[infinkPoode]

Thanks Kelly

As there is only the two of us going to be at our ceremony we are looking for a celebrant within Chiang Mai itself but I do appreciate the information.

It looks like if we want a ceremony we will find a celebrant as soon as we get to Chiang Mai. We don't think that will be a problem when we get there as once your on the ground I think it will be much easier.

Only 2 more weeks to go

[infinkPoode]

My fiancee and I (both Australian) are intending to get married in Chiang Mai in approx 6 weeks. We know what we need to do in Bangkok beforehand and are as sorted out as possible in that regard.

What I was wondering is does anyone know of places in Chiang Mai where we can find a celebrant to do the deed? There will only be the two of us so we don't need the full on ceremony but we do want it to be recognised as legal in Thailand and Australia.

Can anybody help?

[DownloadMan]

I don't know what you have to do in BKK as far as to austrlians getting married in Thailand.
I know what a farang must do to marry a Thai.

And as far as I know there is no way that two foreigners can be legally married in Thailand.
For it to be a legal marriage one person has to have a Thai ID card, then you both go to an Amphur, usually the one where the Thai lives and have it registered, thats what the legal part of marriage is in Thailand, just going and getting it registered, there is no ceremony.

The one with the ceremony is the Thai traditional ceremony but has no legal binding after effects.

Now if I am wrong I would like to hear about it and I pobly will, but as far as I can find out, one party has to be a Thai citizen and the other needs permission from his embassy..

How bout that,,,Post 666 and it is 6/10/06

[infinkPoode]

Thanks for the reply.

We have spoken to the Thai Consulate General here is Australia and she has confirmed that it is possible.

We have to go the the Australian Embassy in Bangkok with some paperwork then have that translated into Thai. Once that's done we go the the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs where they complete our paperwork.

From what we've been told all we have to do after that is get married and then go to the Amphur in the province we marry in to have it registered.

I am guessing that we may possibly be married at the Amphur if it is anything like a registry office here in Aus but not 100% sure.

I do appreciate you replying to my message

[DownloadMan]

But I do know that if you want the Thai traditional ceremony then you do not have to get any paperwork done and it is done all over the country but has nothing to do with LEGAL marriage, it is just a party, and you know how Thai like a party.

For the legal marriage we have to go to our embassy with proof of divorce and freedom to marry, then that form is taken to foreign affairs with a Thai translation and recieve the Thai permission, those papers along with passport and visa, House book and ID card of the Thai are taken to the Amphur and the marriage is registered.
So if you do not want the cost of the ceremony, you do not need it as nothing is said in the Amphur about anything other than do you want to get married, then it is just like renewing your drivers license only quicker, here it is just a form of business deal,sign a couple of papers and are issued a marriage certificate stating that you were married, no "I DO" "KISS THE BRIDE" or any of that crap.

From what we've been told all we have to do after that is get married and then go to the Amphur in the province we marry in to have it registered. The thing is, you will be married at the Amphur when you register it, nothing before or after is a legal marriage or has anything to due with a marriage..

One draw back to what you are doing is in the event that the love light starts to flicker, you will have to return to the Amphur with your darling bride to have it undone, not like a typical divorce in faranglandia. once it is registered, you are legally married in any country in the world.

[DownloadMan]

well anyway, keep us posted on how things go,, as far as I know the thing you are doing has never been done before and I for one sure would like to know how it turns out..
Best of luck..

[infinkPoode]

Thanks for the info

It sounds like most of what you have to do to get married to a Thai is the same as 2 farangs marrying with the exception of the Thai ID & House Book.

Have to admit I didn't realise that only the registration with the Amphur was required for a marriage to be legal in Thailand and elsewhere. That actually will make it easier for us because as there is only the 2 of us going to be there we didn't really want to go for all the pomp & ceremony. Just a quiet simple marriage in a country we both adore is what our wish is.

