Wedding Costs

[Pudgimelon]

A lot of people seem to be curious about wedding costs in Thailand, so I thought I'd give a running tally of my expenses so far. These are certainly not going to be representative of every wedding, but they might give you some idea of what's involved:

1) Buffet dinner and hall rental at swanky downtown hotel:

450 baht per person * 400 guests = 180,000 baht

2) Wedding photo and dress package (2 morning outfits, 2 evening outfits):

30,000 baht

3) Tri-fold invitations:

15 baht * 400 = 6,000 baht

4) Small gift to hand out to guests at party (engraved key chain):

9 baht * 500 = 4,500 baht

5) Well-known rock band:

2,000 per musican * 8 = 16,000 baht

6) Magician and his crew (to keep the kids busy):

5,000 baht

7) Photographer at wedding:

4,000 baht

8) Alcohol at the party:

6,000 baht (or more as needed)

Total: 251,500 (so far)

Of course that's not including rings and dowry, but those are private expenses that I won't discuss publicly.

I may have forgotten something, but I think this is a pretty complete list. When it's all said and done, the wedding will probably come in at just under 300K baht. Not bad, all things considered....

[DeDanan]

Hi Pudgimelon,

Thank you for the info on the wedding costs. 300k! not bad at all. Are they based on BKK or up country costs. Did you do most of the organisation yourself? I have read other posts that suggest just hand over the money to some “helpful” relatives and let them organise it.

Have a Happy,

DeDanan

[pnustedt]

Plus flowers, wedding cake, cars, bridesmaids'/pageboy outfits, hen night, stag night, honeymoon, air fares for guests from abroad . . . .

Hope you have a great day!

[Pink Mist]

only for prosperous people like you pnusted, it cost me about 20,000 all up

[Jockstar]

only for prosperous people like you pnusted, it cost me about 20,000 all up

I agree. I'm getting married i October and my costs are not that high. Why do you have to pay for guests abroad? If they are friends or family, then why cant they pay?

[Ijustwannateach]

Nice of you to post the info, Pudgi... as I recall, there was some dispute some time ago about whether you were actually married or not. I take it this message confirms that you are not yet married but about to be? Congratulations!

[Pudgimelon]

Plus flowers, wedding cake, cars, bridesmaids'/pageboy outfits, hen night, stag night, honeymoon, air fares for guests from abroad . . . .

Hope you have a great day!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Flowers = free

wedding cake = free

cars? what cars?

bridemaids/pageboys? we're doing a Thai style wedding, don't believe they have those

hen night? stag night? = Sorry, but drinking is not a big part of my life anymore. I kinda grew up after college and have no desire to re-live my frat days.

honeymoon = not having one (right now). plan on going back to the states in the fall to have a Christian ceremony and a honeymoon.

air fare for friends from abroad = not coming, my friends are cheap SOBs and plan on coming to the State-side ceremony.

[jackr]

Get pissed with buddies - 0 baht because if you've got good mates, they look after you as you have done them on their day.

Hire nice car for day- 2000

Drive to registry office and sign papers - 275 baht.

Drive to mountains and have plenty of rumpy-pumpy, swim, massage etc in not-too-plush resort - 3000

Drive to town and have a nice meal, take in a movie etc - 2000

Drive back to resort for more rumpy-pumpy - 300 in fuel for car

total - 7575, thankyou very much.

Hope it all goes well for you pudgi'!

Edited January 8, 2005 by jackr

[chanchao]

I guess those would be Bangkok prices.

For my wedding in Chiang Mai you can divide those amounts by 3.

[paulfr]

Yes, my upcountry wedding cost me around 20,000 not including rings, gold and sin sod. All at the family home. Family drove in from Nakon Sawan and Bangkok.

[gburns57au]

c1) Buffet dinner and hall rental at swanky downtown hotel:

450 baht per person * 400 guests = 180,000 baht

2) Wedding photo and dress package (2 morning outfits, 2 evening outfits):

30,000 baht

3) Tri-fold invitations:

15 baht * 400 = 6,000 baht

4) Small gift to hand out to guests at party (engraved key chain):

9 baht * 500 = 4,500 baht

5) Well-known rock band:

2,000 per musican * 8 = 16,000 baht

6) Magician and his crew (to keep the kids busy):

5,000 baht

7) Photographer at wedding:

4,000 baht

8) Alcohol at the party:

6,000 baht (or more as needed)

Total: 251,500 (so far)

bridemaids/pageboys?  we're doing a Thai style wedding, don't believe they have those

Most Thai weddings wouldnt be held at a swanky downtown hotel with an 8 piece band, wouldnt have the morning outfit and evening outfit photo session, wouldnt send out 400 invites, nor would they hire a magician for the kids. Unless of course you were marrying Mr T's daughter.

