Future Wedding Speech

[Eastender]

After 6 months of living together in Thailand, then a year apart during which time she visited me twice in the UK, I married my g/f 2 weeks ago during a 2 week holiday in Thailand. That was the legal registering, not the ceremony.

The plan is that I go back there to meet her over xmas time when we'll almost certainly have the ceremony, and embassy permitting she'll come back with, or soon after me to the UK.

Although it's a long way off I'm already thinking about a wedding speech which I would love to do in Thai of course.

My Thai is fairly basic, but my pronunciation is good if I learn the tone. I could write a short speech myself but I know it would be 'pidgeon' Thai and not very entertaining.

So I'm looking to you all for some help.

I want to write a 3 to 5 minute speech, but without using too much fancy Thai beyond my understanding, but with a little humour.

A little background which may help if adding jokes etc; she's 30, from a poorish family in Nakon Sawan, she has 4 sisters and a brother. She now works running her own restaurant, i.e. she's got a wok and a table outside her apartment.

Basically I want to;

thank her parents for raising her, thank her cousin for the use of her house for the wedding, thank my parents and friends for coming a long way (if they do), and thank her family and friends for coming.

I don't know how Thai wedding speeches go, so add anything else that's apropriate, (thanking the guest for their gifts of money?).

My wife, Korn, has given me one idea for a joke; pom kitwah panrayah jabit huu tuk wan, le lang jaat nee pom kong ock tiow mai dai - which if I haven't made a mistake should mean 'I think my wife will nag me every day and after the wedding won't let me go out'. Lighthearted jokes like this would be good - but I would like to know what boundaries I shouldn't cross, i.e. can I joke that she's old and lazy?

So any advice on what should be included in the speech, or full sentences in Thai, or a full writen speech if you're bored and have the time, would be grately apreciated. I need to know the intonation but as long as I know what each word means I can look that up in a 'dic'.

Thanks very much, you may even get an invite.

[Eastender]

Oh yeh, any Thai script will be wasted on me, but intonation is apreciated.

[meadish_sweetball]

My two cents, and no offense meant:

For a speech to really work, it should be personal. My advice is you try to think about what you would like to say in English first, and then write that down.

You should keep the jokes on the simple side, as too much irony may go over people's heads completely, or in the worst case, offend them.

Once you have this speech ready, then try to find somebody to translate it for you - you can post it here and see if somebody takes the bait. I don't think you will get anyone here to compose an entire speech for you all the way from scratch, but once you have a draft in English you are happy with, somebody might be able to help.

Cheers,

Meadish

[Totster]

I wasn't required to give a speech at my wedding, which suited me fine, however if I had given a speech it wouldn't have mattered what language it would have been in because everybody was plastered long before the wedding even started

Are you sure you want to do a speech as such.... just thanking people for coming and wishing them well would be sufficient, i'm sure your Thai guests would appreciate the gesture more than anything else IMHO..

totster

[meadish_sweetball]

Another thing, at the weddings I have attended here (5 so far, two in Central Thailand and three in Northern Thailand - two of them mixed marriages and the three others all-Thai affairs), many of the Thai guests did not seem interested in t the speeches, but sat and talked amongst themselves.

If this would only have occurred on one or two of these occasions I would have put it down to conincidence, but the trend is quite clear. If you do give a speech, prepare yourself for this happening.

I guess it is just not perceived as being as rude as it would be in most European countries. At least that's the only explanation I have at the moment.

[Totster]

Another thing, at the weddings I have attended here (5 so far, two in Central Thailand and three in Northern Thailand - two of them mixed marriages and the three others all-Thai affairs), many of the Thai guests did not seem interested in t the speeches, but sat and talked amongst themselves.

If this would only have occurred on one or two of these occasions I would have put it down to conincidence, but the trend is quite clear. If you do give a speech, prepare yourself for this happening.

I guess it is just not perceived as being as rude as it would be in most European countries. At least that's the only explanation I have at the moment.

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I only think you should consider doing a speech if a large number of Farang are there... otherwise, just a thankyou will be fine.

totster

Edited June 11, 2005 by Totster

[Bangkokbutcher]

I wasn't required to give a speech at my wedding, which suited me fine, however if I had given a speech it wouldn't have mattered what language it would have been in because everybody was plastered long before the wedding even started 

Are you sure you want to do a speech as such.... just thanking people for coming and wishing them well would be sufficient, i'm sure your Thai guests would appreciate the gesture more than anything else IMHO.. 

totster 

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SNAP, that's one thing I will never ever forget about our wedding in my wife's village..

The ceremony was due to start at 10am, and I was woken at around 6.15am and taken to my brother in laws to get ready. Got dressed up and then the 'drinking' started, copious amounts of whiskey and beer was literally forced down my neck before making the journey back to my wifes house and the ceremony..

Only to find that everyone that had turned up was already 1/2 pished.

Dont think I could have done a speech even if I had planned to do so.

Bottom line is, I really dont think that a speech is necessary, as when I mentioned this to my wife, she said "it is normally only the monks that do the talking at a wedding".

[Eastender]

My wife seemed to think a speech would be a good idea, but then again when I asked her other questions about our impending wedding ceremony she didn't seem to know much about it and had to phone her mum.

I knew there'd be drinking but didn't expect it to be so full on. Maybe as they know it's free they're afraid it's going to run out so they get their share ASAP.

I also imagined if I stood up with a mike and cleared my throat everyone would shut up and listen, maybe not!

Oh well, I'd like to have something prepared to say anyway. And by speech I did mean thanking everyone individually and maybe a few other lines about our future.

I'll do as you suggest Meadish and post something in English in the near future and then ask advice on translation.

However, if anyone wants to add some advice, or a couple of lines to get me started, then please feel free.

Thanks all.

[Padkapow Guy]

I do not know how it wwould transfer into thai, but here is a classic!

" may all your ups and downs be between the sheets"

I guess it more of a best man speech, but I had to share it with you guys.

PKG

[Old Bean]

My wife seemed to think a speech would be a good idea, but then again when I asked her other questions about our impending wedding ceremony she didn't seem to know much about it and had to phone her mum.

I knew there'd be drinking but didn't expect it to be so full on.  Maybe as they know it's free they're afraid it's going to run out so they get their share ASAP.

I also imagined if I stood up with a mike and cleared my throat everyone would shut up and listen, maybe not!

Oh well, I'd like to have something prepared to say anyway.  And by speech I did mean thanking everyone individually and maybe a few other lines about our future.

I'll do as you suggest Meadish and post something in English in the near future and then ask advice on translation.

However, if anyone wants to add some advice, or a couple of lines to get me started, then please feel free.

Thanks all.

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