Stan's 'stache - photo Jeff Davies

Nikon Bride - photo Jeff Davies

What to wear to a Wedding in Istanbul? Well that depends... I've got my frock, so I'm OK... Yes, its white and its long, think Downton Abbey. And Yes, I've got the shoes. The sparkly high heels will not be vacationing with me in Istanbul. The streets are too steep and I really want to be comfortable. The sparkly ballet-flats will of course be making an appearance. :)

As for the rest of you, we want you to be comfortable. So I would recommend you wear what you would to an informal Wedding or out to dinner at a nice restaurant. "Smart Casual". It can get cool in the evenings so layer up.

The Ceremony will be relatively short. Hey, we will already be married by then (and just between you and me, we haven't actually worked out the content yet ... there's still time, right?). After the Ceremony we are planning on drinks on the terrace above the venue and then we will settle into dinner at Feriye Restaurant on the Bosphorous.

Some of you are travelling a long way and aren't staying in Istanbul for very long. Please don't use up valuable "shopping" space in your luggage with fancy wedding clothes. Believe me, even I'm not doing that!

So, dress "nice". Dress comfortable.

We are planning to have a "sunset" cruise on the Bosphorous on Sunday between 4-6pm. Again it can get windy out on the water, so bring a jacket. :)

Guys, we aren't expecting suits or anything fancy. We are all on vacation after all. :)

Richard... you may wear a kilt and or tartan trews ... as you see fit.

Istanbul Wedding proposed Itinerary:

FRIDAY 19th SEPTEMBER
I know some of you will be arriving on Friday, so we are thinking of having a casual dinner somewhere. Perhaps on the rooftop terrace of the Seven Hills Hotel... because we love the view from there.

SATURDAY 20th SEPTEMBER 
Sight-seeing during the day. Separately or collectively as we see fit.
The Wedding Ceremony/Vows will take place in Nakkas Cistern in Sultanahmet at 6.30pm. Afterwards we will go upstairs to the rooftop terrace for champagne and views across to the Blue Mosque.

We have arranged for a minivan to take us all from Nakkas to the restaurant... Feriye on the Bosphorus where we will host you for Dinner. The minivan will return you to your hotel in Sultanahmet area afterwards.

SUNDAY 21st SEPTEMBER
We will probably all meet up somewhere for breakfast/brunch. More sightseeing.

Stan and I are also organising a boat trip for all of us on the Bosphorus for sunset on Sunday afternoon/evening between 4pm and 6pm.

Sound good? We are really excited!!!

Here is a link to Feriye: http://www.feriye.com/

THE VENUE: Nice Place for a Wedding...

We have booked our accommodation in Istanbul for the weekend of our wedding...

Friday 19th – Monday 22nd
We will be staying in Hotel Arena in Sultanahmet area.
http://www.arenahotel.com/  

Arena Hotel - Special Class
Küçükayasofya Caddesi, Üçler Hamam Sokak., No:13-15, 34400 Sultanahmet/Istanbul, Turkey
 

Which is only a 5 minute walk to Haghia Sophia.
(google maps lists another Arena Hotel in a different location, but here is the actual location.)

The ceremony will be held in Nakkas Underground Cistern... (pronounced Nakash)

 Photo of the Grand Bazaar

We have updated our plans slightly...
Yes, we are still getting married. :) 

Saturday 13th September:
Alison and Stan Wedding in Sydney.

Sunday 14th September:
Fly out of Sydney for Turkey

Monday 15th September - Beyolgu area:
Alison and Stan arrive in Istanbul. (Singapore Airlines)
Stay with friend Nurcan (pronounced Nurjarn) in Nuru Ziya Street in Beyoglu.

Friday 19th – Monday 22nd
We will be staying in Hotel Arena in Sultanahmet area.
http://www.arenahotel.com/  
Which is only a 5 minute walk to Haghia Sophia.
 
The Wedding Festival... Schmoozing with friends, Wedding, 'Xploring Istanbul, Group Honeymoon.


Saturday 20th September:
Actual Wedding Day.

