Trang Underwater Wedding Ceremony 2012

The ‘khan maak’ procession
The ‘khan maak’ procession is a ceremonial visit to the bride's parents to ask for their daughter's hand. The groom is accompanied by an entourage of relatives and close friends as he calls on the bride's parents to make offerings of betel nuts, arecas and dowry placed in a bowl or tray. Spirited processions are accompanied by folk dances and songs and enlivened by the exhilarating beat of a long drum troupe. All of these elements add to the visual spectacle of the ceremony.

As the bridegroom makes his way to pay his respects to the bride's parents, in traditional ceremonies, the bridegroom's entourage passes through 'silver' and 'golden gates' where he is quizzed by friends and relatives of the bride in a friendly banter of questions and answers. Once the offerings have been made to the bride's parents, respected elders and distinguished guests pour scented lustral water over the hands of the bride and groom's respectively in a blessing ceremony.

'Kin neow' ritual
Trang province will also be sharing another aspect of local culture and tradition with the couples. The traditional ‘kin neow’ rite performed on the eve of the wedding day will also be featured as part of the underwater wedding ceremony. It is an informal gathering of relatives and close friends of the bride and groom to celebrate the joyous occasion. The signature dish served during the evening’s meal is a chicken curry prepared with coconut cream and served with glutinous rice or ‘khao neow’, more popularly referred to as ‘sticky’ rice. The word ‘neow’ which means sticky is derived from the words ‘khao neow’ or glutinous rice and symbolizes a life-long bond that binds the couple together. The ‘kin nieow ritual also hints at a married life that is rich and spicy with varied tastes.

Blessing ceremony
A blessing ceremony takes place at Pak Meng Beach. Respected elders and distinguished guests pour scented lustral water over the hands of the bride and groom's respectively and offer their good wishes.

To be eligible, couples, relatives and guests taking part in the event are required to be certified divers. Married couples who wish to renew their vows in an extraordinary but memorable fashion are also eligible.

The Trang Underwater Wedding Ceremony was originally launched by Thai Airways International as a novel concept to promote tourism to Trang in Southern Thailand.