Thai/Chinese Wedding

Ma and I went to a wedding this morning. It started at about 9am at a big hotel that is a few minutes from the house. The father of a bride is a Rotarian so I met several, including an exchange student from British Columbia whose Thai was well spoken.





This is a picture of almost all of the
Rotary-related guests at the wedding.











Having been to a Chinese wedding celebration in the States, I kind of expected that it would just be a party and a meal. It started out with the groom entering and sitting on stage on a couch. Then the bride came out and they sat together. She was wearing a Western-style white gown and he a white suit. The two of them received offerings from family members and exchanged rings. There was one anouncer (but of course I didn't know what he was saying) who spoke the whole time but it seemed that no one really listened, although everyone clapped together. It was a very casual affair, as everyone was talking throughout the ceremony.

Finally, a young girl (maybe a sister?) came out on her knees and offered the bride and groom some food. Once they began to eat, we did too. It was definitely a meal- a 10 course meal!

Mmmmm! Shark fin soup!!











Check out the mouth on that one.
(I'm talking about the fish on the plate!)
















That was it. If they are Buddhist (which is most likely), I believe that they will have a private ceremony with a monk. Later, we will go back to the same hotel for another party for the same wedding. I wonder if we will eat again? I don't think I will be hungry until tomorrow...