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Thai-Foreign Couple Accused of Dodging B195K Wedding Bill

A catering business owner has lodged a complaint with Pak Chong Police Station, alleging a Thai-foreign couple failed to pay the remaining 195,000 baht bill for their wedding reception in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

Somsak Taemsuay, 39, filed the complaint on July 16 after repeated attempts to obtain payment, according to his account. Police said they intend to summon the couple to discuss the dispute, although no date has been set.

Booking and deposit

Somsak said a Thai woman identified only as Paphada booked his company on June 9 for a wedding reception held on July 7. The order was for catering for 130 tables, charged at 2,500 baht each, making the total bill 325,000 baht.

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He said he met Paphada at her home in Ban Rai subdistrict, Thep Sathit district, on June 10 to agree the menu and arrangements for the venue. She subsequently paid a 130,000 baht deposit, he said.

Because of the size of the booking, Somsak said his business also supplied drinks free of charge and arranged a live band for the morning wedding ceremony.

Caterer says balance was not paid

The catering service was completed on the wedding day, and Somsak said his company asked for settlement of the remaining balance afterwards. He alleged that the couple asked to pay the following day, but the 195,000 baht did not arrive.

According to Somsak, Paphada later told him that her foreign husband had not provided the dowry he had promised, leaving her unable to pay the outstanding amount.

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Somsak said the unpaid bill has caused financial pressure for him and his business. Despite making a police complaint, he said he would prefer to resolve the matter through negotiation rather than court action.

The complaint remains an allegation, and the report does not identify the foreign husband's nationality or give his response.

What foreign residents should note

For foreigners planning a wedding or other major event in Thailand, the case underlines the importance of making clear arrangements with suppliers over deposits, final-payment dates and who is responsible for settling the bill.

Police have said only that they plan to call the couple in for questioning and discussions over the alleged debt.

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Pictures courtesy of Facebook/ Khao Pak Chong News

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18 July 2026

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Jack Hammer Advanced Member

Jack Hammer

Member

The caterer stated he provided free drinks, the account for 325,000 for 130 guests equates to 2500 per guest for food. Although the bride was shown the menu and agreed to the prices, I don’t know what was ordered, but I think the prices were inflated. Stop and think what you can actually buy at a top end restaurant for 2500.

Jack Hammer Advanced Member

Jack Hammer

Member
50 minutes ago, wmorris61 said:

Luckily for me, my wedding set me back about 2 thousand baht 8 years ago. Still going strong. Luckily for me there was no demand to invite every man and his dog to an opulent ceremony. In fact there four of us in total which included two family members as witnesses. I’ve been to a few Thai weddings and I know I got a good deal. I’ve watched the invited guests stuff there bags with free spirits and other stuff while the parents foot the bill. The numbers of guests is sickening and well beyond what is acceptable. This poor bugger now has it all in front of him.

Is your first name Charlie?

animatic Star Member

animatic

Advanced Member

Maybe at under 10 days the couple is on honeymoon and not reachable.

hughrection Silver Member

hughrection

Advanced Member
1 hour ago, J Branche said:

Here's some sound Advice.

Stop inviting 130 people, some who are not close to a "BIG Party" to show off and entertain others when your finances can NOT support it.

Nonsense type logic. All for one night maybe 6 hours of entertainment.

Then your paying this Debt for how many years?

Xactly, ...... show, show, show. This guys in for a hard life with this one. :)

hughrection Silver Member

hughrection

Advanced Member
1 hour ago, sunrisecoconuts said:

He agreed on the dowry that paid those costs, no blame shifting and changing subject possible here.

In all likelihood, he didn't agree anything of the sort. Once he is aware of the debt, he will probs pay and have a stern word with wifey. :)

Scouse123 Ruby Member

Scouse123

Advanced Member

I got married two weeks ago after thirty years together, the wedding party cost me nothing, we didn't have one.

The whole exercise was to plan for the future and make things easier for her financially after my demise; being legally married helps in the UK financial system and with wills, etc

We will use the money saved by having no party to go on an extended holiday next year to Europe, business class.

Neither of us is a big fan of large gatherings anyway.

hughrection Silver Member

hughrection

Advanced Member
8 minutes ago, Jack Hammer said:

Is your first name Charlie?

