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It's only January and we're already seeing a peculiarly high number of weddings being announced. It may be because the year of the dragon is believed to be especially auspicious or may just because many weddings were postponed from late last year during the floods. Whatever the reason, Thai couples are forking out a lot of money to organize their big day. How big a Thai wedding is often depends on the families of the soon-to-be bride and groom. Here are some of the major costs involved in planning what many people consider the most important day of their lives.
If we're talking about a traditional Thai wedding, the number of “must haves” tend to multiply. Thai weddings often include the “khan mak” when the groom and his family organize a procession to come and officially ask for the bride's hand in marriage. It's followed by a “rhod nam sang” ceremony when the couple receive well wishes from their elders and close family friends. Let's not forget the merit making part when the couple gives alms to monks.
Chinese weddings aren't any simpler. They include a “tea sipping” ceremony which is similar to the Thai “rhod nam sang”. They also have ceremonies to pay respect to the earth and the sky and the couple's ancestors.
In many Thai families, it is a must to have the couple's parents visit a monk or an astronomer to find that one auspicious day out of the year when the wedding should take place. Of course, the cost involved in this process varies depending on how high ranking the monk is or how famous the fortune teller claims to be. On average, it can start from 500 baht and run well into the thousands.
As couples begin to plan their big day, the cost starts to accumulate. Pre-wedding preparations might put them back around 20,000 to 70,000 baht. This includes the photographs that need to be taken of the couple, the bride's gown, and the groom's tuxedo. Makeup and hair for both bride and groom can range from 2,000 baht to 10 times that much depending on how famous you want your makeup artist/hair stylist to be.
Wedding invitations, also depending on how fancy they want to go, can put them back 1,000 baht or 20,000 baht.
The official engagement ceremony, in Thai custom, often takes place at the bride's house. This includes the “khan mak” procession, the “rhod nam sang” ceremony and the religious rites. Cost can range from 30,000 baht to as much as 200,000 baht.
The celebration dinner varies on many aspects. Most couples now opt to host their dinners at hotels. Most hotels have packages which include food and drinks, the wedding cake, and floral decorations. These packages are based on a “per head” price and couples can choose to host a dinner banquet or a cocktail party. The lowest cost for such events average at around 50,000 baht. Of course, with high profile couples, the size of the event and the guest list will elevate the cost well into the hundreds of thousands of baht.
Any musical performance during the celebration can put a couple back 7,000 baht for a no name band.
If the couple wants video footage and pictures to remember their big day by, they would have to pay another 5,000.
However, if the bride and groom to be do not want to be boggled down with the details of everything that needs to be taken care of and their respective price tags, they can always opt to hire a wedding planner. Many Thai couples have chosen to take this route and pay a lump sum for all of the above. Depending on how big the wedding needs to be, wedding planners gauge the cost, add their administrative fee, and charge a lump sum.
In case you're wondering how luxurious and grand weddings can get, we have a couple of examples of the biggest weddings in recent years for you.
The wedding of Jaruwan Chotthewan, the heiress to the Saha Farm empire, and Chalak Cheewakasemsuk cost around 30 million baht. In 2009, the wedding of Worawan Mallenont, the heir to the Channel 3 conglomerate, and Uruppa Laohapongchana, daughter of a famous political family, was hosted at the Four Seasons Hotel. It was rumored to cost around 10 million baht. Just the floral arrangements alone had put them back two million.
Late last year, we saw the wedding of Thaksin Shinawatra's eldest daughter. Although the families refuse to reveal how much they sprung for the grand affair, we know that the bride's gown alone cost three million baht.
Hope it's okay, just trying to be more specific so people don't have to guess 
You can bong me with an umbrella 
