I have always been fascinated by Asian weddings. Whenever I travel or have the opportunity to go to a non-American wedding, I jump at the chance. I have been to two wonderful Indian weddings, as well as a couple of western ones that had various European stylings to them. I particularly love traditional weddings in Thailand.

All Day Events

If you think your American wedding lasts a long time, just go to all the pieces of a traditional Thai one! It starts about 5am, with a parade of the groom and his supporters over to the home of the bride. Once there, the brides family and supporters create a little tunnel or gauntlet to keep the groom away from the bride, who often hides behind a curtain. The poor groom must answer questions about his love for the bride, or pay small sums of money or gold to each of the bride supporters to make it through to the bride.

The Water Ritual

There are quite alot more ceremonies throughout the day, including a visit to a monk to bring him food and receive his blessing. There is a water ritual, where a decorated string is linked from the bride to the groom to symbolize their union. They then kneel at small altars and many of the wedding guests pour water over the couples hands.

At the very end of the day there is a reception, which is very similar to the western style reception, although they dont have a wedding cake or dancing. The guests often prepare the bride and grooms bed nicely with flowers and candles and such for their first big night together as husband and wife.

If you want to learn more about traditional Thai weddings check out this article: Thailand Weddings

Posted: July 4th, 2008 under Wedding Ideas.
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