Stephen & Jessica's
Kiwi - Thai Wedding
Take a look at their beautiful, sunset, one of a kind ceremony. They chose to combine Thai wedding traditions and NZ ....
4:30 pm
'Khan Mak' begins.
In Thailand, when a couple gets married, they want the whole village to know about it. The groom along with his family and friends will march to the bride's house singing and dancing along the way. Traditionally, Thai instruments are played but this groom and his entourage opted for a variety of pots and pans.
'Silver gates, gold gates'
Once the groom and 'Khan Mak' arrives to the bride's house, they are blocked by 'Pratoo Ngoen - Pratoo Tong', a series of "gates".
The groom must pass the set challenges by the bride's sisters and bridesmaids to prove his love and to be reunited with his bride who waits eagerly behind the three gates.
Stephen's challenges included eating two raw Thai chillis, push ups and rap at the same time, and Thai language and dancing tests.
5:15 pm
Ceremony commences
As the sun begins to set, the guests are seated and the ceremony commences with the couple's' love story and how they met.
Candle lighting ceremony
The bride and groom chose the candle lighting ceremony to symbolize their parent's blessing on their union.
Reading by groom's sister
“...love is an adventure and a conquest. It survives and develops like the universe itself only by perpetual discovery. The only right love is that between couples whose passion leads them both, one through the other, to a higher possession of their being... "
- Pierre Tielhard de Chardin
'Rod Nam Sang'
Each guest comes forward, pours water over the hands of the couple and offers them words of blessing for their marriage.
The vessel for the water was a paua shell, and frangipani flowers floated in the bowl. The ceremony was at sunset and the light caught the water and made rainbow prisms as each blessing was offered.
Vows and Ring exchange - words of love and faithfulness.
This couple wrote their own heartfelt vows and words for the exchange of rings
...and they lived happily ever after!