Sa's Wedding

February 25th.  After five months of dating and one and a half months of organizing it was finally Sa and Tha's wedding day.  Morning came way to early in my opinion, at the digusting hour of four.  Sa went and got her hair and makeup done with Mon and Bow, while Mike, Taiten, and I stayed with Sa's soon-to-be-husband and his family. After two and a half hours Sa returned to the house looking absolutely beautiful!  Unfortunately at this point in time she decided to paint her toe nails while she was wearing her wedding dress.  Thank goodness for nail polish remover!  She was good as new in no time.
So let me tell you how a thai wedding works.  They start the morning usually at seven with a ceremony where the couple gets blessed by nine monks.  Nine is a lucky number here in Thailand.  This ceremony is usually only attended by close friends and family.  The monk blessing consists of a lot of chanting while a candle is lit in a bowl of water.  Later this water is used to splash the couple as a blessing.  The couple then receives the "twin crown" called "mongkhon faet."  Each has a loose piece of string which they connect to indicate unity.  The couple then receives three dots on their forehead before they present the monks with food and gifts.  The guests have to wait until the monks are done eating before they can eat themselves.  By now almost all the other guests have arrived just in time for the next ceremony which is the parade.
The groom and his family and friends must parade through all the brides guests presenting gifts for her side, which is usually food.  The groom has to go through three gates to get to his bride.  To get through these gates the father of the groom must negotiate a price with each of the female relatives to make for a safe passage.  This is to represent how much the groom will do to get his bride.  Once the immediate family members are inside the dowry is given to the brides parents.  The amount of money that the groom gives to the bride is announced to everyone as a way of showing off. Then the mom of the bride parades around with the money.  This could be done around the house or in Peelawon's case to the next room.  Again a way to show off to family and friends.  At the end of the line in the parade there is someone who is holding a sugar cane plant and a banana tree.  After the ceremony is finished the couple is supposed to plant the banana tree so that by the time they have children it will be able to nourish and provide for the family.

Unlike in western culture the bride and groom don't give each other rings but rather the groom presents the bride with gold chains.  All the guests now come forward to bless the couple.  They start off by pouring water on their hands after which they tie a piece of string called a "sai sin."  Than money is given to the couple in the same envelope which the invitation was sent in.  After this ritual the couple must go around to every table and have their picture taken with all the guests and give them a trinket to remember the wedding.  To conclude the morning Sa's husband made a little speech and the two of them sang a song.  We know Sa didn't marry him for his singing. :P  The whole affair wrapped up at about twelve o'clock in the afternoon.

And that my friends is a thai wedding!