Rituals of
traditional Thai wedding ceremony have been changed along with the condition of
the society. Duration of wedding
ceremony has been changed from several days in the past to only one day
nowadays. In the past, there were six
patterns of marriage rituals as follows; pattern 1: the groom brings his
wedding procession to the bride’s house in the morning to perform the
ceremony. Then, there are the holy water
pouring ceremony, and the giving away of the bride. Pattern 2: The groom brings
his wedding procession to the bride’s house in the morning to perform Buddhist
ceremony, to pay respect to ancestors, and to give away the bride. Pattern 3: In
the morning, Buddhist ceremony is performed. Then the groom brings his wedding
procession to the bride’s house to perform the holy water pouring ceremony and
to give away the bride. Pattern 4: The
groom brings his wedding procession to the bride’s house in the morning to make
merits by giving alms to the monks and then register the marriage
certificate. After that in the
afternoon, there are the holy water pouring ceremony and the giving away of the
bride. Pattern 5: The bride and the groom perform Buddhist ceremony by either
giving alms or offering dedicated to monks whether at home or temple. Then, there are the holy water pouring
ceremony, marriage certificate registration, and the giving away of the
bride. Pattern 6: In the morning, the bride and the groom give
alms to the monk whether at home or temple. Then, there are the holy water
pouring ceremony and the registration of the marriage certificate. However, the
wedding ceremony in the past was quite short because the bride and the groom
wanted to save their time and money.
Since 1957, rituals of traditional Thai wedding ceremony
have been changed along with the condition of the society. The
changes include wedding invitation cards and more luxurious and modern
ceremony. In 1994, wedding planning business has been emerged. The planner will
plan and organize the whole ceremony. This can help the bride and the groom
decrease difficulties in conducting their wedding ceremony. Also, the bride and
the groom can set the suitable pattern of their wedding ceremony Therefore.
there are variety of wedding ceremony. However, most wedding planners still
strictly keep following the original wedding ceremony patterns. This conserves
Thai culture to continually stay with Thai society.
