Wedding(s)!
Well, after LOTS of planning, hotel booking, plane coordinating and a couple of slightly unhinged emails to Chiang Mai, Ryan and I offically tied the knot (litteraly) on March 27, 2007. It was a fantastic day, mostly due to the increadible coordination skills of JIT, a local gal who put together a formal, and authentic, Buddhist wedding for Ryan and I.
For our 22 guests, the cat's out of the bag, but I'll share a secret with the rest of you. Ryan and I have been legally married since August 25, 2006. Basically, it happened out of laziness. It took less paperwork to get married at City Hall before we left Japan than to go through all the red tape (miles and miles of it) and get Ryan a working Visa in Japan. And, since Japan doesn't awk. common law relationships, we had to get married on paper to get him here on a dependant visa. Thank you Cam and Ann for standing up for us on very short notice, and for seeing the sillyness of it all! :)
But, paperwork aside, March 27 was our REAL wedding day, and it was the only time we actually said 'real' vows (that is, vows that WERE NOT to the effect of "we are not related, nor are we practicing polygamists"), and had our families with us!
We were in Thailand for 18 days this time--our longest trip yet--and I just like it better and better each time. It had its ups and downs (I guess you can't go somewhere three times without some sort of mishap, keep reading!), but it's really such a fab country.
Everyone is so wonderful, and we were treated extra speciall all along the way becuase of the wedding. On our flight there we recieved a card from the entire cabin crew of Thai Airways, along with a goodie bag including a bouquet of orchids, a bottle of champagne, and the first class goodies!
We started the vacation with 9 days on Koh Samui, a lovely beach island south of Bang Kok. I'd been there five years ago, and it's really changed a lot. More and more development. You always know it's time to find a new "paradise" when starbucks and premium outlets start popping up!
That said, it was still a great trip. The Paradise Samui Chaweng was nice, we got upgraded to a large bungalow, again because of the wedding. We didn't do a whole lot but relax during this time. Managed an elephant ride and monkey show (it's almost mandatory to do something this cheesy while there....we decided to skip the gaters this time!), some Thai kick boxing, and a fantastic boating trip to the national marine park for some snorkling and hiking up to a beautiful salt water lagoon (actually, it wasn't quite hiking, but rather scalling a series of ladders masked as "stairs". I made Ryan go before or after me, depending on the direction. At least if I fell, I'd bounce off of him!). Ryan had a particularly good time meeting the Thai "Lady Boys", who gave him...a.......special hug....while taking their photos together! Almost the entire wedding group met us on Samui too, which was fantastic. Got to spend a lot of quality time with both family and friends.
After Samui, we bopped off to Bangkok for a night to meet Ryan's mom, dad, sister, and her husband. We had dinner at the famed Mandarian Oriental Hotel (where Joseph Conrad--of Heart of Darkness fame--used to stay back in the late 19th century. It was pretty chic...to put it mildly. Some day, if we win the lottery, we'll stay there......superior rooms are ONLY $350 a night, afterall.
After our quick stay in Bangkok, it was off to Chiang Mai for the main event. We'd been a little worried before arrival, as we'd been told over and over again on Samui that Chiang Mai was "on fire" and that the air quality was terrible. Apparently, they haven't had rain since November! But, after only a slightly frantic email to Jit, we found out that no, Chiang Mai wasn't on fire, it was Burma, but the smoke was affecting the city. But, by the time we got there, things were much clearer, and all was calm!
The pace of our holiday picked up this time, as we had some last minute fittings and meetings with planner extraordinare, Jit, and also had fittings for our Vancouver wedding gear (who gets a white raw silk wedding dress for $250? I do! I do!). Ryan and I had been to Chiang Mai before, but I think we really fell in love with it this time. We stayed at the Tamarind Village hotel, which was so increadible. It was a modern minimalist, mixed with northern Thai traditional boutique hotel. The service was unbelievable, and after a hot day touring ancient Wats and shopping up a storm (Ryan and I had to buy not one, not two, but THREE extra bags thanks to our "cheap cheap same same" excesses) it was the perfect oasis to relax. And again, Ryan and I were upgraded. We think we're going to be "on our honeymoon" for the next few years!
The wedding day started EARLY. Ryan and I were up at 4:15 for Jit to pick us up at 5am for our "merit making" morning. Using her home as our base, we went to the market to buy 9 meals, 9 specially arranged lotus flowers, and 9 bundles of insence to give to monks as they went from house to house to collect alms before dawn. The number 9 means going on and on forever in Thai, which is why we donated to 9 monks.
