Lousy Wedding

[luckizuchinni]

No local shops?

No local market?

Nobody with a barbecue or rice cooker?

Nobody had the phone number for a mobile noodle m/c stand?

Just sounds strange.

KFC deliver, so do McDonald's or even pizza hut

The closest one is probably 70 km away in Rayong, so no, I don't think so. I saw a 7-11 35 km away in Klaeng, though, so there was that.

When I saw the title in the news letter I thought it was your wedding. Luckily not.

zuchinni, I know approximately the area you describe. Just past the Khao Chamao turn off, right? Its mostly farms out there and the people can be a bit rough.

Not all Thai are generous. How many times have we not read stories here of country folks who are just straight up rude? They can be cheap skates too.

Also, you took the wrong way to get there.What you should have done was get off the 7 right after the toll gate (Ban Bueng) and taken the 344. It goes straight down to Klaeng. Just one light. You took the long way round. The 3 from Pattaya to Rayong does suck big-time. There is a new Lotus in Klaeng, but after that there is FA. Vegetables are more expensive down there for some strange reason.

I don't understand why people say to stay away from Thai weddings. They can be fun.

We took 344 back, but we decided to spend the night before in Jomtien, then took the 3 from there. I should have checked the map they sent to my wife's cell before leaving Bangkok, but the wife was told that Klaeng was in Rayong, so she thought it was at the city, not just the province.

The map was wrong, anyway. It had us taking the 344 to Klaeng, then turning left for 19 km, then left again for 9, then "left" once more. Turns out that last left was really a right. We only found the place because we stopped a local farmer who knew where the bride's family's farm was.

Edited July 7, 2014 by luckizuchinni

[luckizuchinni]

I haven't read all 55 replies, but when I read out this story to my G.F. her theory was that the Groom may have got the Bride pregnant before they got married and this was a way for the Bride's parents to get back at him.

Just a theory but they definitely made the Grooms family loose face on purpose so there must be a reason behind that.

Tell your g/f she is right. I only found out when my wife came to bed last night.

Makes sense when the bride's family rushed the wedding to this last weekend.

[mrtoad]

Just went to a Thai village wedding. There was a Buddhist monk ceremony first that I missed with 9 monks. Then a Lao ceremony followed by a Thai one. Groom was a Farange friend. The bride was a US resident Thai woman who introduced me to my Thai GF. I have only been living in LOS for 3 weeks. After the wedding we had a huge feast and then we traveled 300 kilometers to a mountain resort for a reception with mostly different group of friends and family from Bangkok. Drank, ate and sang karaoke until midnight. It was a wonderful day and the bride organized a spectacular wedding. Of course maybe it was easier because there was no groom's family to keep happy. Now in Hanoi traveling with the honeymoon couple.

Have you got a box office seat?

[Baerboxer]

Good story - but seems about par for the course.

I went to a wealthy friend's wedding in BKK. The groom's parents did not approve of wifey, and the fare offered after the ceremony and again in the evening was chosen to show that.

Thais like to think they send subtle messages.

[Payboy]

A lousy wedding is better than the best funeral at least for the main participants.

[fishbrando]

What a story, thanks for sharing it. I can't even imagine what it will be like for your wife's cousin when he returns to work for his commander.

Cha yen yen. You dont attend Thai weddings every day. Just treat this as an one off bad day. Dont sulk over this.

Mmmm, I could go for some cha yen right now. I must say, though, the bride's family was pretty yen cha towards the groom's family.

[96tehtarp]

Thanks for posting a great story, and doing it in real-time too. I loved the dimension you gave the story of you sitting upstairs typing live while events continue to unfold downstairs in your living room. It was a gem of a post.

I would like to see you get invited to another wedding with another family. Ask your wife to coordinate a little bit, at least to the extent that you can ensure there will be food to eat. Proper driving directions would help too.

I've always had quite a lot of fun at Thai weddings, although they can be very long affairs. A good idea is to book a room somewhere nearby where you can relax alone for a couple of hours if necessary. The last Thai wedding I attended was fun, however it was nearly a 20 hour day. I wish I had booked a room somewhere. Now that I am recalling that day, it was held in a hotel in Bangkok, in Nonthaburi. The most frustrating part is we did not know which hotel, its name, or its telephone number. Oh well, at least we did eat well after a few frantic hours of calling and going to the wrong hotel by taxi a couple of times.

I hope you can experience a good Thai wedding. Ask your wife to get you both invited to one. I think you will be surprised at the difference.

