Hello! My brother is getting married to his Thai gf in May. I will be attending and am wondering what in the world I should get them as a wedding gift. Are there traditional gifts that I should be considering? I live in the US and know things are culturally different here than there....obviously. I don't want to offend her family, rather, I'd like to make a good impression.

Also, what should I wear? Slacks and button up shirt? Slacks, button up shirt and tie? Suit? I was reading somewhere that the color black should be avoided as Thai's reserve that color for funerals. Is that accurate?

It goes without saying that I've never attend a Thai wedding before and I have absolutely no idea as to what to expect, so if you know of any little tidbit of information that may assist me, no matter how trivial it may seem, I would greatly appreciate you telling me about it!

GOLD GOLD AND MORE GOLD. The perfect wedding present Thai ladies love it mate

A nice little envelope with the folding stuff inside will do just fine.

What should you give?

Your best bet is money. A cash gift should be placed in the wedding invitation envelope and given back to the couple on the evening/morning of the wedding (morning if you are his elder brother).

But......Thais, depending on how close they are to the couple often give gifts too. No traditional gift, same as you would give in the west - clock, fan etc......

Perhaps you could give both a cash gift and a present. Up to you!

Ask your brother first "Who will be keeping the cash gifts given on the day of the wedding?".

It ought to be the couple, but i have heard a lot of Farangs getting scammed by 'Mom-in-law' taking the 'gate receipts', even though he also paid for the wedding party!

If thats the case, then dont bother giving a cash gift.......

What should you wear?

Well, it very much depends on where he is getting married! You didnt tell us if he was getting married in a plush Bangkok 5 Star Hotel or in the middle of a rural village.

Wearing black? Just don't wear a black shirt! As for a black suit, that's all right

Up to you what you wear in the countryside!

But if it's at a respectable location in say a.....hotel/hall/governemt building etc.... you may be expected to wear formal dress.

Ask your brother first.

Edited February 14, 200620 yr by stevesuphan

First and foremost, a sincere "Thank You" to those that responded to my questions. Your input has helped me out tremendously!

I'll now attempt to answer (the best I can anyway!) some very good questions that were posed.

"Who will be keeping the cash gifts given on the day of the wedding?". - My brothers gf's mother is deceased, so that adds a little bit more uncertainty to the whole who's going to keep the money question. I'm assuming any cash given will be kept by my brother's gf and him. Just an assumption though. As stevesuphan so accurately pointed out, my brother is paying for the entire wedding so I truly hope they end up getting any gift of money.

Where is he getting married? - The wedding will be taking place on a beach between Phuket Town and Chalong. I don't recall the actual name of the beach, but I believe it's something like Pai Lai. Does this ring a bell to anyone?

Again, I want to thank daleyboy, astral and stevesuphan for their input! Also, a thank you in advance for any further input from any of you reading this!