Conveyor Belt Wedding? No ....just Thai the knot! (Thailand)

Member Name: dglamoore

Product:	Thailand
Date:	14/07/02 (814 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: no stress, unusual ceremony, excellent price

Disadvantages: none

I remember the day my fiance went completely mad with the effects of sun-stroke well. It was boiling hot, clear blue skies and we were sitting in a pool in India. He decided that we should get married. Not unusual for many I hear you say, even romantic - but my man was definitely not the wedded type! It seemed like a good idea so I agreed before he could change his mind! We both knew that we wanted something different, not a church and definitely not a registry office 5 minute wonder. I had heard tales of conveyor belt weddings in the Carribean which didn't appeal at all. I wanted to be a bride for the day not one of ten....

We had got engaged the year before in Thailand at a lovely hotel in Pattaya. Both of us thought this would be a good idea and as we were already booked to go there the following year we made our choice. Back in the U.K. we contacted Kuoni, our tour operator, to make the arrangements. Things weren't going to be that easy though. Kuoni did not 'do' weddings in Pattaya.

Not one to be put off I contacted The Royal Cliff Hotel direct and asked if they could arrange a wedding on our behalf. Within a couple of days we had received a fax with a price list and a choice of ceremonies - traditional 'I do' on the beach or a Thai wedding. As they say "when in Rome"....we decided that as we were going to marry in Thailand we would go the distance and go for the Thai option.

We faxed back all our requirements and arranged a bankers draft and that was that. As the Thai wedding would not be legal in the U.K. we would also have to have a civil ceromony in Bangkok which Kuoni arranged.

After sorting the necessary legal bits in the U.K. (of which kuoni sent guidelines) we arrived in Bangkok in October 1997. The day after arriving we had our civil ceremony in Bangkok. We were whisked away to a small office with an interpreter. One hour later (after not understanding a word that had been said) we
were legally married, complete with wedding certificate in Thai! Not exactly romantic though....

Upon arrival at The Royal Cliff things went like a dream. As soon as we got to reception we were congratulated and upgraded to one of their Cliff Terrace suites. Once settled in the room flowers, fruit and cakes started to arrive (and contined for the next ten days!!). The day before our wedding we met with the co-ordinator who showed us where the service would be held and talked us through all the arrangements.

The day dawned cloudy but the skies soon cleared to a gorgeous blue. My fiance was taken to the lobby to wait for me. A Thai girl from the hotel would act as my 'bridesmaid' and helped me get ready. I was then taken to meet him. We were walked through the hotel to the beach, words of good luck coming from all directions. The hotel hardly ever does weddings so the staff were as excited as we were! The ceromony took place in a lavish presidential beach hut looking over the sea. Flowers filled every space available and fans had been provided to cool the area. Five bhuddist monks arrived from a local monastary to conduct the service. At each stage a thai explained what was happening and why. The whole service took a couple of hours and was an amazing experience.

After the ceremony the staff held a mini reception for us including a two tier wedding cake and champayne which was a complete surprise to us. A huge four foot heart made entirely of curled flower leaves with our names and the date provided a centre piece for the room. It seemed that most of the staff were there too!

We then wandered around the extensive hotel grounds with the photographer for a photo session before heading back to lobby for drinks. Back in our room the maids had been busy. Across our huge bed were two love hearts entwined made from loose rose petals!

The whole experience was stress free, completely beyond our expectations and a day we wil
l never forget. We returned to the hotel for our second anniversary and were amazed by how many of the staff remembered us and our wedding!

The hotel charged only £450 for the wedding. This included the ceremony, all decorations, a huge bridal bouquet of orchids and roses for me, three buttonholes of orchids for my husband and our guests, an hour video and use of video-player to watch it on in our room, photo album of over 70 photos with the negatives and making all arrangements. the cake and champayne were a gift from the hotel along with the room upgrade. We were also treated to a tour of the hotel by one of the managers.

I could not recommend this enough. We were treated like royalty for our stay, had so much free cake and fruit we were giving it away and the room looked like a florists for the entire stay! 'Amazing Thailand' is so much more than a marketing slogan. Looking back on our photos we see the happy smiling faces that this country is so famous for. They may not have a lot of money or material possesions and their reputation may be tarnished but their hearts are pure gold.

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