A Thailand wedding has always been a popular choice for holidaymakers looking for some down-time in an exotic tropical locale, with great food and a friendly, welcoming culture. In recent years, many of the visitors who come to Thailand’s shores are there not only to sunbathe and snorkel, but also to tie the knot.
With so many people choosing a Thailand wedding as their preferred Asian wedding destination, it’s no surprise that there are many wedding companies in Thailand catering exclusively foreigners wanting to wed in the country. These agencies range from small family operations, all the way up to the big, internationally renowned resorts and hotels.
The smaller companies, with their more limited resources, typically specialize in a particular type of Thailand wedding, whether it’s a Western style ceremony or a traditional Thai celebration. Many companies also limit their range to specific locations, so that one company will handle clients for Phuket, others will operate only for the south, and another will focus exclusively on Bangkok.
The international Thailand hotels typically offer a Thailand wedding ceremony and honeymoon packages, with an option to request the services of a wedding coordinator, and often with a spa visit thrown in. They can generally handle anything from a quick, intimate stay for two, or an event-filled fiesta for three hundred.
Phuket, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai – all the holiday locations are chock filled with hotels offering competitive wedding and honeymoon packages, with wedding ceremonies starting from US$1,050 and honeymoon packages starting from US$655 for three nights. Quite often, if you reserve a few months in advance, wedding guests receive discounts on their room rates.
Three of the more popular Phuket hotels for such packages are the Banyan Tree, the Laguna Beach Resort and the Marriot Resort and Spa, but most of the other Thailand resorts will offer comparable deals as well.
To marry legally in Thailand, you are required to have been resident in Thailand for at least three days before you marry. Visitors must acquire a Certificate of Non-Impediment from their home embassy. This document is translated and certified by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then taken to the Civil Registry Office for submission.
If either partner has been married previously, the registry will ask you provide proof of divorce and/or death certificate for former spouses. Though the administrative process is fairly straightforward and generally takes about three days, if there are complications the process may take a week or more to complete.
Once all the paperwork is filed, it’s done and you’re married! Of course, most people prefer to have a more romantic Thai ceremony afterwards – and that is when all the fun really begins.
