Thailand Destination Wedding, Honeymoon & Vow Renewal Packages

Planning a wedding or honeymoon in Thailand?

If you crave sunshine look no further than Thailand. With year-round sunshine and a reputation as the “land of smiles”, Thailand provides a once-in-a-lifetime backdrop for your luxury destination wedding. Sumptuous food, incredible natural scenery and access to the worlds’ flower market at your fingertips make planning a Thai wedding a true joy.

Be swept away by a honeymoon in Thailand surrounded by elephants in green forested mountains or crystal clear water as you snorkel hidden coves and exotic islands. Whether you love to lounge poolside, spend your days splashing in the waves or exploring the vast markets and artifacts, you’ll find your “home away from home” in Thailand. Exotic sun drenched destination weddings and honeymoons await you on the adventure of a lifetime. Collaborating, creating and celebrating with you, our team will guide you step-by-step through planning your destination wedding or honeymoon in Thailand. Dive in and start planning.

The Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration (SHA) provides consumers and Thai locals with confidence when booking travel to Thailand in the future. Being awarded a SHA certificate means the service provider has undergone strict inspection and passed SHA’s high standards of hygiene, health and cleanliness for the entire premises, ultimately providing the utmost safety for travellers and locals in Thailand.

The Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration (SHA) project (Official SHA Website)

About SHA

Useful info-graphic  

SHA Certified List

SHA steps up information sharing and outreach 

If you have any questions, or need more information about booking travel to Thailand in the future, please contact karenlantigua@myweddingaway.com or click here.

Fast Facts

Thailand Entry requirements

• Canadians require a passport to visit Thailand, valid for at least 6 months from planned date of departure from Thailand.
• Tourist visa required. 30-day Tourist visa can be obtained upon arrival. Immigration officials can require visitors who are entering without obtaining a visa in advance to show a return or onward tickets.
• Policy is subject to change and is traveler’s responsibility to check for most up to date requirements.

Hotel Check In and Out times in THAILAND

• Hotels check time is usually 3:00pm
• Hotel check out time is usually 11:00am

Banking hours in THAILAND

• Monday – Friday 8:30am to 3:30pm

Currency in THAILAND

• Thai Baht

Credit Cards accepted in THAILAND

• VISA, Amex and MasterCard are accepted

Language in THAILAND

• Thai

Tipping in THAILAND

• It’s not necessary but appreciated and depending on where you are and what services you are tipping on. Hotel service staff, bell man, housekeeping, bar tenders would be appropriate to tip.

Spa and salon, tipping at your discretion

• Tour Guides its recommended you tip
• Some higher end restaurants and bars add a service charge to the bill so at your discretion.

Sightseeing in THAILAND

• Grand Palace (Bangkok)
• Flower Market (Bangkok)
• Flight of the Gibbons (Chiang Mai)
• Patara Elephant Farm (Chiang Mai)
• John Grey’s sea canoe (Phuket)
• Cooking Classes
• Spa
• Speed Boat Mu Ko Ang National Marine Park ( Ko Samui)
• Hill Tribe Experience ( Chiang Mai) Sokothai
• Ayutthaya
• Floating market (Bangkok)
• Chiang Rai (Elephants rescue, temples, hill tribes)

Drinking Water in THAILAND

• Bottled water is recommended.

Electricity THAILAND

• Most hotels operate on a 220V

Wedding Regulations/Vow Renewals

A legal marriage in Thailand is legal in the U.S. and Canada, but it must be performed according to Thai law.

In addition, paperwork and legal formalities have to be completed to ensure the wedding is recognized in your home country. Note: Canadian citizens should check with the Vital Statistics Office of the province or territory where the couple will live.

In Thailand you are only legally married once the wedding has been registered at the District Office ("amphur"). It is highly recommended that you arrange for clients to use the services of a wedding planner. We highly recommend, Distinct Occasions, and refer them for our Canadian/American clients seeking assistance with their Thailand wedding. Many major hotels offer wedding packages that include the services of a wedding coordinator to oversee all the details.

No matter whether a client uses a Wedding Planner or not, they still need to be made aware of the regulations for marrying in Thailand. Please note that many of the services cited below require fees.

Legalities

Assuming your clients are U.S. or Canadian citizens, they need to visit their respective embassy in Thailand. Wedding Planners may have arrangements with embassies to speed the process up, but generally speaking the couple should allow four or five days in Bangkok to sort out the paperwork and legalize the marriage. First and foremost, their passports must be up to date and have a minimum validity of six months from the date of departure.

Thai law also requires that:

• A couple must be of legal age (17 years) upon filing for marriage registration, otherwise permission must be granted by a court.
• Permission from the parents is required for parties under legal age.
• Both parties must not be registered as married to anyone else.
• A widow or divorcee will be permitted to remarry not less than 310 days after the previous marriage has expired, unless she has given birth to a child, is remarrying the same person, is not pregnant (as certified by doctor) or approval to remarry from a court has been obtained.

Unlike Canada and most of the U.S.A., Thailand does not permit marriage for same-sex couples. While same-sex couples can choose to have a commitment ceremony or symbolic ceremony in Thailand, their marriage will NOT be legally recognized.

