I wrote a post on the Lao Traditional Wedding that I didn’t have the opportunity to publish yet, which starts out as,

“Courting, Love, Marriage. If you are Laotian what better way to assure a lifetime of love and marriage than a Lao traditional wedding ceremony. It’s considered to be one of the most honorable duties for Lao girls, and most joyful for her parents to see their daughter honoring and respecting them by choosing Lao traditional wedding as a median in transition of starting a family. It might not legally be recognized as a marriage but more so of a tradition. This is to value the Lao ways, respect Lao culture, and respect our elders. The couple can make it official at a city hall prior or after the Lao traditional wedding. Some might also have a Christian ceremony in conjunction with Lao traditional wedding, which is also acceptable and at the same time, legally recognized.” (read full post  here)

Of course this tradition is also shared by the Thais as well, might vary slightly in certain area but not by much. As for Lao people, it is a normal traditional wedding, but for the westerners, this might be somewhat strange to witness, below are photos from B-Vong website of a Lao Traditional Wedding.

Lao Traditional Wedding photo by Boon Vong

But what I discover is that traditional wedding ceremony is not always the case anymore, as most people agreed that the ultimate goal of love is marriage, and that day is supposed to be the happiest day that two people join hands to start the beginning of their lives together; therefore every cultures and religions would try to make this appealing, and most sacred event, as some cultures or tribes would celebrate 7 days, 7 nights or even to the extreme of 1 month, mainly to prove a point of the importance of their traditional marriage ceremony.

Then I saw this video in you tube of a strange wedding ceremony in Thailand, this you have to see for yourself.

Couples tied the knot on Valentine’s day. Sounds romantic right? Well guess again, they tied the knot at an odd and spooky wedding ceremony where seven couples put on their wedding outfits and added Halloween make up to participate in a wedding they hoped would exorcise jinxes and help them to live in harmony, as one of the grooms said, “The wedding today represented the happy marriage like if we died we will die together,”.

As much as I like writing and translating ghost story, this was a bit creepy for me to watch and to imagine the guests that were there, as the Thais are very tradition, rich with cultural heritage, especially in their wedding ceremony, and to witness this can be somewhat traumatic in my opinion.

Most of us have heard this wedding vow, “…to love and to cherish ‘till death do us part…’”, as some would take it literally. I read about a bungee jump wedding, which to me was somewhat odd, but I guess not anymore, as this is now a choice of wedding ceremony for some couples, mostly the adventurous, risking life and death type of situation. I’m not sure as to why bungee jumping, but I’m sure every couple have their own reasoning as to why this is their choice, and it might be that they feel that if they died, then they are not soul mate, but if survived, then they are. This is not just a game of love anymore, but also the game of life and death, a high price to pay just for that adrenaline rush, to prove their love to one another, as some might say …It is definitely worth it.

Really? The question is, does the couple know that it is risky? The answer is yes, and this could mean a wedding and a funeral, as one of many couples that had proved their love, as for me I think they are tantalizing with the devil, as most Laotians believe that you shouldn’t do anything risky on the day of your wedding, even to the extreme of not allowing the bride and groom to drive a vehicle for fear of bad luck because it is believed that bad luck piggy back rides with good luck. The photos below were a bungee wedding that gone wrong, sad situation indeed; the photos were from Koosang Koosom magazine…one wedding, two funerals.

·Billy Idol – White Wedding