Nope, he's just practical. My wedding cost 200 baht at the local government offices. Wife didn't want a ceremony. Same money was used to fix up the house, pay for a truck and open a small business. Been together 22 years now with all paid for, no debt and her business growing and doing well. :) As I said to the wife at the time, 'if we were broke tomorrow, which of these wedding guests would turn up at our door and give us some money?' She thought for a moment and said 'none of them.' 'So why are we putting on a massive party for them?' says I. :)

She agreed and things have been great since. :)

hughrection Silver Member

hughrection

Advanced Member
26 minutes ago, riverhigh said:

If the caterer went the civil route, the husband would drag it out and never pay. Would not surprise me if the husband has pulled this stunt off before.

Or, he knew absolutely nothing about it. Thai ladies plan things and constantly keep the foreign partner out of the loop. It has happen to most people on this platform, I am sure, in one form or another. Maybe when he is aware that payment is owed, he will get the money together. Hopefully, there might be a follow up to this story. Hopefully. :)

Jack Hammer Advanced Member

Jack Hammer

Member
3 minutes ago, hughrection said:

Nope, he's just practical. My wedding cost 200 baht at the local government offices. Wife didn't want a ceremony. Same money was used to fix up the house, pay for a truck and open a small business. Been together 22 years now with all paid for, no debt and her business growing and doing well. :) As I said to the wife at the time, 'if we were broke tomorrow, which of these wedding guests would turn up at our door and give us some money?' She thought for a moment and said 'none of them.' 'So why are we putting on a massive party for them?' says I. :)

She agreed and things have been great since. :)

I was being facetious. I totally agree with you. You made a very wise decision and fortunate to have a wife to stand by you.

Legal Lifeline Silver Member

Legal Lifeline

Forum Sponsor
3 hours ago, Celsius said:

Did he tell her he is a business development consultant?

3 hours ago, Celsius said:

Did he tell her he is a business development consultant?

3 hours ago, Celsius said:

Did he tell her he is a business development consultant?

He has not yet- but I have a feeling we will see more on GoFundMe soon

Watch this space!

twizzian Silver Member

twizzian

Advanced Member

The foreigner is a bit of a tight wad if you ask me. I paid that same amount 15 years ago. Unless there’s a dispute with the quality of catering service they received, he shouldn’t have got married

riverhigh Silver Member

riverhigh

Advanced Member
1 minute ago, hughrection said:

Or, he knew absolutely nothing about it. Thai ladies plan things and constantly keep the foreign partner out of the loop. It has happen to most people on this platform, I am sure, in one form or another. Maybe when he is aware that payment is owed, he will get the money together. Hopefully, there might be a follow up to this story. Hopefully. :)

Unfortunatley you may be correct. This would not be the first time that this has happened. As they say "love is blind" and looking at the age difference ......

JerryM Gold Member

JerryM

Advanced Member
1 hour ago, koolkarl said:

This is a civil matter not a criminal matter. If caterer is owed money then sue.

Since in the OP the caterer has already filed a complaint with the Pak Chong Police Station, it is a criminal matter.

newbee2022 Star Member

newbee2022

Advanced Member
3 hours ago, Celsius said:

Did he tell her he is a business development consultant?

Thank you for your post 😂😂😂

hanbla Senior Member

hanbla

Member
6 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Somsak said a Thai woman identified only as Paphada booked his company

But there's a wedding card where their full names are blurred so someone has their names. The caterer also have their address.

Shouldn't be any problem to find them.

I was also thinking about the envelopes from all the guests at the wedding, if there were 130 guests there should be some money even if the husband didn't show up with a dowry.

BTW totally different from our wedding 17 years ago. We married in my home country and I asked my wife if she wanted a wedding back home in Thailand aswell. No, she said, we just register the marriage in Thailand too, that's enough.

But later we had a small reception at a better restaurant in Bangkok for the closest friends.

sqwakvfr Platinum Member

sqwakvfr

Advanced Member

In Thai culture can the groom paying for a lavish wedding be considered a dowry? I mean 300K is good amount.

go4it Apprentice Member

go4it

Member
7 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

The order was for catering for 130 table

130 tables were served, not 130 guests, that makes a big difference. Lets assume not all tables were fully occupied so you can calculate with 500 to 600 guests. Not a small party and if the picture is from the event they also had a stage with entertainment.

From now on the foreigners will have to pay a higher deposit upfront!

Iron Tongue Gold Member

Iron Tongue

Advanced Member
56 minutes ago, hughrection said:

Or, he knew absolutely nothing about it. Thai ladies plan things and constantly keep the foreign partner out of the loop. It has happen to most people on this platform, I am sure, in one form or another. Maybe when he is aware that payment is owed, he will get the money together. Hopefully, there might be a follow up to this story. Hopefully. :)

This is what I'm thinking. He had no clue what the total costs were going to be and likely thought it only cost 190k baht that he paid up front. From the amount of ink we can see on her, she probably wanted a big extravagant blowout to show all her "friends" how she scored a farang husband. Probably thought the wedding money from her "friends" would cover the remainder, but they came just to freeload.

