Wedding festivities will begin
at one o'clock in the afternoon
on
Thursday, the twenty-second of March
two thousand and seven
at a small Buddhist temple in a village
near Chiang Mai
Guest Itinerary
| 1:30pm | Guests will be picked up at Hollanda Montri (guests staying there) - van transport to temple for ceremony, then van will pick at The Park Hotel about 1:45pm-2pm |
| ~ 4pm | Everyone will be transported to wedding venue |
| Wedding parade | |
| Knot tying ceremony | |
| ~dusk | Dinner/Drinking |
| Dancers/Musicians | |
| Fireworks | |
| Release of fire balloons |
Dress
We are not too concerned with what you wear to the wedding. Black is bad luck, so don't wear black. If you wish to dress up, you can easily buy an outfit in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, which may be fun to do. :)
What is involved in a Lanna Buddhist wedding?
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.
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.
Next stop is at the temple
You will next go to a beautiful traditional northern Thai teak Buddhist temple to receive the blessing of a famous head monk. 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).
Marisa's parents' wedding
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.
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! 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.
The village elders then conduct the next part of the 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.
Then, it's time to relax, enjoy the talent of the musicians and dancers and share your first meal together, your wedding feast.
Source: ThailandWeddings.com - Jit Srimoon
