In this world, Thai wedding is a unique. Thai wedding day is totally different compared to Malaysia wedding. It used to be more complex with a lots of steps.
In the morning, there will be a Monk Blessing as the Buddhism custom at the house of the bridegroom and bridge. Then, there will be marriage registration. After registration, they are going to have lunch together with family members. In this world, many couples do not hav this part of the Monk Blessing and registration at house. They may go to register at the country office the day before or after the wedding. According to traditional Thai wedding, even if the marriage is not registered, those in the village would still view them as husband and wife. As a Westerner, they would have to register their marriage for legal and visa purposes.
In the afternoon, the wedding must follow the traditional wedding customs. There will be "Feet Washing Ceremony". The husband would stand on a chair while the wife would bow at his feet. She have to wash her husband's feet. This is symbolise her allegiance and respect of her husband. During this time, the dowry is shown to all the guests. This shows that the groom os financially sound to take care of his family. After that, it will be followed by ROD-NAM-SANG (ROD is soak, NAM is water, SANG is conch shell), is the main where both the brige and bridegroom's family get together. In this event, their witness is playing an important role. Both the bridge and bridgeroom have to sit close to each others on the floor and thier hands held in WAI style. (WAI style like the way we pay respect to the Lord Buddha) with a flower chain connects the hands. In this event, the most senior person will act as the leader. The leader will soak the couple's hand in water (holy water) and wish them good luck. The water is contained in a conch shell container. They also hand the couple an envelope filled with money and the couple would reciprocate by handing them a small wedding moments. Besides this, the parents, selected people like close friends and close relatives will be invited to the ROM-NAM-SANG event.
In the night, there will be wedding party. The number of invited guests is around 100-300. It could be aranged in different ways such as Buffet Thai food, Chinese food, Cocktail style or sit down dinner. The couple like to organise the function in the hotel since the facilities are easier to set up.
Thai Wedding Day