Affirmation to Marry

Thai authorities require that any foreign nationals wishing to marry in Thailand obtain an affirmation of freedom to marry from their home country’s embassy. The embassy will require your passport and evidence of termination of any previous marriages (i.e. divorce certificate, death certificate). These should be original documents and not photocopies.

Next, the form needs to be translated into Thai (the embassy will not do his for you). There are a number of translation services and offices to be found near the main

embassies and typically cost is around $20–$30 per document. The translated forms are then submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Tel: 02 575 1056–59; e–mail: consular04@mfa.go.th), which authenticates them and returns them the following day.

Once all the paperwork is completed they must visit the district office, which is similar to a town hall or registry office. A religious ceremony on its own is not recognized as being valid under Thai law. There is not usually any need to make an appointment, but they will need their affirmation and translated documents. The couple should also go with somebody who can speak Thai.

Note: The Thai marriage certificate will be in Thai only. Couples may wish to obtain a sworn translation of the certificate from a translation bureau so that the document can be used for legal purposes in their home country.

Marriage in Thailand

Please note that the Embassy cannot perform, witness, or register a marriage, but is able to notarize the required affidavit.

In Thailand, a civil marriage is legally recognized once registered at a district registrar’s office. Religious or community marriage ceremonies are not sufficient. Unlike Canada, Thailand does not permit marriage for same-sex couples. While same-sex couples can choose to have a commitment ceremony or symbolic ceremony in Thailand, their marriage will NOT be legally recognized.

You will need to take the following steps to register your marriage in Thailand:

1. Affirm/swear an affidavit of freedom to marry (1 morning)

• Complete an English affidavit form at the Embassy, Monday to Friday from 09:00 to noon.
• A fee of CAD $50 is payable for this notary service, payable in CAD, USD or THB. We can provide this service for Canadian citizens only. Please bring your passport.
• If you are divorced or widowed, please provide an original divorce or death certificate.
• Affidavits completed in French will have to be translated into English for Thai authorities.

2. Have the affidavit translated into Thai (1 – 2 working days)

• The notarized English affidavit must be translated into Thai by a certified translator. (See list of translation firms below).

3. Have all documents certified/authenticated (1 – 2 working days)

• Take the notarized affidavit and Thai translation to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have the translation certified and the signature of the Canadian official authenticated.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Legalization Division

123 Chaeng Watthana Road, Bangkok 10210

Tel: 0 2575-1056 - 9,

Fax: 0 2575-1054

Hours: 08:30 to 11:30, and 13:00 to 14:30.

Website: http://www.mfa.go.th

กรมการกงสุล กระทรวงการต่างประเทศ

กองสัญชาติและนิติกรณ์

123 ถนนแจ้งวัฒนะ

แขวงทุ่งสองห้อง เขตหลักสี่ กรุงเทพฯ 10210

4. Register the marriage (1 day)

• Proceed to any district office to register the marriage. If neither party speaks Thai, an interpreter will be required. The couple will be provided with two copies of the official Marriage Certificate in Thai.
• Marriages that are legally performed abroad are usually valid in Canada and do not require any additional steps or registration. Please direct further inquiries to the Vital Statistics Office of the province or territory where the couple will live.

The nearest district registrar office to the Embassy is: Bangrak District Registrar’s Office, 5 Nares Road, Bangkok 10500. Tel: 0 2236-3154, Hours: Monday to Friday 08:30 - noon and 13:00 - 16:30.

5. Have the marriage certificate translated — optional (1 day)

• If you wish to use the Marriage Certificate in Canada or other countries, you should have it translated into English or French. It may then be notarized at either the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs or at the Embassy of Canada.
• For details on marriage in Cambodia, Laos, or Burma, please contact the Embassy in Bangkok.
• Foreign nationals do not automatically acquire Canadian citizenship through marriage to Canadians. If you are marrying a Thai national, he or she will require a visa for Canada. The Consular Section cannot assist with this. Please see the Immigration Section or Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Translation Services

The Embassy of Canada can neither provide nor recommend translation services, but provides the following brief list of translation offices close to the Embassy for your convenience.

Bangkok Business & Secretarial Office Ltd.

5/6 Soi Saladaeng, Silom Road, Bangkok 10500

(Saladaeng BTS / Silom MRT Stations)

Tel: 0 2233-4768, 0 2266-5531, 0 2233-3572

Fax: 0 2235-7321

International Translation Office

22 Silom Road, Bangkok 10500

(Saladaeng BTS / Silom MRT Stations)

Tel: 0 2233-7714, 0 2234-9969, 0 2267-1097

Fax: 0 2632-7119

Express Translation Service and Travel

888 Mahatun Plaza, 1st Floor, Units 3 and 14

Ploenchit Road, Lumpini, Bangkok 10330

(Ploenchit BTS Station)

Tel: 0 2252-0337, 0 2250-0412, 0 2650-7793

Fax: 0 2252-0337, 0 2650-8653

The Sun Translation and Language Service

3rd Floor, C.P. Tower, 13 Silom Road, Bang Rak, Bangkok 10500

(Saladaeng BTS Station / Silom MRT)

Tel: 0 2266-6689, 08 1659-1489

Fax: 0 2266-6687