Marriage To Thai G/F In Thailand

[tinytot]

After 5 years together we are deciding to get married in Thailand...

I am Aussie and my g/f resides in Australia with me but we want to marry in Bangkok..

Why !! Because i can bring my family to Thailand and they dont have to travel ti Issan to marry and facilities are much better for them and g/f can bring her family down for a bit of RnR before and after marriage..

I want to find out who i need to contact for register and if they do like falang do with a celebrant to tell us all the blah blah blah you may kiss the bride now stuff..

Where is good place to marry ?

What would hotel be like to marry at? Or has anyone else married at hotel or where is somewhere ok to marry? We thought about hotel we usually stay at as it is nice area and large enough to marry in garden there or one of there fuction rooms.

So to sum this up i need to know who to contact for me Aussie and what we have to do for registration and somewhere good to marry,, Ok Thanks and i know i need a dowry ! Which is the Thai custom.. tinytot

[beano2274]

You will need the Affirmation to Marry from your Embassy, this must be translated at the MFA in Bangkok, this must be done to get married, it will take 3 days at the most.

There are many good hotels to get married in around Bangkok, but sure the guys who live in Isaan will provide better details.

There is the Buddhist ceremony in the morning, where you get blessed by the monks, then in the afternoon or evening a party for the family. The main thing is the Registry Office or Amphur where you will actually get married, and receive the wedding certificates. Not everything has to be done at the same time, I did the Amphur in 2009 and the Buddhist ceremony in March this year.

[richard_smith237]

If you are looking to marry at a hotel in Bangkok, one of the major questions might be the size of the Wedding party.. i.e. how many guests do you expect?.

As Beano mentioned: You'll need an affirmation to marry from your embassy, a translation of this (into Thai) then needs to be approved by an official at the ministry of foreign affairs (Chaeng Wattana, North Bangkok - Directions to this location can be found in other threads on Thai Visa.com).

There are a few separate 'items' to handle....

a) Monks Blessing ceremony

Engagement (sometimes combined with a monks blessing ceremony)

c) Sin Sod (dowry – Opinions differ and T.V.com has a vast number of threads on this subject)

d) Wedding Party (usually an evening do at a hotel) This will involve food, drink, small gifts, music etc

e) Actually getting married - Signing papers at the local Amphur (district office).

f) Translating Marriage certification into English if not already provided in Thai and English by the Amphur office.

As I see it, there is no right or wrong way to get married in Thailand - everyone has their own ideas, each wedding is different following different formats... It's basically down to what both you and your future Wife want combined with some influence from other family members. A lot may also depend on how traditional and spiritual your future Wife is.

--------------

My wife and I chose to forego the Monks blessing ceremony, we had a late afternoon Engagement Ceremony about an hour before the Wedding party in a different room at the hotel. Some people do the Engagement Party early in the morning at a time usually identified by a fortune teller, and usually at some silly hour and nearly always before 9am ! (my Wife and I didn't beleive this drivel, and the MIL went to three fortune tellers until one agreed with my 5pm timing !!).... The Engagement Party followed straight onto the Wedding Party held in the ball room of the same hotel.

A week before the wedding I obtained an Affirmation to Marry letter from the British Embassy (I've no reason to suspect the Aussies do this any differently) and had that letter translated at the MFA. Following our honeymoon my Wife and I legally married and obtained our Wedding certification at Bang Rak after first attempting this at Klong Tan (and facing a couple of bureaucratic brick wallers - and then following the advice of many on Thai Visa.com and going to Bang Rak).

[noise]

Quick off the top of my head with 100% lack of knowledge of Australian marriage requirements......

Get married legally there. Then come here and either have the morning monks and the evening reception or just have the evening reception. By pass all the paperwork required with all the translations from one language to another and finding the right office to file which paper.

A lot of expats married along those lines, even in country. I know of cases where expat wanted to take his fiance out of the country as his wife so they got leagally married at the amphur first so he would have the necessary paperwork. She then found the auspicious date for the religious marriage and they involved the family and friends then.

And when both are coming from another country, it might be something to think about. And think about the amount of time saved if you are planning on returning to Australia and this will be a fairly short trip.

[joseph49]

You will need the Affirmation to Marry from your Embassy, this must be translated at the MFA in Bangkok, this must be done to get married, it will take 3 days at the most.

There are many good hotels to get married in around Bangkok, but sure the guys who live in Isaan will provide better details.

There is the Buddhist ceremony in the morning, where you get blessed by the monks, then in the afternoon or evening a party for the family. The main thing is the Registry Office or Amphur where you will actually get married, and receive the wedding certificates. Not everything has to be done at the same time, I did the Amphur in 2009 and the Buddhist ceremony in March this year.

what is the MFA?

[soiboy1967]

I agree with noise above. Do all the leagal marriage stuff in Australia and then have the full wedding ceremony in LOS. We married in UK and had ceremony in Thailand. Never had any issues with any paperwork or need for translation etc.

As for venue then one of our nieces got married in Bangkok in 2009. It was a wedding venue designed a bit like a Thai style house high up like it was on stilts. Can't remember what it was called but it was on Soi Sakorn near the intersection of Ratchadaphisek and Vibavadhi Rangsit. Seemed like the place was very organised.

[farang000999]

Why bother to drag a bunch of villagers to a fancy party in a Bangkok hotel where they probably won't feel comfortable? Why not just have a Thai wedding in Isaan and a farang wedding in Australia? By bringing the village to Bangkok and the green farang to Bangkok it sounds like you are setting up a scenario for double culture shock. Plus how are you going to feel when your wife's family starts asking for gas money from your friends and family? Better make sure that you rent a karaoke bus stocked to the teeters with cheap whiskey to take them there and back.

Edited May 12, 2011 by farang000999

[melvinmelvin]

You will need the Affirmation to Marry from your Embassy, this must be translated at the MFA in Bangkok, this must be done to get married, it will take 3 days at the most.

There are many good hotels to get married in around Bangkok, but sure the guys who live in Isaan will provide better details.

There is the Buddhist ceremony in the morning, where you get blessed by the monks, then in the afternoon or evening a party for the family. The main thing is the Registry Office or Amphur where you will actually get married, and receive the wedding certificates. Not everything has to be done at the same time, I did the Amphur in 2009 and the Buddhist ceremony in March this year.

what is the MFA?

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The main offices are on Chaeng Wattana.

Edited May 12, 2011 by melvinmelvin

[farang000999]

Just use one of the various services, it's a long trek to C.W.

[Raesum]

Have a look at Suan Thip restaurant Nonthaburi. We had our sons wedding reception there. After getting married in Australia they had a family ceremony at our garden here in Bangkok then piled all the guests into a huge songtow truck and off to Suan Thip we went.The buffet they provided was excellent and we were allowed to bring our own whiskey etc.They provided the bar staff.They also provide full wedding facilities

[nocturn]

have the typical ceremony at the temple of your choice, then the reception in the courtyard at the Sukhothai.

they are most amenable to parties, and can certainly keep the veuve clicquot flowing. given its quality and its ironic name, veuve is particularly apt for a bangkok wedding.

the sukhothai has some great suites off the reflecting pool on the ground floor, one of which has a bathroom almost as large as the room proper.

cheaper, but not cheap rooms are also available. i have been to 3 great weddings there.

As an added bonus, the family will likely be cowed into submission by the setting, especially if you wear morning suits, or suggest everyone wear white to the reception.

Edited May 13, 2011 by nocturn