Certainly your expense sheet is not representative of every wedding...I would say it is representative of a very small percentage of Thai weddings, that percentage being the rich percentage.

The only thing traditional thai style about it is the giving of gifts (possibly) and the alcohol....I detect a lot of extravagance here

But it is your day and hers, and while these cost are out of most of our ranges, I do wish you luck on the day and for the future.

Edited January 9, 2005 by gburns57au

[Pudgimelon]

Certainly your expense sheet is not representative of every wedding...I would say it is representative of a very small percentage of Thai weddings, that percentage being the rich percentage.

The only thing traditional thai style about it is the giving of gifts (possibly) and the alcohol....I detect a lot of extravagance here

But it is your day and hers, and while these cost are out of most of our ranges, I do wish you luck on the day and for the future.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, it's not all that extravagent. In America, a wedding could easily cost at least $10,000 (400,000 baht) and that would be on the cheap side. I've heard of people chucking away $50K on a wedding in the States, and they are most definitely NOT "hi-so" people.

The way I look at it, is that I'm only going to get married once, and I've been looking forward to this day my whole life, so doing it up nice is part of the fun for me. I've chucked away almost as much money on my computer system (I custom built a 5|(|< |337 machine), and my fiance already refers to it as my "second wife", so I've got to out-do that or I'm in big trouble .

Also, a lot of those prices I quoted are actually discounted pretty heavily, because we have a lot of friends in the hotel and entertainment industry. We got 50% off the price for the hotel rental and buffet (and a lot of stuff like flowers and cake were thrown in for free). We got a sweet deal on the photos and dresses, and while the band is kinda expensive, they are actually pretty cheap considering they've got a record deal with RS Promotions and are quite well known in Thailand.

There are, however, hotels that do rent out at 450 baht per person, and you can find a good band to play a wedding for 4,000 or 5,000, and there are wedding package deals available at studios for 30K. They would not be the same type of things we got, but there would be options in those price ranges.

Having a magician at the party isn't a frivilous expense in my mind, because I'm a teacher and almost 100 people on my guest list are under the age of 10. So I think something to keep all those short people occupied is an absolute necessity.

A party of this type isn't out of anyone's range, really. I don't make any more or less than any other teacher in Bangkok (well, maybe a little more because I work 60-80 hours a week, but not much more). A few months of frugal living, some savings in the bank, and a couple of credit cards are all it takes to swing something like this.

[lopburi3]

A party of this type isn't out of anyone's range, really.  I don't make any more or less than any other teacher in Bangkok (well, maybe a little more because I work 60-80 hours a week, but not much more).  A few months of frugal living, some savings in the bank, and a couple of credit cards are all it takes to swing something like this.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't believe anyone is saying 'you' can not afford it. But to say it is anything like a normal Thai wedding for a civil servant (teacher) class Thai is just not true. But understand it may be required because of the person and family you are getting married to; but surly not due to your position if a normal teacher.

Your colleagues are going to lose all hope.

[Petesear]

I've never understood why people waste so much money on a wedding, whether it's here or in the west... I'm married, we got married in Bangkok and we did it for us, not for family or friends.. But many Thais want that 'look good' thing... Each to their own....

[ajarnski]

Well this is my cost to get it done in Korat.....

1) Buffet dinner at wife's parents house

250 guests = 15,000 baht

2) Wedding photo and dress package (2 morning outfits, 2 evening outfits):

6,000 baht

3) Tri-fold invitations:

250 = 3,800 baht

4) Small gift to hand out to guests at party :

5 baht * 300 = 1,500 baht

5) Well-known (well..atleast well liked) "morlum zink" band:

6 singers

2 comedians

(lots of stagehand)

***12 very beautiful dancers (wearing University outfits...my request) = 18,000 baht

6) Me acting stupid (to keep the kids busy):

0 baht

7) Photographer at wedding:

1,500 baht

8) Alcohol at the party:

4,000 baht (or more as needed)

Total: 49,800

Ski.....

[Neeranam]

I may have forgotten something, but I think this is a pretty complete list. When it's all said and done, the wedding will probably come in at just under 300K baht. Not bad, all things considered....

