Sending Flowers to a Turkish Wedding: What Foreign Guests Should Know

If you've been invited to a Turkish wedding and you're used to a Western gift-list culture, the first thing to know is that the gift itself is almost always gold coins or money, pinned to a ribbon worn by the couple during the ceremony, rather than a wrapped present. That doesn't make flowers pointless, it changes what role they play. Flowers at a Turkish wedding are about presence and warmth, not the formal gift.

What flowers are actually for at a Turkish wedding

The couple typically travels to the ceremony in a car decorated with flowers, and guests often throw rose petals or confetti as they dance. If you're sending flowers rather than bringing money in person, the most fitting move is an arrangement sent to the couple's home ahead of or just after the wedding, congratulating them, rather than something brought to the ceremony itself where the gold-and-money custom takes over.

What to send and when

A bright, celebratory arrangement, white or soft pastel roses, peonies if in season, sent to arrive the day of or the day after the wedding works well and doesn't compete with or confuse the in-ceremony money custom. Avoid anything with a strong single-colour red theme, which can read as overly romantic for what's meant to be a warm but not personal gesture from a guest.

If you can't attend in person

Foreign family members who can't travel for the wedding itself often send flowers to arrive the same week as a stand-in for presence, this is well understood and appreciated, it doesn't need to replace or compete with a monetary gift sent separately or given by another family member attending.

We deliver wedding-appropriate arrangements same-day across Istanbul, timed to arrive exactly when you need them to. Not sure whether the couple's home falls in one of our free same-day zones? Check our neighbourhood delivery guide.

Read next: flower-giving etiquette in Turkey.