[spidermike007]

Wow. What a disaster. It is called lack of planning. Someone with a degree of intelligence should have taken charge. First of all sounds like a real cheap charlie was involved, because no Thai wedding ever runs out of food. There is at least enough fried rice to feed 300 people. And who's idea was it to start without honorary members of the crowd present, knowing they were on the road, and on the way there? Not much you could have, or should have done. In terms of the people who you brought to the terminal saying thank you, that is simply not part of the Thai culture. That is a fareng thing. So, you do not expect a thank you from Thai people. It is not that they are ungrateful for the favor. However they are not taught to show gratitude. It seems to be a peculiarity in Thai culture. It is learned. My girlfriend always expresses her gratitude, but she was taught that. You cannot expect people who have not been taught that, to simply know that. So, do favors for Thai people because it is something you want to do, not for the gratitude.

[bander]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Note to self: Avoid all Thai weddings, especially your own.

Best quote I ever read on TV, I'll keep this in mind as long as I live

[bander]

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Wow. What a disaster. It is called lack of planning. Someone with a degree of intelligence should have taken charge. First of all sounds like a real cheap charlie was involved, because no Thai wedding ever runs out of food. There is at least enough fried rice to feed 300 people. And who's idea was it to start without honorary members of the crowd present, knowing they were on the road, and on the way there? Not much you could have, or should have done. In terms of the people who you brought to the terminal saying thank you, that is simply not part of the Thai culture. That is a fareng thing. So, you do not expect a thank you from Thai people. It is not that they are ungrateful for the favor. However they are not taught to show gratitude. It seems to be a peculiarity in Thai culture. It is learned. My girlfriend always expresses her gratitude, but she was taught that. You cannot expect people who have not been taught that, to simply know that. So, do favors for Thai people because it is something you want to do, not for the gratitude.

"Someone with a degree of intelligence should have taken charge"

Not easy to find in LOS

[HerbalEd]

Sorry it might have been a badly arranged wedding but a lot of your story sounds exaggerated.

You have no way of knowing that, so why even bring it up. How rude.

[kleelof]

Sorry it might have been a badly arranged wedding but a lot of your story sounds exaggerated.

Well, it didn't take long for someone to call the OP a liar...

Exactly what do you think was stretched in the OP's story?

Out of food?

That really seemed like the only unlikely thing to happen.

[bander]

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Cha yen yen. You dont attend Thai weddings every day. Just treat this as an one off bad day. Dont sulk over this.
This is Thailand after all and you just a guest.

OP is working and pay tax in Thailand, does that make him a guest? I would be disappointing too, driving from Bangkok to Jomtien and then another 2,5 hours to this wedding just to find out there is no food left. I think any in his shoes would left the wedding immediately without any explanation

[ericthai]

Just crazy that they ran out of food. Any wedding or funeral I went to there is always more than enough food. Everyone is feed and allot of time food to take home.

Food is so important at one of these events and not just in Thailand even in the west. I was surprised the ceremony was so late in the morning, typically it's at 6-7am

then later in the day is when they have the party. Maybe they told the police and you just to come to the party. Sounds like someone really dont care about these two getting married to so poorly plan an event like this.

As for people just ending up bumming a ride, happens all the time in Thailand and very seldom do you get a thank you. It's also typical that 10 mins turns into an hour and nobody knows what is going on. Communication in Thailand is so lacking.

You cant help solve anything so let your wife deal with it. I would go down and show your face to say hi to the groom just to show your support

and not totally ignore the situation like a hermit up stairs. Good luck

[ericthai]

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Cha yen yen. You dont attend Thai weddings every day. Just treat this as an one off bad day. Dont sulk over this.

This is Thailand after all and you just a guest.

OP is working and pay tax in Thailand, does that make him a guest? I would be disappointing too, driving from Bangkok to Jomtien and then another 2,5 hours to this wedding just to find out there is no food left. I think any in his shoes would left the wedding immediately without any explanation

Really? You would leave immediately because of no food? So you go to a wedding just for the food? I go to a wedding to help the couple celebrate their new life, food, drink etc is nice to have but I dont go to wedding for that.

[Gillyflower]

A few years ago, I went to the wedding of my GH owner's son. All the residents were invited, plus any who had ever stayed there. It was all by formal invitation. There were loads of us and all their Chinese Thai family/friends. The reception was held in a big hotel. There wasn't nearly enough food and people kept asking for more. The only drinks were water and orange juice. Mind you a couple at our table had their flasks. We were all rather envious. Lots of speeches in Thai and no music. The father of the groom is a very rich man. You should see the fat rolls he carries around in his back pocket. It was all over in a little over 2 hours and the mini vans took us back to the GH. We were not invited to the actual wedding. We all had to line up to give our envelope.