Good Luck on your wedding. Enjoy it, it certainly cost enough.

If I had had that money when I got married, I would have used it to put a down payment on a house/condo. That would have beeen much more useful for us.

Many teachers I know work 15-20 hours a week!! You say you are working 60!

You need a good holiday, why don't you take a 6 month holiday in a nice hotel - 300,000 would cover you for that. 6 months on the beach not working, sound good?

Spending it all in one day is definately not what I would do.

Our wedding cost 40,000. We had a band and some dancing girls! Great fun!

Lots of food and lots and lots of whisky and saeng som. Not many of my friends remember much about it. 4 years on, my wife and I remember very little.

All the hotels weddings I have been to have been very boring. All the up-country open-air ones have been marverlous.

This is Thailand, why try to emulate an American wedding?

My brother in law got "Big Ass", a popular group for his night club the other week. They were cheaper than what you are paying. This was out of Bangkok.

Edited January 9, 2005 by Neeranam

[gburns57au]

I had an up country wedding.....dont know what it cost exactly...but I went up there with 17000 baht to last 21 days....including a couple of days in Pattaya as a sort of honeymoon. Still managed to give her a couple of thousand baht at the airport before I left.....did overdraw the CC by 10,000 baht though...

[HenryP]

I may have forgotten something, but I think this is a pretty complete list. When it's all said and done, the wedding will probably come in at just under 300K baht. Not bad, all things considered....

This is Thailand, why try to emulate an American wedding?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Believe it or not, there are quite a few Thai people who throw extravagant weddings, and I am pretty confident when I say that they aren't trying to emulate an American matrimonial ceremony.

If anything, it seemed like a very Chinese influenced but still Thai wedding to me. Although this was my only experience at a Thai wedding, I have been to many American weddings (most that were far more expensive) and I just didnt see a striking similarity. Other than that the groom did wear a tuxedo, the bride wore a white dress, there was a cake, guests gave monetary gifts and ate food - but I just assumed that was typical for a wedding anywhere in the world.

300k baht might sound expensive, but it is all relative. I was at the wedding of my girlfriend's childhood friend 2 weeks ago in Bangkok at the Intercontinental Hotel (or in Thai, the Intercon) and I also wondered what the price of a Thai wedding was. I asked a couple people and I think the average amount of money spent by those that were married hovered right around the 400,000 baht mark.

From what I observed, there was a substantial sum of money collected by the newly wedded couple from the attending guests, and I dont know if it would cover the cost of the wedding, but I am pretty sure the guests would not have been nearly as generous if they were fed chicken sate and whiskey with dancing girls floating around. But hey that sounds like a ###### fun party to me!

In conclusion, I guess if Thai people really want to emulate an "American" wedding, they could get wasted and pull up to a drive in wedding chapel in Las Vegas, since that is the way I got married (and anulled) when I was 18!

[poolcleaner]

Pudgimelon's getting married!!!!!

Seem's only six months ago he was groping hookers at the Q bar.

Congratulations and good luck Pudgi.

ps. what ever happened to your Lollapalooza dancer?

I thought she was the perfect woman?

[Loaded]

Went to two weddings recently in Chiang Mai. One at the Sheraton and one at the Imperial Mae Ping. First was a 700 baht/head buffet with guest of honour a Lana royal, second was 500 baht/head for Chinese dinner. All very boring. Envelopes were dropped in boxes as you enter, amount dependent on the amount of buhn khun you'll expect from the happy couple's families. Talking to a lot of the guests most don't have particularly well-paid jobs but their families or school connections enabled an invite. My girlfiend's old primary and secondary schools are sources of most of her invitations as are family 'friends'. Very few white faces amoung the Chinese crowd. I felt that a farang arriving with an Issan girl would go down like lie-detector at the whitehouse, a fear that maybe inhibts more invites to us whiteys.

I feel that in general most of us will pay for a wedding that reflects the wife's social position within her community.

[Pudgimelon]

I feel that in general most of us will pay for a wedding that reflects the wife's social position within her community.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep, you hit the nail on the head.

[Pudgimelon]

This is Thailand, why try to emulate an American wedding?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm an American...... why wouldn't I want to emulate an American wedding?????

I didn't change my name to Somchai and dye my hair black when I moved here. I'm still an American, and it makes perfect sense for me to have American-style aspects (as well as Thai aspects) to my wedding ceremony.

