Sunday hasn't felt like the day of rest for awhile. At home it's always busy with students, visitors and prep for the next week at school and on weekends away we're usually squeezing in as much as possible before we head back to teaching life. This weekend is no exception. It's the wedding of Bituay (P'Jim and P'Saupon's daughter) and Klooy. They've invited a select few, resulting in a party for about 1,500 people. Luckily the main event is held at the local secondary school, but it still leaves a wedding party of 200+ on the Friday night and Saturday morning.
The front garden is transformed into a restaurant with constant service of sticky rice, seafood salad and masaman curry, whilst indoors faithful family and friends are busy beavering away at creating flower displays and setting up the house ready for the ceremony the following day. Several of the teachers and students from the school were also here and as ever the house is buzzing with people. P'Om and I are bunked up together for the night to make space for P'Jim's nine brothers and sisters and her mother.
Walking out of my room on the morning of the wedding in traditional Thai dress (in the style of the 7th King (mustard yellow crop trousers and a white frilled blouse) I bump into a cousin of the family in exactly the same clothes. She's not shocked or mortified by the outfit, but rather by my lack of make-up and quickly pulls me into her room to pencil in my eyebrows and apply the all important lipstick. It means that we're slightly late for the ceremony.
The front room of the house is crammed; bride and groom kneeling in front of six chanting monks, blessing them for the future life together. Once blessed, the groom is then led out and down the street away from his bride, who he must now buy through bargaining with her family and friends blocking his way back to his beloved. Once perhaps a serious tradition, it's now more light-hearted; showering the family in pink monied envelopes he strides up the stairs to the last challenge: P'Bitauy's parents. When the family's blessing is complete, bride and groom are then blessed by friends and family; accepting the gentle washing of their hands whilst they kneel in front of their audience. By 11 am it's over, giving everyone time to eat, sleep and re-dress before the evening.
The evening do is attended by about 1,500 thousand people; each offering money and to the bride and groom as they enter for their free feast. I get swept along with a flurry of smiles, photos and keen gesturing; finding myself at one point centre stage passing a sword to the groom so that he can cut the cake. By 10 pm most of the guests have left. The bride and groom aching with smiles of bleary eyed from the thousands of photos and well-wishers.
It was an incredible day and I feel lucky to have shared in a small part of such a happy occasion.
The front garden is transformed into a restaurant with constant service of sticky rice, seafood salad and masaman curry, whilst indoors faithful family and friends are busy beavering away at creating flower displays and setting up the house ready for the ceremony the following day. Several of the teachers and students from the school were also here and as ever the house is buzzing with people. P'Om and I are bunked up together for the night to make space for P'Jim's nine brothers and sisters and her mother.
Walking out of my room on the morning of the wedding in traditional Thai dress (in the style of the 7th King (mustard yellow crop trousers and a white frilled blouse) I bump into a cousin of the family in exactly the same clothes. She's not shocked or mortified by the outfit, but rather by my lack of make-up and quickly pulls me into her room to pencil in my eyebrows and apply the all important lipstick. It means that we're slightly late for the ceremony.
The front room of the house is crammed; bride and groom kneeling in front of six chanting monks, blessing them for the future life together. Once blessed, the groom is then led out and down the street away from his bride, who he must now buy through bargaining with her family and friends blocking his way back to his beloved. Once perhaps a serious tradition, it's now more light-hearted; showering the family in pink monied envelopes he strides up the stairs to the last challenge: P'Bitauy's parents. When the family's blessing is complete, bride and groom are then blessed by friends and family; accepting the gentle washing of their hands whilst they kneel in front of their audience. By 11 am it's over, giving everyone time to eat, sleep and re-dress before the evening.
The evening do is attended by about 1,500 thousand people; each offering money and to the bride and groom as they enter for their free feast. I get swept along with a flurry of smiles, photos and keen gesturing; finding myself at one point centre stage passing a sword to the groom so that he can cut the cake. By 10 pm most of the guests have left. The bride and groom aching with smiles of bleary eyed from the thousands of photos and well-wishers.
It was an incredible day and I feel lucky to have shared in a small part of such a happy occasion.