

The Istanbul Meeting and Wedding Hall Business Tradesmen's Chamber has implemented a new practice in response to rising wedding costs and the demands of couples. The organization, called 'Half Wedding,' lasts for 2 hours and concludes with a jewelry ceremony following the wedding ceremony, first dance, and cake cutting.

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The Istanbul Meeting and Wedding Hall Tradesmen's Chamber has implemented a new application in response to the increasing wedding costs and the demands of couples.

NEW GENERATION APPLICATION: HALF WEDDING

In this context, the 'Half Wedding' application has been launched. The 'Half Wedding' application, which includes the wedding ceremony, first dance, cake cutting, and gift ceremony, aims to complete the wedding with 2-hour long organizations.

THE MAIN GOAL IS TO PREVENT GIFT LOSS

Adem Sönmez, the President of the Istanbul Meeting and Wedding Hall Tradesmen's Chamber, stated that the short ceremonies in traditional wedding halls cause couples to experience gift loss, and with this project, they aim to prevent that loss. "The main purpose of the project started based on the requests from our brides, grooms, and their families. Our main goal here is to allow our tradesmen friends to utilize their weekends between 1 PM and 5 PM on Saturdays and Sundays. You know that the dates for our weddings are the most crowded and frequent on Saturdays and Sundays during the day. We developed this wedding format to relieve some of the burden on municipalities and also provide an additional income for our friends in the sector. One of our main goals was to prevent the gift loss, which is the biggest loss for brides, grooms, and their families. You know that people wait 20 years, 30 years at home. Parents invest for their children's special days. In wedding halls, all ceremonies are 15 to 20 minutes long. We extended that to a 2-hour format. It was a project developed to prevent people's losses in gifts, and it has received great acceptance in the field, both from brides and grooms and from our tradesmen friends," he said.

"A PROJECT WHERE BOTH SIDES CAN BENEFIT"

Sönmez stated that the formula implemented benefits both sides, saying, "This is a formula where both sides benefit. Our bride and groom enter in the normal wedding format, greet their guests. Then, the cake ceremony and gift ceremony take place. After the gift ceremony, they bid farewell to their guests, but if time permits, we can also have a small entertainment within the 2-hour timeframe. Ultimately, it is a project where both sides can benefit. We implemented it in Istanbul as a pilot region. It will definitely be adopted by other provinces in Turkey. We tried to fill a gap. One of the main purposes of the project is this. You are actually hearing about it for the first time. We had already implemented this wedding format in our closed and open venues, in such garden venues. After seeing that it was well received, we wanted to announce it. Some of our new couples had an unsympathetic approach to wedding halls. To break that perception, because weddings are not entertainment centers. Weddings are environments where social solidarity is made, and we contribute to the establishment of a family together with families. In these environments, we want to provide support as much as possible as a sector. According to my estimates and current predictions, this has become a permanent solution. The demand was in this direction, and we evaluated the demand. I can actually say that I am one of the main sponsors of the idea," he expressed.

'THEY CAN HAVE A GREAT TIME IN 2 HOURS'

İbrahim Çevik, who operates a wedding hall in Beykoz, stated, "The Half Wedding application is actually a nice advantage for us in terms of evaluating our venue on weekends, during the day on Sundays and Saturdays, and it is a nice advantage for brides and grooms as well. It is a nice advantage for both sides. Because when you get a price from a garden wedding venue, it can be in the range of 350 - 400 thousand, while we can offer this as a 2-hour price in the range of 100 thousand, 120 thousand, 150 thousand. I think it would be good for both brides and grooms and for our free time to return to us as profit. They can experience a full entertainment with the gift ceremony, after-party style cocktails, within 2 hours. Sometimes, when people go to wedding halls, it can happen that they can't even find their own wedding among so many brides and grooms. But here, they will have a venue specially reserved for them. The prices we ask are already reasonable prices. We are satisfied, and we recommend it to brides and grooms," he said.

"A PERSON GETS MARRIED ONCE"

Arguing that a wedding should be celebrated fully since it is experienced only once, Leyla Uzun said, "It seems very silly to me. I mean, if it's going to be done, it should be done properly. Because even if it's a half wedding, money is still spent on it. It may be advantageous for those who do not want a wedding, but in my opinion, a person gets married once, and it should be complete, it should be worth it, and they should have fun. Gifts are given, a little dancing happens, and then it ends quickly. It may be suitable for those who just want to get through it like an engagement or a promise, but I am in favor of a full wedding," she said.