Getting Married In Thailand

[justsignedin]

I plan on marrying my Thai partner in either january or february. I want it to be legally recognised in the U.K.. Many members of my family will be coming over and i would like to know what the act of getting married actually involves. ie

Is it possible to have any kind of ceremony comparable to what we have in the U.K.

Does it have to take place in the Amphurs office.

Actully rather than asking you loads of silly questions is their someone with an indepth knowledge of the whole procedure, who can explain to me step by step.

I would just like to know what to expect and what is possible so the family don't have expectations of a wedding on the beach or in a church...... And of course if you want to send presents... my adress is..........

Cheer Guys.

Edited September 1, 2006 by justsignedin

[sbk]

Wedding and marriage aren't the same thing. You can have a wedding anywhere you want but you must get married at the amphur.

There are multiple topics covering just this, but to be succint:

You must first go to your embassy and fill out their declaration form (that states you are not currently married), then have it translated into thai (the embassy can give you a list of places) and then go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the embassy can give you the address). From the MFA you will get permission to marry, which you then take to the Amphur and get married.

A Thai wedding is something completely different than our own and I suggest you search the forum about it as, again, there are multiple threads regarding this topic.

Good luck and best wishes

[justsignedin]

Thanks sbk that's a great start, so when i go to the Amphurs is just a signing of paper and back out again or is there any sort of ceremony ?. And will guests be welcome ?.

[sbk]

No ceremony, guests are fine, but my guest sat out in the hall

[binnsy]

When i tied the knot in Chiangmai the Amphur thing and translation cost 12,000 Baht.The monks do is really down to the family how much that will set you back then there is the TONG beware!!!!

Good Luck

[justsignedin]

So it would not be worth dragging all my family to bangkok ? or would it be possible to do it in Pattaya ?

And after the official marriage could we have some sort of wedding ceremony. Personally i don't care for all the ceremony but as all my family are coming over i feel i have to make it at least memorable.

[Mobi]

Like all red tape in Thailand, it doesn't always go right the first time around - especially when there is a farang involved.

You would be well advised to vsit the Ampur with your intended prior to the marriage date and make sure all your paperwork is in order and the Amphur is happy with everything. Some Amphurs are more "farang friendly" than others. My first marriage in Thailand, some 30 years ago, took about 4 visits before we got it all right. More recently it went smoothly the first time round but we did do the pre-marriage check up.

The wedding cermony doesn't have to take place on the same day - this is especially so if you go to the Amhur in town, and then go up-country to a village for the traditional ceremonies.

The wedding can be as big or small as your wife and family want. There is usually traditional ceremony in the morning, where the monks pray at your house and get fed. Smaller wedddings just involve a village elder doing the praying. In both cases the locals are invited and fed.

Then you can have as bigger splash in the evening as you want. These days the couple would often dress in traditional Thai costume in the morning, but change to western wedding clothes for the evening bash. Then you invite all your friends, relatives locals etc, have a live band and everyone gets fed and drunk. This can be located anywhere, but is usually in a hotel, restaurant, or in the family village.

There are undoutedly variations on the above, but it should give you a good idea.

Don't forget the gold and sinsod.

Good luck - you'll need it.

Edited September 1, 2006 by Mobi D'Ark

[Mossfinn]

I would just like to know what to expect

Why? It is all part of the mystery not knowing what on earth is going on.

Plenty of info on other threads as sbk has suggested and now Mobi has mentioned sinsot, beware you might get some other advice, for better or worse.

Good Luck

Moss

[tuky]

We went to my embassy to find out how we can marry, 4 hours later we were on the way home married...so it can be a pleasent experience sometimes.

Oh, to get it fastracked it cost us 7k baht or similar.

We haven't had a wedding ceremony but we have had a big tambon baan which can double up as a wedding.

Best of luck mate.

BTW, you have to go to the Embassy anyway, so Sathorn Amphur is close by, if you go for the fastrack that a lot of translation agencies (a couple of hours versus 4 or 5 days) can do they will arrange everything including the taxi to the Amphur and a person to introduce you to the guy that will marry you.

[lopburi3]

First you have to obtain paperwork from your Embassy to you are fit to marry (not married now) and have that translated into Thai and then registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here. That can normally be done in a day or two. Check on requirement with your Embassy.

Although the marriage is registered at the District Office the paperwork can be presented anywhere. Officials are happy to attend an outside venue for a small fee and present the paperwork there. You would have to arrange this prior to the ceremony.

You can rent the ballroom in a five star hotel, have a reception at the brides home, as grand or as small as you desire. Most people have a rather large evening reception with drinks/food and perhaps singers. Photos are very important and probably one of the larger expenses.

