Here are some pictures taken at two different weddings I attended on the same day. The first was an elaborate affair; the second very down-to-earth.
Overheard at a wedding I attended in the late 1970's: "Some marriages don't last as long as this ceremony." That ceremony took place in a Catholic church. The Thai wedding lasts quite a bit longer, but you can take breaks whenever you want, and water and tea are available. Between events (the negotiating, the song, tying of string, etc.) there is entertainment. One of the best parts is the groom's procession to the site of the ceremony. I would have taken pictures, but I was asked to join the procession. Holding a banana plant in one hand, and a sword in the other, I found it impossible to use the camera. My cohort in the procession, Clement, from Singapore, carried the same items. He leaned over and whispered, "Skip, do you know the significance of the swords?" I replied, "No." Clement said, "It means that we get first crack at the beer."
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| Siripana Resort |
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| Khun Chef and his father. |
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| The groom, Gerry, and his brother. |
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| Gerry brings gold and one million Thai Baht (about $33,000) to the negotiating table. |
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| This is one of the people who makes a lot of noise as the grooms procession approaches the brides location. He has a grim look on his face, but mostly he was smiling and having fun. |
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| The noise-makers. There is a name for them in the Thai language but I couldn't remember. As the groom's procession tries to gain entry to the brides location he encounters several gates, which are a series of flowers on string held by friends of the bride. They question the groom's motives and then ask for a bribe in return for letting the groom pass. How much is the bribe? We'll never know, but it's a good bet that the gate keepers report to the bride, "Oh, he gave us this much money. He must love you very much!" Meanwhile, the noise-makers just keep on making noise. You can dance to it if you are so inclined. |
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| The ceremonial negotiations between the groom and the brides family. |
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| The bride and groom give thanks to the parents for blessing their marriage. |
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| The marriage having received the parent's blessing, the bride and groom move to another room to get hitched. |
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| Note the man on the right. He is singing, calling on the angel of marriage to bless the couple and to look after them. I didn't time the length of the song, but I would estimate it lasted fifteen to twenty minutes. It was quite a lovely thing, very light and lilting, almost wistful. |
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| The ties that bind. Notice the halo and string between the bride and groom, and on their wrists. Every person attending the wedding is invited to come forward and bless the marriage by tying a string around the wrists of the newly weds. |
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| Mother and father of the bride. |
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| The entertainers. |
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| The reception following the ceremony was very elaborate. Thai food, red and white wine, several desserts, tea and coffee. |
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| Alas, my camera battery died before I could get pictures of the entertainment provided during lunch. But I can assure you that it was a great show. |
The following photos were taken later in the evening at a second wedding.
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| The bride and groom, and the traditional tying of string. Can you guess their ages? Hint: guess low - very low. |
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| My friend Sohm. As you can see, this wedding was not a dress-up affair like the previous one. |
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| Sohm's wife, Kim Huay, tying the strings. |
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| Many Thai children believe that farang (foreigners - and it's pronounced fah-lon) are ghosts and will eat them. This boy is finally warming up to me. He knows that I'm not a ghost, but I will eat his pickled pork if he leaves it unguarded, which he finds hilarious. To compensate I let him eat my veggies. Strangely, Thai kids love to eat vegetables. |
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| The groom's family. |
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| This is a dessert made from something similar to tapioca, with fruit and coconut milk. It's aroi-aroi (very delicious). I should add that I didn't take the photo. Tuay, Sohm's youngest son took the picture, and how he got the flowers imposed above the bowl I can't say. |
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| Sohm, myself, and the groom's father. Note that Sohm is wearing a coat. The temps had dropped to the low 70's. To many Thais that's cold, baby. |
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| Enjoying my dessert. I hope you enjoyed the pictures. |
