Homepage > Thai Culture > My Parents' Wedding

One of the most important occastions of the person's life after birth is the wedding ceremony as it places value on that particular moment when man and woman have decided to be united in a bond that will influence the rest of their lives. Therefore, the ceremony must be held in a beautiful and sacred way. Above all, astrologers will be consulted beforehand in order to find out if the stars of those to be married are compatible and if so what should be the auspicious day and time for the ceremony. But mostly the ceremony will be held in August which is considered as the most auspicious month for wedding.

Usually in the countryside, a marriage takes place at the age of 20 while in the city this maybe late, up to 28 - 35. This depends on the readiness of the persons who want to enter into marriage. At the same time, nowadays most young people choose their own marriage partners while arranged marriage is very rare.

The most interresting part of the wedding ceremony is a procession of "Khan Mark" (offering items) as relatives and friends of the groom dance their way to the house of the bride with their hands full of offering.

This is the most interesting part of the ceremony called "Khan Mark" My father's relations are walking to my mother's house and before they can go into my mother's house, they have to pass the silver and gold gate first. They have to give some money to them and then they can go in. The two women in the picture on the right are the first gate. You can seem them holding a piece of string stopping the procession.

They are getting ready to pay respect to the dead ancestors, in Thai it is called "wai phee" (paying respect to the ghosts). My father and my mother are doing it in the right picture.
The engagement ceremony must take place before the wedding, however, some couples may prefer to hold the engagement and wedding ceremony on the same day as a means of saving money. The engagement ceremony is usually done through the offering of an engagement ring to the girl while the wedding cremony will be incomplete without the offering of "Sin-sod" which is the money to be given to the bride's parents by the groom's parents of the amount they demand.

My father's relations are opening gifts for the bride and my father is giving my mother a bracelet and something else like a ring and a neckless.

My father and my mother are paying respect to my mother's parents and getting ready to listen to the monks chanting by lighting the candles and incense sticks.

Information in this page mainly comes from a book called "Essays on Thailand" by Thanapol Chadchaidee. It is used here with his permission. The book contains 60 essays about Thailand written in Thai and English. Click here if you want to buy it!

King Chulaongkorn is more well-known in the West as the "boy king" in the movie and musical "The King and I". Sriwittayapaknam School has an extensive web site which takes a close look at the movie and books with an intention to set the record straight.