You may have done some research and found that having a legal Civil wedding in Thailand can be fraught with additional costs for paperwork & spending a large amount of your precious holiday time in Bangkok. However, please don’t despair, help is at hand. Tropical Sky can offer you the choice of either a symbolic or a legal wedding in Thailand. Many wedding couples are now choosing to be legally married at home followed by a symbolic wedding in resort with family and friends. Symbolic weddings (known as blessings or a renewal of vows) are less costly, and a great choice for busy couples who prefer to bypass the gathering of documentation required for a legal ceremony abroad. If you do decide on a full legal civil wedding we feel that it is best to advise you of these additional procedures and costs on an individual basis. Therefore the wedding packages featured on the website for Thailand are not for full legal weddings, they are for a blessing or a renewal of vows. If you still feel that you would prefer to get legally married in Thailand, we can of course assist you and talk you through the additional procedures and costs.
Thailand Symbolic Wedding
Many wedding couples are now choosing to be legally married at home followed by a symbolic wedding in resort with family and friends. For a symbolic wedding or a renewal of vows in Thailand, no documentation is required.
Bangkok Legal Wedding (if booked)
Couples are required to spend 4 nights & 4 full days in Bangkok to complete wedding formalities. You must arrive in Bangkok on a Sunday in order to complete appointments & paperwork. You would need to depart Bangkok late afternoon/early evening on a Thursday to your onward destination. Apart from your hotel costs while staying in Bangkok, the cost for the legal wedding is approx. £1,100 per couple.
Minimum age: 21 years old
Documents Required:
-
Valid original 10-year UK passport, which expires more than 6 months after the date of your return to the UK.
-
Birth certificate
-
Affirmation To Marry form (supplied by Tropical Sky)
-
Name & address of witnesses (2)
-
Proof of address (e.g. Electricity bill or credit card statement
If Required
-
If you have been divorced, the original of your decree absolute.
-
If you have been widowed, the original of your partner's death certificate.
-
If you were adopted, the original and a certified copy of your adoption certificate.
Before you travel:
Guests marrying in Thailand will need to send photocopies of the documents listed to us at least 12 weeks before the date of travel – if you have booked the legal wedding.
When you get there:
Day 1 - The couple will be picked up from the hotel and transferred to the British Embassy for signing of the Affirmation Form in person.
Day 2 - The couple will be picked up from the hotel and transferred to collect passports from the British Embassy and translation of the Affirmation from English into Thai. Then the documents have to be authenticated by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The couple will be transferred to register the marriage at the Thai District Office and wait for the Sworn & Unite documents from the British Embassy. At the Thai District office the couple will be legally married. This involves no ceremony, no exchange of rings and no vows are spoken.
Day 3 – Asia World – Our in-resort reps will arrange for the collection of all documents to be given to the couple before they leave Bangkok.
Important
If couples choose the legal wedding in Bangkok, please advise your wedding specialist on your nationality and what passport you have as this may affect what Embassy in Bangkok you visit. Information above is based on UK passport holders and UK Nationals. If couples are just choosing the ‘Blessing’ and NOT the legal wedding, no documentation is required.
ALL ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS MUST BE TAKEN WITH YOU WHEN YOU TRAVEL
Translation of documents
All legal documents must be in English or legally translated into English. All translated documents must be from a legal translator with letterhead, stamp and seal from the translator's office or notarised by a Notary Public. Occasionally the documentation will have to be sent to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for their approval before being sent back to the notary to sign.
The Wedding Ceremony
In most destinations, your wedding ceremony will be conducted Monday to Friday (excluding local holidays). In some destinations, local festivals and holidays will determine available wedding dates. Generally, your wedding will take place in the grounds of the hotel unless otherwise specified. Many hotels offer wedding gazebos for extra privacy. Some hotels may offer more than one wedding per day with the first wedding taking place at around 10am with the last wedding at 4pm. The majority of our weddings are conducted by a marriage officer whose title varies depending on the resort. Where it is possible to be married by a Minister, the ceremony will be non-denominational unless otherwise stated and will be a civil wedding.
Tropical Sky Weddings and the information given above only apply to couples:
• Born in the UK & have a valid UK passport (with some months validity on return home)
If couples do not fulfil these requirements they must advise us. Couples should be referred to the embassy of the country of origin and the country where they wish to marry as they may require extra documentation to satisfy their own embassy requirements – Tropical Sky cannot advise on this and couples must investigate this on their own. As Tropical Sky weddings have no jurisdiction over hotels/resorts/venues/legal requirements and their charges, we cannot be responsible for any increases or changes to these wedding arrangements. We will, however, endeavor to advise you of changes as soon as we are made aware of them. All prices and legal requirements correct as of December 2016.