Most wedding days will also have an offering to monks in the late morning where family attend. Although this is not marriage specific (such offerings are a part of normal practice) it is important to most.

Also different areas have slightly different customs.

[Mossfinn]

We went to my embassy to find out how we can marry, 4 hours later we were on the way home married...so it can be a pleasent experience sometimes.

Tuky,

I know you havn't quoted the whole process but this bit suggests you got married at the embassy?

I believed you couldn't get married by the embassy is this correct?

Moss

[Eastender]

I'd just like to relate my experience as it may help.

Did the paper work as above over two days. On the second tried to get married in Bangkok office, they complained about our documents, my wife seemed to think they were trying to get extra money for hiring a translator or something though I'm not sure and there's many offices about so don't let that put you off.

We went to her home village the same day and got legally married the next, by sitting in the local office and signing a form - very un-romantic. I think it may have been free, or 200Baht maybe? It's legally binding in any country though it's a good idea to get your marriage cerificate translated into English by an authorised translator.

Six months later I went back with my parents to her home village and had the full ceremony in the morning and party in the evening - a wonderful day I'll never forget. The ceremony and party are completely optional and the extent and expense you go to is down to you, your wife and her family. We had discussed having the ceremony/party in Bangkok, then at a hotel near her home town, but in the end I was really pleased we did it at her parents house in the village. Made it more intimate and personal. Plans and price can escalate - we had 50 tables, booze for everone, a team of cateres cooking on site, a band with dancing girls, but it was still a third the price of the UK, or less.

Hope that helps.

[Pink Mist]

We went to my embassy to find out how we can marry, 4 hours later we were on the way home married...so it can be a pleasent experience sometimes.

Tuky,

I know you havn't quoted the whole process but this bit suggests you got married at the embassy?

I believed you couldn't get married by the embassy is this correct?

Moss

Tuky was referring to the Oz embassy and yes you are correct, you dont get married there.

My 2 bobs worth,

go to your embassy early and get the free to marry paperwork, your embassy will have a list of approved translation services to translate your stuff into Thai.

Use a translation service that offers the marriage service and they organise everything for you.(phone them and ask for a price etc)

As for the wedding your Bride will want some input into that, so I reckon leave it up to her, or if you want there are also companies that will organise your wedding ceremony, caterers, photos etc.

Just remember the wedding is important to her and family, the legal marriage is important to the authorities for obtaining a visa.

[Thaddeus]

In my experience (and I've done this twice... how can one man be so dumb ) ..... it is better to keep the two parts of the marriage separate.

If you get married in the UK, wherever, it will either be in a Church, or at a Registry Office (usually..... some people have felt the need to use parachutes or scuba equipment.... up to them) and the two parts are combined, you have the Registrar in the background who will have the right forms to make sure that you are legally married, and you will then have 'the Vicar', 'the Priest', 'the Cardinal', 'the bloke dressed as Elvis' who does the ceremony in the foreground.

Thailand is essentially the same, you can just go to an Amphur with the correct paperwork (already mentioned by other posters) and just sign on the dotted line, you need two witnesses, but the Amphur will usually provide those too if you go just as a couple.

This is the big difference, you can do this anywhere in the world but many choose not to..... the paperwork and the ceremony do not need to happen on the same day or even in the same location. My last legal signing and 'religious ceremony' were 400km and almost 12 months apart. The legal bit has to be done at an Amphur, the ceremony can be done anywhere you choose, in a hotel in BKK with a Tuxedo dress code or in a wooden shack with T-Shirts and jeans.

I went for the cheeper option ...... one of the most enjoyable days I've had this century (or the last one for that matter)

[Neeranam]

When i tied the knot in Chiangmai the Amphur thing and translation cost 12,000

Why do you need translation?

I got translation for 400 Baht.

I can't rememeber how much the wedding wa, but nowheer near 12,000.

[Pink Mist]

cost me about 9000baht for translations and marriage registration at amphur, was all organised by translation service, included taxis goth ways and an escort by one of office staff who smoothed the way in amphur

think it cost about 20,000 baht for wedding, included photos, catering for 100 people, DJ's and booze.

[bina]

guess i'll have to add my 2 cents;

looks like we are doing the bangkok tel aviv line....

seems to make the paperwork for us easier; we thought to go to cyprus (much nearer to us and cheaper, but a lawyer advised that the amount of paperwork for that can be daunting and not out weigh the cost of the flights (1000$$!!!!) for each, which we dont really have but will do....

the wedding will be in mom's house, a pig, pi/nong and monks thats it....

fortunately have a pu yai baan as a brother in law so may get some help from there... i hope

so real prices for translations, etc would help

bina

israel

[Mossfinn]

Tuky was referring to the Oz embassy and yes you are correct, you dont get married there.

Thanks Bronco,

Moss