Monday 22nd We will fly to Bodrum.
Tuesday 23rd Ferry to Greek Island of Kos.
Thursday 25th Ferry to Bodrum.
Friday 26th Fly to Istanbul.

Saturday 27th Stay with Nurcan.

Sunday 28th Leave Istanbul for Sydney (Singapore Airlines).
 

Here are some accommodation suggestions. 
If you haven't been to Istanbul before, just be aware that the call to prayer sounds 5 times a day and if you have a hotel near a mosque, which is likely, then it could be noisy. If its a problem for you, then ask if they have double glazing, or just go with the flow and call it "ambience". :) Also the the older boutique hotels don't all have lifts.

Istanbul is very hilly, so the closer you get to the water, the more uphill walking you'll have to do to get anywhere.

My friend Nurcan has a friend who has apartments in Taksim.
Although a little further away from the action, there is public transport.
This is not far from Nurcan's house where we will be staying from the 16th - 18th
Here is a link:
http://apartsinistanbul.net/home-eng.html

Friends of mine have also stayed at Tomtom suites which is just down the road from Nurcan's house in Beyoglu area.
http://www.tomtomsuites.com/

Sultanahmet area - this is where we will be staying for the weekend of the 20th.
There are loads of hotels to choose from depending on your budget but here are a few I know about ...

Hotel Seven Hills comes recommended, they have a great roof top restaurant... (see the picture of Stan and I in the last posting). I haven't stayed there, but here is a link. http://www.sevenhillshotel.com/

We stayed in Hotel Uyan (next door to Seven Hills Hotel) last time we were in Sultanahmet. Which was fine, although the decor is a little brown. We may stay there again this time.
http://www.uyanhotel.com/index.html

Byzantium hotel - Stan's sister Marea has stayed here and can recommend it.
http://www.thebyzantiumhotel.com/index.html

The Arena hotel looks nice, but I haven't st
ayed there. its a short walk to the Blue Mosque. http://www.arenahotel.com/


I can also recommend my good friends and Co-wedding guests...
Atacan and his wife Nalan. They have a travel agency in Cappadocia and can help with any bookings or travel arrangements you may have. You can contact them at
Rock Valley Travel. And make sure they know you are my friends. :)

http://www.rockvalleytravel.com/

If you have any specific questions about hotels, or if you've been there before and can add any recommendations please let me know.
 
And here is map to help you get your bearings... because I'm "Map Girl"

So Hello and Welcome...

I decided to start a Blog site for our Wedding in Istanbul, so I can post any relevant information about hotels/accommodation, dates and generally what-to-do-in-Istanbul stuff.

So the proposed Wedding date in Istanbul will be the Saturday 20th September 2014. That means any of you that want to fly in just for the weekend can do so.

I am not sure what form the actual "Wedding" will take at this stage... We will be officially married in Sydney on the 13th of September and will fly to Istanbul a day or so after that.

I suspect that we will have a Celebration of our Marriage followed by a dinner at a restaurant in Istanbul on the 20th.

And our "honeymoon" will be spent with you guys for a few days or a week... exploring Istanbul together. It's going to be fun!

At the moment I am looking into some accommodation options. Trying to decide on which part of Istanbul would be best.

So here are the proposed dates:

Saturday 13th September:
Alison and Stan Wedding in Sydney

Tuesday 16th September:
Alison and Stan arrive in Istanbul. Stay with friend Nurcan (pronounced Nurjarn).

Thursday 18th – Monday 22nd:
The Wedding Festival... Schmoozing with friends, Wedding, 'Xploring Istanbul, Group Honeymoon. Maybe we book a couple of apartments or book hotels near each other for these days.

Tuesday 23rd to 28th ish Stay with friend Nurcan or travel out of Istanbul.

Saturday 20th September:
Actual Wedding Day... Yay!

We will fly out of Turkey and home to Sydney around the 30th September.

So let the games begin!

Alison
xx

So this is us in Istanbul in 2013 at one of our favourite roof-top restaurants. It is the terrace on the top of Seven Hills Hotel. That's Haghia Sophia in the background!