J Branche Gold Member

J Branche

Advanced Member
2 hours ago, koolkarl said:

This is a civil matter not a criminal matter. If caterer is owed money then sue.

The Police will help mediate these issues to avoid added costs and burdens of time lost. Unfortunately as we have learned the performance and result can vary by region, social status, your financial worth, or possibly (Thai vs Foreigner).

I understand that most Thai's are honest, trustworthy, and do desire to pay their debts.

unblocktheplanet Diamond Member

unblocktheplanet

Advanced Member

Occasionally, my ex-students ask me for wedding advice. No big venue, only the closest and dearest family & friends. You don't need the outliers' envelopes, it won't make a dent. If you're members of a private club, say, an alumni assn, that would be okay.

Why no keep the money and travel to the country of your dreams and get married there? ELOPE!

My son & g/f eloped to Las Vegas and were married by Elvis. Still together...

roo860 Star Member

roo860

Advanced Member
1 hour ago, marin said:

Been to a hundred or more Thai weddings including mine. Never have I seen this. You bring your own envelope with whatever you want to give to the wedding. It is then collected or you deposit it upon entering the wedding and greeting the bride and groom.

TravelGuides & Travelogues

And logged into a book, name and how much given, same for funerals

KhunHeineken Ruby Member

KhunHeineken

Advanced Member
3 minutes ago, roo860 said:

And logged into a book, name and how much given, same for funerals

How do you collect the envelopes at your own funeral? 😂

spidermike007 Star Member

spidermike007

Advanced Member
3 hours ago, sunrisecoconuts said:

They already lost face and he is done lol. Unless he turns it into a joke by magically bringing double the money and fix loss face. Even then it is a obvious tell already that this is a old bastard with a younger girl who is in it for the transactional part only.

There is so many guys who lie to girls in order to get free sex for ages, promising them a condo or saying they own a huge house back home, saying they will pay for a huge wedding. A guy with the actual money, wouldn't need to do that.

That is absolutely correct as most women want to see the money either on the front end or on the back end. With most civilians it's on the back end, with most pros on the front end. Either way there's always money involved.

Why invite that many people to a wedding only to be humiliated afterwards when everybody finds out you didn't have the money to pay for it? Bizarre story.

Ray60 Explorer Member

Ray60

Member
3 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Looks like he found himself a well tattooed woman. Wonder where he found her! Anyway, just another silly guy coming to Thailand without a plan.

Thailandreal estate

3 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Looks like he found himself a well tattooed woman. Wonder where he found her! Anyway, just another silly guy coming to Thailand without a plan.

Thailandreal estate

3 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Looks like he found himself a well tattooed woman. Wonder where he found her! Anyway, just another silly guy coming to Thailand without a plan.

Thailandreal estate

I am sure she was still a virgin.

tmd5855 Silver Member

tmd5855

Advanced Member
3 hours ago, sunrisecoconuts said:

She will back in Pattaya next month and he will go live in Chiang Mai and cry it off sobbing over 35 beers at a mom and pop shop in middle of nowhere. Money is like the #1 reason of all divorces and even more for cheating, girls here will do so 95% sure if someone pops up their radar that is better off, or simply hands it hassle free, even for some short fun.

My bottles of Leo beer at a Mom & Pop shop in a nearby village cost 60baht.

Mind you lived here since 2004 working offshore retiring 2015.

Can speak single tone Thai/Issan which brings smiles with the locals.

The Oracle Senior Member

The Oracle

Member
2 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

I got married two weeks ago after thirty years together, the wedding party cost me nothing, we didn't have one.

The whole exercise was to plan for the future and make things easier for her financially after my demise; being legally married helps in the UK financial system and with wills, etc

We will use the money saved by having no party to go on an extended holiday next year to Europe, business class.

Neither of us is a big fan of large gatherings anyway.


Congratulations on the nuptials.

roo860 Star Member

roo860

Advanced Member
46 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

How do you collect the envelopes at your own funeral? 😂

Who mentioned the deceased collecting envelopes? 🤔

Gottfrid Star Member

Gottfrid

Advanced Member
29 minutes ago, Ray60 said:

I am sure she was still a virgin.

You bet!

Gottfrid Star Member

Gottfrid

Advanced Member
49 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

How do you collect the envelopes at your own funeral? 😂

Eeeeeh? Go figure!

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