Ryan and I had to arrange all the food and flowers ourselves, and stand outside Jit's door as the monks came past. First, we bowed to the monks, then together (I, as a woman, can't give to the monk myself--Theravada Buddhism is rather strict regarding women, no touching the monks) we would give a baggie of curry, a baggie of rice, some sweets, then the flower and incence. Next, we'd get on the ground and bow, while each monk blessed us and wished us a long life together. We did this 9 times until around 6:30 am, when all the monks had to get back to the temples. Apparently, the monks only eat once a day--between 11 and 12--and the food they collect in the morning is shared among all of them at that time. We were blessed by monks young and old, and one even had a very well behaved fluffy dog with him!
Then we had a quick bit of mango and sticky rice (along with a lot of coffee!) and then it was back to the hotel to get ready for the temple. The temple was probably the coolest thing we've ever done. We had a 9 monk panel bless us for about one hour. The head monk (the Abbott's assistant) was a friendly old guy who chatted with us about the temple (the central buddha image was brought from Sri Lanka to Chiang Mai about 500 years ago), asked us to come back for the Thai new year (in about two weeks from now!), told Ryan grooms should develop their patience becuase brides are often "firey" in nature (what? ME firey? :P), and had his cell phone go off at the beginning of the blessing/chant. It was awsome. I think he even got a bit of texting in before he turned it off. By the end of the blessing, Ryan and I had our wrists tied up with sacred string that was attached to the central Buddha, we had had our foreheads dotted with three dots of wax, our heads sprinkeled with holy water, and our photo taken many, many, many times.
Then, outside the temple we released a basket of birds, and at the Chiang Mai moat, we released fish and turtles.
Afterwards, we hit the hotel again for a nap, before we went to the most beautiful place in the world for the "real" wedding ceremony. Jit has built a traditional teak house built out near Doi Saket, AKA the middle of nowhere. We drove for about 45 minutes on a very very narrow road, passing dry dirt country, until suddenly we arrived at a lush, green, increadible acerage where the wedding was to take place. It was wonderful.
It was there we had the knot-tying ceremony where each of our guests tied a knot around our left wrists, and wished us the best for the future. It was a great way for Ryan and I to make our committement to eachother, and again, was all in traditional Thai style. We also had to view the "nuptial" bedroom with our parents, whom Jit asked if they'd like to give us any "bedroom advice" for our wedding night. Ryan immediatly put his head in his hands, and started rocking back and forth. Ryan's Dad then pointed out that people had been doing it for years without any help, so we were on our own. Thank you Mr. Hong! The rest of the night was eating, watching Thai dancing, lighting fire lanterns, and heading home.
All in all, it was a wonderful experience, and both Ryan and I can't imagine doing it any other way.
Enjoy the photos!
For our 22 guests, the cat's out of the bag, but I'll share a secret with the rest of you. Ryan and I have been legally married since August 25, 2006. Basically, it happened out of laziness. It took less paperwork to get married at City Hall before we left Japan than to go through all the red tape (miles and miles of it) and get Ryan a working Visa in Japan. And, since Japan doesn't awk. common law relationships, we had to get married on paper to get him here on a dependant visa. Thank you Cam and Ann for standing up for us on very short notice, and for seeing the sillyness of it all! :)
But, paperwork aside, March 27 was our REAL wedding day, and it was the only time we actually said 'real' vows (that is, vows that WERE NOT to the effect of "we are not related, nor are we practicing polygamists"), and had our families with us!
We were in Thailand for 18 days this time--our longest trip yet--and I just like it better and better each time. It had its ups and downs (I guess you can't go somewhere three times without some sort of mishap, keep reading!), but it's really such a fab country.
Everyone is so wonderful, and we were treated extra speciall all along the way becuase of the wedding. On our flight there we recieved a card from the entire cabin crew of Thai Airways, along with a goodie bag including a bouquet of orchids, a bottle of champagne, and the first class goodies!
We started the vacation with 9 days on Koh Samui, a lovely beach island south of Bang Kok. I'd been there five years ago, and it's really changed a lot. More and more development. You always know it's time to find a new "paradise" when starbucks and premium outlets start popping up!
That said, it was still a great trip. The Paradise Samui Chaweng was nice, we got upgraded to a large bungalow, again because of the wedding. We didn't do a whole lot but relax during this time. Managed an elephant ride and monkey show (it's almost mandatory to do something this cheesy while there....we decided to skip the gaters this time!), some Thai kick boxing, and a fantastic boating trip to the national marine park for some snorkling and hiking up to a beautiful salt water lagoon (actually, it wasn't quite hiking, but rather scalling a series of ladders masked as "stairs". I made Ryan go before or after me, depending on the direction. At least if I fell, I'd bounce off of him!). Ryan had a particularly good time meeting the Thai "Lady Boys", who gave him...a.......special hug....while taking their photos together! Almost the entire wedding group met us on Samui too, which was fantastic. Got to spend a lot of quality time with both family and friends.