I do know there are companies in Thailand that will arrange everything for you (ceremony, reception & taking you to the Amphur for registration) which I think is fine if you have family & friends coming but the expense is a bit much for just 2.

I will definitely let you know how things go when we return.

Thanks for the wishes

[DownloadMan]

At the embassy you sign statuary declaration forms. These forms are proof that each person is single and free to marry, and are a mandatory requirement in registering a marriage in Thailand. Documents brought from overseas will not suffice. You need your passport and may be asked to provide proof that you are free to marry (such as legally divorced or widowed if married before).
These documents must be translated into Thai language by an authorized translator.

Then you need to take these documents to the legalization division ministry of foreign affairs (this apparently takes two to three days but the Ministry now offers an "express -service", which allows you to get the papers the same day, if you apply early morning. So this will speed up this process so far to 3-4 days.

After the Ministry of Foreign affairs has approved and verified all documents, you are free to go to any Amphur office (with a Thai interpreter) and this is where the legal marriage takes place. There they will register the marriage and give you the Thai wedding certificate , which you have to translate into your language and indorse again at your embassy. (Some countries, like the Dutch embassy require also the excerpt from the registry file and these to be endorsed again by the Thai Foreign ministry) Took a long search but I think I have finally got it alright.
When we got married I had an interpreter who ran the papers thru foreign office for us so we didnt have to fool with that, So good luck and hope you have along and happy life..

[actioliGalm]

It is possible in Thailand to have one of the amphur (Town Hall) chiefs be present at your morning wedding and have him/her issue a marriage certificate at the actual ceremony.

You will have to pay for his/her time.

If you are interested in this Thai/Farang style wedding then you will have to ask in Chiang Mai first.

[infinkPoode]

Thankyou for your responses. It looks like our first stop once we get to Chiang Mai will be at the Amphur and we'll be able to go from there.

Is it required that we have an interpreter with us at the Amphur or is it possible to just go by ourselves?

[DownloadMan]

It seems to me that your stop at Amphur will be very quick as you say you don't want a ceremony, just a simple marriage, But you will need someone to answer questions for you if the person doing the registery does not speak english, and I would prefer to have someone with me that does speak and understand both Thai and English. speaking and understanding what is said is to different things.

[Zvssxstw]

My fiancee and I (both Australian) are intending to get married in Chiang Mai in approx 6 weeks. We know what we need to do in Bangkok beforehand and are as sorted out as possible in that regard.

What I was wondering is does anyone know of places in Chiang Mai where we can find a celebrant to do the deed? There will only be the two of us so we don't need the full on ceremony but we do want it to be recognised as legal in Thailand and Australia.

Can anybody help?

HI my fiancee and i (Both Australian) are currently looking in to get married in Chiang Mai next year in october .We are having friends and family about 6 couples with us and staying at the Tamarind Village Hotel in the old city ,we were hoping to get married at the hotel under the 200year old tamarind tree but the hotel isnt large enough to have a wedding instead they put us on to the Chiang Dao Nest about 72km out of chiang mai its a small resort ran by and british guy and his wife who is a top cheif any way they can do small weddings and maybe put you in the right direction for a celebrant ,i've tried to find one on the net but there all thai ,lanna and christian style weddings .Goodluck the website is www.chiangdao.com:)

[infinkPoode]

Ok, first off we didn't end up getting married in Chiang Mai but Bangkok instead. When we went down to the interpretors to pick up our translations it turned out he was a lawyer too and offered (for a price) to help us with the rest of the paperwork and the marriage at the Amphur.

Well within 3 hours of seeing him we had tied the knot . It seems that he is able to "jump the queue" at the Amphur which saved us alot of time because they seem to be very busy places.

I think the longest time we spent doing anything was at the Australian Embassy, it took about an hour to get the form done and certified. There really wasn't much paperwork to do there but the staff are quite slow in serving you which means you sit around waiting & waiting.

The rest of the honeymoon awaits