Celebrating Love In A Traditional Thai Wedding Style
Marriage is an ancient tradition which forms the cornerstone of societies across the globe – and each culture has its own unique way of celebrating this time-honoured institution. Today we’re heading to Thailand to look at some traditional thai wedding customs:
Fabulous and flamboyant Thailand
A popular tourist destination, Thailand (formerly known as Siam), is a Southeast Asian country with a population of 71.7 million people. Offering the best of all worlds, this unique country is made up of cool cities such as the capital, Bangkok, as well as beaches and stunning countryside. Thailand’s predominant religion is Buddhism which is practiced by 90% of the country’s population.
Tying the knot in Thailand
A Thai wedding is a colourful and joyful occasion filled with a number of unique traditions and we’re going to take a look at some of these in this section:
Save the date
In Thailand, dates have a huge amount of significance and so choosing the best date for a wedding is incredibly important. Because of this, many betrothed couples will consult with a monk or an astrologer who will analyse their horoscopes to determine the best possible day for the nuptials.
Dress to impress
While some modern Thai couples choose to adopt a Western style of wedding attire, with black ties optional, others prefer to stick close to their traditions. In Thailand, the traditional dress for the bride will be a high necked, long sleeved white lace shirt with a long skirt and, in many cases, a head covering which incorporates a veil. The groom will usually opt for a Royal white shirt with a high neck, black dress pants and a jong kraben (a large piece of fabric which is pulled between the legs and then tucked into the waistband of the trousers). Similarly, guests at a Thai wedding will tend to be dressed demurely out of respect for the religious nature of the proceedings.
Lucky number 9
As with weddings from other cultures, the proceedings in Thailand begin with a religious ceremony. During this ceremony, there will be singing and blessings by Buddhist monks – the couple will often choose to have nine monks present as this is an extremely lucky number in Thai culture.
Thai wedding vows
Traditional vows in Thailand are very similar to in other cultures and may go along the following lines: “I take you to be my husband / wife, my partner in life, and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow and forever. I will trust you and honour you. I will laugh with you and cry with you. Through sickness and in health”.
Khan Maak
The ceremony is followed by one of the more flamboyant parts of a Thai wedding – the Khan Maak procession. Here, the groom leads his bride and the wedding guests in a parade to the home of the bride – accompanied by lots of music, singing and cultural significance.
Water pouring ceremony
This extremely important part of Thai wedding customs involves the older guests using a conch shell to pour holy water over the head of the newlyweds. The holy water is used to symbolise a healthy and happy life while the ceremony itself is the moment which signifies that the couple are now husband and wife.
Thread ceremony
A common – but optional – Thai wedding custom is that of the Thread Ceremony. This involves a monk or an elder joining the married couple together with a white thread which is tied at their wrists followed by water being poured over the thread. The couple will then pull gently to tear the thread and whichever spouse ends up with the longest thread is believed to be the one with the greatest love.
The blessed paste
Following the thread ceremony, it is traditional for senior members of the family to anoint the foreheads of the couple with three dots (in the shape of a pyramid) of white paste which is created from either dirt or clay and mixed with holy water before being blessed by monks. This ritual is created to bring good fortune to the married couple.
The marital bed
One of the more unusual of the traditional Thai wedding customs is that of the Nuptial Bed Ceremony. During this important part of the proceedings, an older married couple will prepare the bed for the newlywed couple in order to impart their experience and knowledge. The following items will be placed on the bed to represent prosperity and fertility and the couple is expected to sleep with these items on the bed for three nights:
- A large brass tray
- A mortar to symbolise steady love
- A cane to symbolise long life
- A green squash to symbolises a happy and peaceful married life
- A silver bag and a gold bag containing seeds, beans and baking powder to signify prosperity
- A bowl of rain water to symbolise harmony
- A white cat doll to symbolise a love of being at home
- A white chicken to symbolise early rising and hard work
During this ceremony, the married couple will visit the marital bed briefly before returning to their guests.
The wedding feast
Wherever you come from, it’s not a wedding without a great feast – however, in Thailand they do things a little differently. During the wedding feast, friends of the groom will carry banana leaves while some items on the menu may include cookies and pigs heads !
Saying I do the Thai way
Anybody who has ever been lucky enough to experience a Thai wedding will tell you that it really is something to behold. Opulent, flamboyant and with lots of singing, dancing and laughter, weddings in Thailand are a huge event – and one which everybody involved throws themselves into with gusto.