After all, in order for a ceremony to have meaning, it should contain some cultural referents that are meaningful to the participants (including me), otherwise it wouldn't "feel" like a wedding ceremony.

Other than that the groom did wear a tuxedo, the bride wore a white dress, there was a cake, guests gave monetary gifts and ate food - but I just assumed that was typical for a wedding anywhere in the world. 

Yep. When Thai people include European traditions in their ceremonies, it's no different than when Americans include European traditions in their ceremonies. Both are copying traditions that originated elsewhere that may or may not still convey their original meaning (most don't).

We sometimes forget that Europeans have been in this region for hundreds of years. That's long enough for some traditions to "rub off" and become "Thai". Pizza and tacos are as "American" as apple pie, even though they may have originated from non-native ethnic groups. Likewise, the whole cake, white dress, and tux thing in a wedding ceremony is just as "Thai" as som-tom, even though they may have originated from a non-native ethnic group.

I asked a couple people and I think the average amount of money spent by those that were married hovered right around the 400,000 baht mark. 

Yep, some of my friends have spent more than that. It's all relative.

From what I observed, there was a substantial sum of money collected by the newly wedded couple from the attending guests, and I dont know if it would cover the cost of the wedding, but I am pretty sure the guests would not have been nearly as generous if they were fed chicken sate and whiskey with dancing girls floating around.  But hey that sounds like a ###### fun party to me!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Heck yeah, that does sound like a great party, and if I wanted to throw a get-stinking-drunk ho-down that's exactly what I'd do. But like I said, my frat days are over.

A nice "boring" evening filled with pleasant conversation, good food, good music, and a few laughs is fine by me. I can get my kicks on my honeymoon, I don't need to put on a wedding that would give my fiance's grandparents a heart-attack to have fun.

To each his own, I guess.

[meom]

Congratulations

8) Alcohol at the party:

6,000 baht (or more as needed)

With 400 guests I would assume it'll be a lot more unless they all drink lao kao.

[jackr]

Are you married yet, Pudg?

[sbk]

Most Thai weddings wouldnt be held at a swanky downtown hotel with an 8 piece band, wouldnt have the morning outfit and evening outfit photo session, wouldnt send out 400 invites, nor would they hire a magician for the kids. Unless of course you were marrying Mr T's daughter.

Certainly your expense sheet is not representative of every wedding...I would say it is representative of a very small percentage of Thai weddings, that percentage being the rich percentage.

The only thing traditional thai style about it is the giving of gifts (possibly) and the alcohol....I detect a lot of extravagance here

But it is your day and hers, and while these cost are out of most of our ranges, I do wish you luck on the day and for the future.

Well, where I live a 400 person wedding would be considered quite small. And I live in an area where most people live a rural life and follow the traditional ways. I went to a local wedding recently that had over 1200 people. The girl that works for us had a "not big" (her words) wedding of 800 people. I turned down a traditional wedding when my husband told me it would be upward of 1000-1500 people. They don't have them in a hotel (too small) but often in the gym at the school, and food and alcohol is always plentiful. Probably cost around 200-300,000 for a good size wedding.

[RamdomChances]

Well, where I live a 400 person wedding would be considered quite small. And I live in an area where most people live a rural life and follow the traditional ways. I went to a local wedding recently that had over 1200 people. The girl that works for us had a "not big" (her words) wedding of 800 people. I turned down a traditional wedding when my husband told me it would be upward of 1000-1500 people. They don't have them in a hotel (too small) but often in the gym at the school, and food and alcohol is always plentiful. Probably cost around 200-300,000 for a good size wedding.

Same up here, usually held in a field or wat a 60 table wedding would be small thats 60x8 thats 480 people, 8 to a table, we had 150 tables and ran out and had to find some more!!! cost me about 150,000 before the donations

[britmaveric]

6000 THB does seem too low- think I could prob drink that myself or have a laff trying!

[chuchok]

6000 THB does seem too low- think I could prob drink that myself or have a laff trying! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

6000TBH Britmaveric......just a start!

Edited January 12, 2005 by chuchok

[jackr]

Yeah really, Brit. He's spending a tonne on the responsible bits and bobs but seems to be overlooking the most important part. The BOOZE!

[raro]

Just stumbled over this interesting thread doing a search...200 to 300 k for an upcountry wedding. I just wonder how Khun Somchai, earning some 5 to 6,000 a month, can ever get married? Can someone explain that to me?