The Eve Of A Thai Wedding
The day before a Western wedding is the 'Stag Night' and the 'Hen Night'. In northern Thailand it is not quite the same. As soon as the groom-to-be is allowed to be off work, the full-on party begins. It is more sedate with the bride-to-be who spends more time with her parents.
The son will often just spend most of his time with his mates, usually sleeping 'under the table', if you understand what I mean. The day before the wedding is reserved for spending with family for both parties.
The day before the eve of the wedding is also a special day as the parents of both parties set up their parties with the help of friends and family. This is an all-day affair and people drink, sing and even dance as they are making the preparations.
On the eve of the wedding, people, particularly women, will meet at the dwellings of the bride and groom in order to cook. If the wedding is a large one, this can begin at 4-5 AM, but it usually begins at 8 AM.
Guests are welcome at any time after this, but non-cooks or non-helpers will usually stay away until at least 9 AM. The laggards may not get there until midday.
The whole day is a party of cooking, eating, dancing and drinking, normally to the accompaniment of live music or a disk jockey. It is not at all unusual to have skimpily-clad dancing girls putting on a show too.
The music will be loud enough to become heard a block or two away and no-one would dare complain about the racket from such a joyous event. However, not everyone is invited to most weddings as they are normally held in the backyard.
Bigger weddings might be held in the Temple. I have never been to a village in Thailand that does not have its own Temple. Some small villages of merely 500 residents have two Temples. A Temple used to hold many monks, but these days 9-12 is standard.
It is reasonably cheap to hold a wedding or a wedding party in a Temple, but most households do not because Temples are 'open ground' and you might have more 'guests' than you catered for. Gate-crashing is not unheard of.
As the evening develops, people will be expected to sing a song and there will be dancing. This will go on until about midnight, which makes it a long day and the wedding day for real begins at around 7 AM the next day.
The parents of the groom are expected to help cook at the bride's home the next morning. This involves meeting all the closest friends of the bride's parents and is a good way of bonding. it normally results in both families and all their best friends becoming fairly close for many years to come.
The son will often just spend most of his time with his mates, usually sleeping 'under the table', if you understand what I mean. The day before the wedding is reserved for spending with family for both parties.
The day before the eve of the wedding is also a special day as the parents of both parties set up their parties with the help of friends and family. This is an all-day affair and people drink, sing and even dance as they are making the preparations.
On the eve of the wedding, people, particularly women, will meet at the dwellings of the bride and groom in order to cook. If the wedding is a large one, this can begin at 4-5 AM, but it usually begins at 8 AM.
Guests are welcome at any time after this, but non-cooks or non-helpers will usually stay away until at least 9 AM. The laggards may not get there until midday.
The whole day is a party of cooking, eating, dancing and drinking, normally to the accompaniment of live music or a disk jockey. It is not at all unusual to have skimpily-clad dancing girls putting on a show too.
The music will be loud enough to become heard a block or two away and no-one would dare complain about the racket from such a joyous event. However, not everyone is invited to most weddings as they are normally held in the backyard.
Bigger weddings might be held in the Temple. I have never been to a village in Thailand that does not have its own Temple. Some small villages of merely 500 residents have two Temples. A Temple used to hold many monks, but these days 9-12 is standard.
It is reasonably cheap to hold a wedding or a wedding party in a Temple, but most households do not because Temples are 'open ground' and you might have more 'guests' than you catered for. Gate-crashing is not unheard of.
As the evening develops, people will be expected to sing a song and there will be dancing. This will go on until about midnight, which makes it a long day and the wedding day for real begins at around 7 AM the next day.
The parents of the groom are expected to help cook at the bride's home the next morning. This involves meeting all the closest friends of the bride's parents and is a good way of bonding. it normally results in both families and all their best friends becoming fairly close for many years to come.