The Adventure Continues

Our future wedding site on Railay Beach

This is the first post for our new blog "Travel Further". It seemed like a fitting name for our next chapter. We have departed again on another adventure although this one is much different than the one before as it begins with our wedding in Thailand!

Aerial view of Krabi

We knew that Thailand would be the right place for our nuptials. It was where we first started laying down plans for our future together and where Matt eventually proposed.  It was also where we found our first home and where we plan to spend much of our future. It seemed like there was no better place to say our vows -even though it was 9,000 miles away from home.

We had family and friends traveling a minimum of 24 hours and some upward of 40 hours just to be with us.  We felt very blessed to have such support and love around us! We were getting married in "Railay Bay" in Krabi, which is a small province where we live in the south of Thailand.

Mom and Dad on Ao Nang Beach

Our guests started filtering in on November 23rd, the first ones being my parents who spent 3 amazing weeks with us. Thailand was a big trip for everyone but I think it was especially big for my parents. This trip was certainly far outside their comfort zone but they embraced Thailand with an open heart. That makes all the difference when traveling, keeping your mind and heart open to the differences. It's the differences that make a place worth traveling, otherwise why would one ever leave home? I was excited to be with them for many of their "firsts" (first time in a long tail, riding a tuk tuk, getting a thai massage, swimming in the Andaman Sea, riding an elephant, and so many more).

Our wedding guests started to arrive soon after and time started to move rather quickly for us! We welcomed each guest at the airport with some goodies and acquainted them with the area. It was cherished alone time with each of our guests and gave us a chance to see their first reactions to one of our favorite places in the world.

Some of our wedding guests getting ready to board a tuk tuk

Krabi is unique and I don't think anyone would question why we love it here so much. The natural beauty is a given, large rocks (called "karsts") protruding from the lush, green jungle and beaches that will take your breath away. The people are who really win you over though. Thai people are sweet in general (there is a reason this country is called the land of smiles) but people in Krabi take it many steps further. They are the most genuine and kind people we have met throughout this great country which is why we chose this place as home.

Welcome brunch at Ao Nang Villa Resort

We had planned some events for our guests ahead of the wedding which started with a welcome brunch at Ao Nang Villa on December 1st. This was the first opportunity for some of our friends and family to meet and what better way than breaking bread! We had no other events planned for the day as most guests were still getting acclimated to the area and timezone. The jet lag really does a number on you when you first get here!

We did manage to get out with some of our friends that night with our first stop being "Mr Cock's Street Bar". The guy who runs the place is a local landmark. You can find him sitting in his chair sometime after noon (and sometimes before) on the sidewalk of the main beach road in Ao Nang with a well-stocked shelf of liquors and beers behind him.

Mr. Cocks's street bar

He is a genuinely friendly man who will greet all who walk by with a warm smile and offer of a drink. Mr Cock's has expanded in the past year as he now has a bunch of plastic chairs to sit on (albeit, you are in the middle of a busy sidewalk) and a few choice spots on the curb where you can lean your back against his parked truck. This unique, little bar has more going on than most of the larger, more comfortable bars in Ao Nang. I don't know what it is but Mr Cock's has created something special in the middle of that sidewalk.

Birthday cake for "Jeff"

The next day (December 2nd) was my little brother's 25th birthday and we had planned for a market tour for that evening. I chose that day for the market tour because one of my brother's favorite things to do is eat and this market is a food-lover's paradise. We took everyone on a big tuk-tuk to the night market in Krabitown and once we arrived, people were drawn in various directions to the different food stalls. This is a foodie's paradise and there are an abundance of different things to try (if you have an adventurous pallet). My parents found pork on sticks, my cousin had "laab gai" (thai spicy chicken), a few people tried the famous papaya salad "som tum" for the first time. It was great. We finished the evening with some drinks and some birthday cake for "Jeff" :)

Swimming in Loh Samah Bay, Phi Phi

We had an early wake-up the next day as we were all going on a Phi Phi island tour. We had all 24 guests onboard a big speedboat heading out to the island made famous by the movie "The Beach". The first spot is my favorite in all of Phi Phi, Loh Samah Bay. We stopped the boat and nearly everyone jumped overboard into the sea of blue with karsts rising up from every direction. It's otherworldly. I could have spent my entire day swimming in this amazing bay. Next we started putting on our snorkel gear. The beauty at the surface is amazing but once you dip below the surface, it's hard to bring your head back up.  The fish and coral are beautiful; schools of clown fish, trumpetfish, bannerfish, moray eels.

