A once in a lifetime wedding!

At your request, we will arrange the legal registration of your marriage in Thailand. This is of course not required if you would rather not-you may, for example, wish to register back home or simply be renewing your vows. We recommend you register the marriage, however, as it is relatively easy to do; some preparations beforehand are required, and you'll need to inform us of your choice in advance.

Morning Offerings:

The day starts before the sun rises (at 5 am) with the preparation and giving of offerings to the monks as they do their morning alms rounds; they start their rounds when they can see the lines on the palm on their hand by the morning light. This offering is of food for the body, three incense sticks

(one for the Buddha-prapoot-one for the words of Buddha-pratum-and one for the Buddhist monks-prasong) and flowers. No Thai Buddhist wedding is complete without this offering being made in the early morning. Sorry it has to be so early, but it must be if your wedding is to be authentically Thai; the merit you will receive makes the early morning well worth it. If you are lucky enough to be offered a blessing by an elder monk on this occasion you are truly in for a enlightened marriage. It is worth the effort, however we can organise a 'stand in' for you if necessary.

Receive your marriage certificate
After a traditional Thai breakfast, we will take you to Chiang Mai City Hall, where you will sign and receive your marriage certificate. Congratulations-you are now officially married! In Thai tradition, however, this is only one part of the marriage ceremony (if done).

Next stop is at the temple.

You will normally go to a beautiful traditional northern Thai teak Buddhist temple to receive the blessing of a famous head monk. We also can arrange at other temples in Chiang if desired. The sweet scent of incense fills the air and the unique sound of Buddhist chanting echoes through the temple. During this very special ceremony, the monk will bless you with water, tie a symbolically 'binding' string around your wrists, and will place three traditional dots on your foreheads (representing the same three things as for the incense you offered to the monks earlier in the morning).

Merit making
After the temple blessing ceremony, you will release birds and/or fish or turtles in order to create merit for your marriage and life together. Time for photos anyone?

Knot-tying ceremony
This is a very special and joyous part of your wedding day, held at a traditional northern Thai teak village house. And unlike in the west, the groom gets the procession! (That reason enought t have a Thai overseas weddings , I think. ) Led by local village elders and traditional musicians, the groom makes his way towards the house, where the bride waits for him. Once the groom arrives, he must prove his worth to the 'gatekeepers' before he is allowed to get married. The bride then has the opportunity to ask the groom to make promises for their life together infront of family and friends.

The village elders then conduct the next part of the Thai wedding ceremony, tying strings around the couples' wrists and offering advice on marriage and blessings. Now is also the time when you can, if you wish, make your own vows to each other and exchange wedding rings.