[balford]

Welcome to Thailand where Rule No. 1 is expect the unexpected.

The story isn't far fetched at all for the cynics out there as it's happened to me in a remote village out of Udon Thani for a Tambun Baan - after travelling from Bangkok - also at weddings and at a funeral. 38 years and I still haven't learnt.

Bob A. Relaxed in Lampang

[khunPer]

Thanks for sharing your story...

[Daniel Boon]

oh I know I've had just a little too much wine and and waiting for the delivering of tonight's meal magic from "Meals "on Wheel". Hubby will soon wake up from his late afternoon nap and be totally amused with my cooking.

There is no excuse for any event in Thailand ever running out of food, except for the hosts wanting send a not-so-subtle-message.

Nancy

I never thought of that. I can't understand THai well enough to know if the relatives downstairs are saying that, but from their inflection and actions, that could very well be true. If true, the message was received loud and clear.

Now I am curious, and when my wife gets back, I'll ask her.

customary that wedding starts right on 9am isn't it?

[slipperylobster]

Ok,

This story clears up a lot of misconceptions about Sin Sot, and how it is utilized. Obviously, the money was not available for the amount of guests. I do not agree with Sin Sot, but understand in theory that the grooms pays the mom of the bride and the wedding is set up by her. This did not happen, due to lack of planning, lack of funds, or negligence.

So for you future farang grooms......You might want to ask a question here. How much was the Sin Sot payment? Was it over the 500,000 baht mark? This would have been known at the wedding. If it was even 25 percent of that (most weddings I have seen are quite lower...perhaps 150,00 baht...

Then,

Where's the beef?

Edited July 7, 2014 by slipperylobster

[atyclb]

Exceptions duly noted with apologies.

Dear OP;

were you expecting japanese efficiency, organization, and integrity ??????

[Hawkup2000]

Very well written and amusing. Thanks for sharing.

[samran]

Cha yen yen. You dont attend Thai weddings every day. Just treat this as an one off bad day. Dont sulk over this.

This is Thailand after all and you just a guest.

Cha yen? Even that was drunk by 8am!

[SlyAnimal]

Why were you guys told 11am? Did it say that on the invitation?

Weddings in the countryside are usually at 9am, because it's a lucky number. The entire ceremony etc is usually over by about 10am and the guests are usually mostly gone by around 11 or 12 (Although will stay longer if provided with a good supply of free beer/whiskey). Seems weird that many of the groom's family would aim to arrive late?

Most of the locals/neighbors will also go directly to the kitchen and ask for a doggie bag full of as much food as they can carry (For some reason 20฿ in an envelope makes people think they're entitled to a lot lol, whereas the ppl who put 500+ wouldn't even dream of asking for a doggie bag).

At our wedding one of our neighbors was seen making about 10+ trips between our house and here with 1-2 bottles of beer each time (If they carried an entire box they would have been taken to task, but 1-2 bottles wasn't so noticeable).

So yeah, I'm not hugely surprised that they ran out of food by 11am. Often I've arrived at weddings a bit late, maybe around 10am, and had to share a table with other people, with no fresh food brought out since they had already mostly run out.

At 11am you definitely wouldn't want to go anywhere near the Goi lol (Although most won't go near it even at 9am lol)

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[dotpoom]

Thanks for the valuable lesson....mind you, my intuition has always told me to take "evasive" action in matters such as this so I have always been happy to let "She who must be obeyed" attend these occasions on her "Ownio".

[joecoolfrog]

The OP Has confirmed that a deliberate snub was intended ,so why the latter posts condeming poor organisation, seems to me that the scheme worked perfectly!

[Greg Nixon]

HAHAHAHAAHHAHA 555555555555555555555

Thais have no logic. thais have no social common sense.Kick the all out then go to bed. that would be normal for Thailand.

[Tony125]

Been to many Thai get togethers over 14 years, funerals, weddings , graduations from University, guys becoming a monk ( just did that one) and never came close to running out of food. At my wedding they were giving away leftover food to monks , relatives to take home and even village people in area so looks like was not eneough food planned for amount of persons attending or as has been sugested not so subtle message being sent.

[wotaplonker]

the first part of a very funny drama, I loved the word gaggle, next episode please

[Otis]

the first part of a very funny drama, I loved the word gaggle, next episode please

What a story!

Is life imitating art or is art imitating life? And y'all thought those Thai Soaps (not soapies but television shows) on TV (not Thai Visa but television) were fiction. oc