John and Jane in Thailand

In January John and I had the privilege of attending our landlords’ daughter’s wedding.  Technically we attended only the reception, as did most of the other guests.  You see, Thai weddings can be long drawn out affairs; some even last three days.  Fortunately this was a one day event but even so, the formal ceremony started at 7:00am and the chanting, drumming, and marching of the Buddhist monks would go on for three and a half hours.  It is apparently typical that all the family attend this portion of the wedding but most come for what we Westerners call “the reception” – eating, drinking, and general merriment.  January is great time for a wedding here; a long time British expat once told me December and January are the “picture postcard” months of Thailand.  Fortunately her statement held true because the wedding was outdoors at the home of Suriya and Parichart, our landlords.  As you will see in the photographs, the grounds of their home are beautiful.  Suriya is an excellent gardener who spent many weeks, if not months, getting ready for this event.  Several days before the wedding he told me that he was very proud of the work he had done on the gardens and suggested I bring my camera.  Good thing I did too; after the wedding he said I was the only one to get photos of the setting and the entertainers.  Apparently the official photographer had eyes only for the bride and groom, failing to document the wider scope of the occasion.

I hope you enjoy this photo essay of the wedding celebration of Orm and Beer. By the way, there were about 400 people at this reception and a handful of them were farangs, a.k.a. foreigners.