Thai wedding
 

Hi
We are a Senior Citizen couple who will be in Chiang Mai in late November. We have been thinking about tying the knot for a while, and thought it might be nice to have a Thai wedding.
Can anybody help with information regarding how we can achieve this. ie. are there any lengh of stay requiements, and is this possible for 2 non Thai speaking people.
Any information or websites etc would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

Thats right,, and they will have a box full of really nice pictures to remember it by also.

I presume you just want the blessing of the monks ceremony. You can do this quite cheaply (1,200 baht) at a hospital for monks in Bangkok. I wrote about this ceremony in one of my blogs recently:

How to Get Married Cheaply - http://www.thai-blogs.com

Congratulations on wanting to get married, but do you really want to put up with the legal problems of divorce if you are going to live back in Australia, my advise is Just live together if you intended to live in Australia and get your selves a lawyer each and have a cohabitation agreement written out.
On the other hand if you intend to live the rest of your life together in Thailand, I advise getting married is the best thing, as the financial contributor to the marriage gets to keep what they earn, no one can sponge off what you worked hard for. If one partner is a millionaire and the other one has never contributed financially with hard cash, they can be put on the street with nothing.
A fair system if you ask me.

The below information is taken form the Australian embassy in Bangkok website. I hope it helps.
If all you are after is a traditional Thai ceremony that is not legally binding, then you won't need this information. There are plenty of companies that organise Thai style weddings for tourists, just do an internet search. I did have a strange experience with one company though, pm me if you want the details.

Why do I need to register a marriage?
Under Thai law a marriage must be registered with Thai authorities to be legally recognised. A valid Thai marriage between adults will then be recognised as a valid marriage in Australia. If you do not register a marriage with the Thai authorities, then you are not legally married, either in Thailand or Australia.

What do I need to do to register my marriage?
The marriage must be registered at the Amphoe (or Town Hall), in the district where the marriage took place. In addition to the normal requirements (about which you should seek advice from the celebrant), each Australian party must provide their passport, and the following:

Statutory declaration
Australians married in Thailand must provide a pro-forma statutory declaration. The Thai Government requires that such declarations be witnessed at the Australian Embassy Bangkok. They will not accept declarations from Australia. A fee of AUD$20 is payable for this service.

Death/Divorce Certificates
If you were previously married, you will need to provide an original divorce or death certificate to demonstrate you are no longer married. You must bring original documents to be certified by the Australian Embassy. The Embassy cannot certify photocopies. A fee of AUD$20 is payable per certified document. Fees are payable in Thai Baht.

Translation
You must also arrange for the statutory declaration and any applicable divorce/death certificates to be translated into Thai. There are many private translation agencies in Bangkok who can provide this service (for a fee) within one working day.

Certification by the Thai Department of Consular Affairs, MFA
After documents have been translated they must be authenticated (for a fee) by the Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For information on this you should contact: Department of Consular Affairs 123 Moo 3, Changwattana Road, Kwang Toong Son Hong, Khet Laksi, Bangkok Tel. (+66-2) 5751061, (+66-2)-5751057; Office hours: 08:30 – 15:30

The Amphoe (Town Hall)
When you have completed the above requirements, which can only be completed in Bangkok over at least 2-3 working days, you should go to the Amphoe to register the marriage. An appointment may be required. Your celebrant may be able to assist you with these arrangements.

Hi there,

Hope this is still of use to you.

Try www.creativeeventsasia.com or email them at enquiries@creativeeventsasia.com

They specialise in Thailand weddings and can arrange everything from the legal wedding to the ceremony, hotel reservations and reception.

Good luck

that's nice advice for a senior couple who want to get married, most probably not for the documents but for the ceremony and the spiritual meaning behind it....

I think for this situation Richard has the best suggestion. Realistically they are two farang who are coming to Thailand. Who would they invite to their dinner and so on? Who will bear gifts to farang they don't know? I doubt that a senior couple could sit for the many hours needed for a full blow ceremony, well if they plan to stand up anyway.

Richard's suggestion is both cost effective, culturally a commonplace among young couples (similar to eloping in a way) and can be very pretty. It is not about impressing the neighbors, it is about the emotions between the couple. It may not be as romantic as a full blown 8 hour wedding with everyone they know being present, but if they plan to marry in Thailand they probably will not have everyone they know present anyway.