Fairytale Wedding – Thai Style

I had a really nice cultural experience three nights ago.   I went to Jimlim’s house so we could go out, and her father asked if we wanted to go to a wedding with he and his wife.  I really didn’t want to go, but it was obvious she did so I said, "sure." 

Preparation

Since my lifestyle no longer demands it, I possess no dressy clothing.  Her mother dropped us at a local mall where I purchased one set of nice clothing for the event.   A gay salesman selected the items for me:  Lavendar shirt, Navy pants, Brown shoes and belt, and a really nice colored socks.  We took the items and returned to her house.

Thai culture presents its slow moving attidude which can be entertaining at times, and extremely annoying at other times.  The people here are all laid back, which I’m not accustomed to.  When Jimlim says she’s going to the toilet, I know I won’t see her for a good 20 minutes or so.  When she said she was going to change clothing, I knew I’d seen the last of her for a couple of hours.  hehe  I was sitting in the car with her mother and father as her father continually honked the horn as they both shouted, "Jimlim!  Jimlim!"  ha!

The Trip

Traffic is always snarled in Bangkok.  Her mother and father knew the general area of the wedding venue, but not the exact location.  We would stop in the middle of traffic as her father asked passers-by for direction.  If we passed the turn, her father would get out of the car and stop traffic, sometimes 1/2 block behind us, so her mom could back up and make the turn.  I was amazed that no one honked their horns.

The Venue

Her family is a member of Bangkok’s elite high society.  When walking around the city, foreigners always encounter the dark and poor side of the country; this experience was out of this world.

The reception was held at a barracks which houses police and soldiers and is located a couple of blocks from the Royal Palace where the King resides when in town.   Because the people attending the wedding required security, it was held there.  Roving foot patrols of police and soliders as well as static sentry posts were present. 

When people would have their photos taken, instead of saying "Cheese!", they would say, "Pepsi!"  I leared the reson behind this is because one of her uncles is one of the big bosses at Pepsi in Bkk.  The place was decorated with a mind boggling amount of roses.  There was an awesome ice sculpture at the entry way.

The Entrance

As we entered, I turned heads beause I was the only whitey present.  We had out photo taking with the married couple.  I’m sure the mononlog in the mind of the Groom was, ‘Who in the hell is THIS guy?’  haha  It’ll make for a good story for them in years to come.

The Meal

The meal was only about 14 courses…I stopped keeping count as my belly fillled.  Each course consisted of three or four different selections on each platter.  Scotch was poured for all the men and old ladies; the other women didn’t drink.  When I would turn my head for a second and turn back, I would note that my glass was again filled. 

The ceremony

The wedding actually took place in the morning and only consisted of immediate family members.  In a Thai wedding, the groom is preceeded by a trusted member of both families and is trailed by the people from their family or village.  They sing as they approach the house of the bride.  The trusted person presents the groom to the father of the bride and a doury is presented; the cost of this bride:  2,000,000 Baht (about 54,000$US).  In Thai high society, the money is later returned to the bride and groom.  The money is only given so the parents of the bride can see that the man is able to take care of their daughter.  Wedding gifts are given in the form of cash money.  The two exchange personal vows of their choosing, and the marriage is complete.

The Reception

The bride and groom do not eat at the reception, but instead walk around greeting the attandees.  Friends and family take turns going on the stage and sing songs to the two with a Karaoke machine.  I was going to do it, but Toby Keith’s "Should’ve Been A Cowboy" wasn’t on the selection list.  The bride and groom then went on the stage, and questions were asked of them regarding how they met and so on.  The bride and groom then sing for each other, and their parents come on the stage and say something to them.  When they kiss, they only kiss on the cheek.  They do not hold hands or otherwise display affection for each other.  Chastity is alive and well in this country in high society.  Jimlim told me that there have been weddings her entire extended family has boycotted because the bride and groom lived together prior to marriage.

The Cake Cutting and the Fish

There was none of the extremely annoying shoving or smearing of cake in the face of the other like we westerns seem to enjoy for some sick reason.  As they began cutting the cake, I turned to take a sip of my scotch when I noticed a fish looking at me with one eye.  On the table was the final course prior to dessert:  An entire fish, complete with head and eyes.  I swear he was looking at me.  I said, "Jimlim…let me see your camera."  As I snapped a photo of  fish, I heard Jimlim laughing as she said, "I think you have something wrong with you!"  I turned, and asked, "What?"  She pointed to all of the people gathered around the cake cutting ceremony, and said, "Everyone in the place is taking photos of the cake, and you’re taking photos of the dead fish!" 

The End

As the ceremony concluded, the aircon was turned off so people would leave.  All of the people attending began removing left-over food and wrapping it in plastic.  One thing I noticed when I eat at Jimlim’s is that no food is ever wasted.  In the States, we save leftovers in the fridge for later consumption; in Thailand, they prepare the food and eat ALL of it…even if they’re no longer hungry.  I asked about this, and Jimlim said, "Take rice for an example.  It doesn’t cost much money, but the farmer puts in so much time and energy into growing the rice, and he doesn’t make much money for his efforts.  We eat all of the rice out of respect for the farmer."  I have no idea why they don’t refridgerate leftovers.  I asked what they were going to do with the food, and she said they would deliver it to local poor families. 

Father’s Appetite

Her father is about 5’8" and weighs about 120#.  I have NO idea where he puts so much food.  Everyone was leaving the reception area, and still he ate.  haha!  He was woofing down more food.  I said, "Look at your father…"  She laughed, and said, "He likes food."  She asked him if he had enough; he laughed as he said, "No…there is still dessert.

 

 

I’m quite annoyed that Jimlim deleted many of the photos

we took.  I only now realized the photos she transferred to USB for me only contain a couple of shots.  I’m unable to upload them here, but will share them later.   and I just discover that I not able to spell check either…