Our guests after the Phi Phi island adventure

We continued our adventure to Maya Bay, made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie "The Beach". It is a beautiful beach but it's popularity has somewhat ruined this idyllic spot. The beach is overrun with speedboats, long tails, and throngs of tourists covering every spec of sand. Some locals would say that this stretch of sand was ruined long before by Hollywood though. It was a perfect beach, unknown and untouched, but for Hollywood it had to be perfect and Thai conservation during that time was nearly non-existent. Many of the existing trees were cleared and palms were planted in perfect rows for the movie set. The beach is no longer what it was but it's beauty is still there, for those who can see it.  Our last stop was on Bamboo Island for a dip and some lunch and then we were on the 90 minute journey back to Ao Nang.

The next day (December 4) we were off to Railay Bay and the future site of our wedding. Railay is a 20 minute long tail boat ride from Ao Nang. Although Railay Bay is still a part of the mainland, it feels much like an island. It is only accessible by boat as it is impossible to build roads through the giant karsts that surround it. It's a beautiful boat ride and no matter how many times I make the trip, I find myself in awe.

Me in my wedding dress for the Thai ceremony

We had much to do ahead of the big day and an early morning wake-up for the 7:30am ceremony. It felt like time was starting to move in fast forward.

We both had many individual moments ahead of our ceremony but at 7:30am, when my groom was standing at my front door, nothing else seemed to matter.  We walked down the path to greet 5 monks who were ready to begin our morning ceremony. We felt blessed to be able to have a traditional Thai water pouring ceremony in this special place.




We kneeled close together in front of the monks with our hands in the traditional wai position - a sign of respect and supplication. The monks always face west, while we face them with our guests behind us.  The ceremony begins with the head monk who unwinds a length of sacred thread which is wrapped around a container of water.

Sacred string

The monks hold the thread between their hands and start a series of chants of Pali scriptures intended to bring merit and blessings to us and our marriage. The string remains connected to the container of water which is sanctified for the ceremony. Merit is said to travel through the string and be conveyed to the water.

The lead monk then dips sticks of bamboo into the water and blesses us with the drops. He spoke through Timmy, our translator, and explained that these blessings will stay with us throughout our lives and also through death. He told us that he wished us many, many years of happiness in this life and our next. He also blessed our guests sitting behind us with the drops of water. Since my parents were in the front row, they received the most blessings of water and I think my Dad had to wipe his face a few times :)

Blessing from Matthew's Mom

After the blessing, Matthew and I provided a tray to each monk in the procession including food and an envelope with money ("alms"). Women cannot touch or hand things directly to a monk so I touched Matthew's arm as he provided the trays. The monks eat before heading back to the temple while we moved to a special alter setup on the beach to continue the water pouring ceremony.

Blessing from my Mom and Dad

The blessed water is mixed with wax drippings from a candle lit before the Buddha image and other herbs to create a 'paste' that is then applied to our foreheads to create a small 'dot', similar to the marking sometimes made with red ochre on Hindu devotees.

We kneeled on a pedestal with their hands clasped together. Our parents came up to put a lie of flowers (malai) around our necks and applied the blessing to our foreheads using the paste. They then put the string on each of our heads. The thread is connected but forms two separate circles around our heads, indicating that we are joined together but remain separate individuals.

Receiving water blessings from our guests

Guests were then invited to give their individual blessings and pour the holy water from an ornately decorated conch (sung) shell over our hands. The water flows into a flower vessel below. After this ceremony, the string is removed from our heads and the malai are given to us for good luck.It was a beautiful ceremony and we were elated at the end of it.

Me and "Me"

Our wedding day wasn't over though, as we still had our second ceremony in the afternoon! During the day we tried to relax and get in some beach time.

I started to get ready at 2pm when "Me" arrived to do my hair and make-up. I knew I would like Me when I saw him standing at the door with his snake skin boots, blue pants, yellow shirt, sunglasses, and disco coming out of his cell phone. He was a cool cat.  Getting ready was a blur and before I knew it, it was 4:30 and my Dad arrived. That's when the tears came. It was time.

Matthew and I had written the entire ceremony just a few nights before and put together the music for our day.  You can read our ceremony and listen to the music using these links:

Wedding Ceremony
Music Soundtrack

Wedding guests

The reception was over the top amazing. Good food, good music, great friends, beautiful surroundings. We couldn't have asked for more. We ended the evening with an amazing fire show and the lighting of lanterns for good luck. Additional pictures of the reception are below (wedding photos done by the very talented Melissa McClure). We will post more photos and video here very soon.

This is only the beginning. We are married and the adventure continues!