After Samui, we bopped off to Bangkok for a night to meet Ryan's mom, dad, sister, and her husband. We had dinner at the famed Mandarian Oriental Hotel (where Joseph Conrad--of Heart of Darkness fame--used to stay back in the late 19th century. It was pretty chic...to put it mildly. Some day, if we win the lottery, we'll stay there......superior rooms are ONLY $350 a night, afterall.
After our quick stay in Bangkok, it was off to Chiang Mai for the main event. We'd been a little worried before arrival, as we'd been told over and over again on Samui that Chiang Mai was "on fire" and that the air quality was terrible. Apparently, they haven't had rain since November! But, after only a slightly frantic email to Jit, we found out that no, Chiang Mai wasn't on fire, it was Burma, but the smoke was affecting the city. But, by the time we got there, things were much clearer, and all was calm!
The pace of our holiday picked up this time, as we had some last minute fittings and meetings with planner extraordinare, Jit, and also had fittings for our Vancouver wedding gear (who gets a white raw silk wedding dress for $250? I do! I do!). Ryan and I had been to Chiang Mai before, but I think we really fell in love with it this time. We stayed at the Tamarind Village hotel, which was so increadible. It was a modern minimalist, mixed with northern Thai traditional boutique hotel. The service was unbelievable, and after a hot day touring ancient Wats and shopping up a storm (Ryan and I had to buy not one, not two, but THREE extra bags thanks to our "cheap cheap same same" excesses) it was the perfect oasis to relax. And again, Ryan and I were upgraded. We think we're going to be "on our honeymoon" for the next few years!
The wedding day started EARLY. Ryan and I were up at 4:15 for Jit to pick us up at 5am for our "merit making" morning. Using her home as our base, we went to the market to buy 9 meals, 9 specially arranged lotus flowers, and 9 bundles of insence to give to monks as they went from house to house to collect alms before dawn. The number 9 means going on and on forever in Thai, which is why we donated to 9 monks.
Ryan and I had to arrange all the food and flowers ourselves, and stand outside Jit's door as the monks came past. First, we bowed to the monks, then together (I, as a woman, can't give to the monk myself--Theravada Buddhism is rather strict regarding women, no touching the monks) we would give a baggie of curry, a baggie of rice, some sweets, then the flower and incence. Next, we'd get on the ground and bow, while each monk blessed us and wished us a long life together. We did this 9 times until around 6:30 am, when all the monks had to get back to the temples. Apparently, the monks only eat once a day--between 11 and 12--and the food they collect in the morning is shared among all of them at that time. We were blessed by monks young and old, and one even had a very well behaved fluffy dog with him!
Then we had a quick bit of mango and sticky rice (along with a lot of coffee!) and then it was back to the hotel to get ready for the temple. The temple was probably the coolest thing we've ever done. We had a 9 monk panel bless us for about one hour. The head monk (the Abbott's assistant) was a friendly old guy who chatted with us about the temple (the central buddha image was brought from Sri Lanka to Chiang Mai about 500 years ago), asked us to come back for the Thai new year (in about two weeks from now!), told Ryan grooms should develop their patience becuase brides are often "firey" in nature (what? ME firey? :P), and had his cell phone go off at the beginning of the blessing/chant. It was awsome. I think he even got a bit of texting in before he turned it off. By the end of the blessing, Ryan and I had our wrists tied up with sacred string that was attached to the central Buddha, we had had our foreheads dotted with three dots of wax, our heads sprinkeled with holy water, and our photo taken many, many, many times.
Then, outside the temple we released a basket of birds, and at the Chiang Mai moat, we released fish and turtles.
Afterwards, we hit the hotel again for a nap, before we went to the most beautiful place in the world for the "real" wedding ceremony. Jit has built a traditional teak house built out near Doi Saket, AKA the middle of nowhere. We drove for about 45 minutes on a very very narrow road, passing dry dirt country, until suddenly we arrived at a lush, green, increadible acerage where the wedding was to take place. It was wonderful.
It was there we had the knot-tying ceremony where each of our guests tied a knot around our left wrists, and wished us the best for the future. It was a great way for Ryan and I to make our committement to eachother, and again, was all in traditional Thai style. We also had to view the "nuptial" bedroom with our parents, whom Jit asked if they'd like to give us any "bedroom advice" for our wedding night. Ryan immediatly put his head in his hands, and started rocking back and forth. Ryan's Dad then pointed out that people had been doing it for years without any help, so we were on our own. Thank you Mr. Hong! The rest of the night was eating, watching Thai dancing, lighting fire lanterns, and heading home.
All in all, it was a wonderful experience, and both Ryan and I can't imagine doing it any other way.
Enjoy the photos!
posted by Danerator at 7:17 a.m.
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