Penguin Recap: Thai Time
August 19th, 2008 @ 9:35 am by Mrs. Penguin
Immediately following the ceremony, in lieu of a receiving line, Mr. Penguin and I opted to celebrate a little of my family heritage and participate in a Thai Water Ceremony, or Rod Nam Sang. Mr. Penguin and I both had Thai garb made down in Los Angeles, which cost us quite a bit of money, but we made my parents promise to throw us a Thai wedding in Thailand sometime in the next few years so we could break out the outfits once again! My parents were married here in California, but went back to Thailand when I was young to have a Thai wedding, so we hope to do the same very soon!
Wedding guests (typically only those older than the bride and groom, but we opted to have all our guests participate) pour holy water from a conch shell over the bride and groom’s hands, and give them their blessings. The water then pours over into the bowls full of flowers. The water must be blessed by Thai Monks.
Two conch shells in their stands (front) are used by guests to pour water over the bride and groom’s hands.
Putting on the Thai dress took quite the team of people to get done in a short period of time!
My aunt brought lots of gold jewelry from Thailand for me to wear. I’m not typically a fan of gold, and my mom suggested that I could wear silver, but when I think of Thailand, I think of gold, and I wanted to stick to tradition as much as possible. My mom wanted me to wear somewhat of a modern dress, but I kept trying to tell her I wanted us to look “as Thai as possible!” Especially because I’m half Chinese, I really needed to “Thai-it-up” to look legit! 
A string is draped connecting the bride’s head to the groom’s, symbolizing their union. The draping is typically done by the most eldest and respected guest at the wedding, like a grandparent or mentor of the bride or groom. My eldest aunt from Thailand did the honors.
One of our younger guests remarked: “Mr. Penguin looks like such a DORK. But he is lucky that he has a mother-in-law that can cook him Brown Noodles (his favorite dish, Rad Na) whenever he wants, so I guess it is worth it!”
Me and my dorky new husband
Billie was SO over it. Even with all the hubbub, she managed to catch a snooze.
How will you inject your heritage into your wedding to make it unique?
Relive the day of the Penguins…
1. Morning, Sunshine! | 2. Ready, Men? | 3. Formalities | 4. We’re Hitched!
All photos by Sarah K. Chen Photography
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33 Responses to “Penguin Recap: Thai Time”
L-O-V-E-I-T!!!!!!!!!!!!! you look awsome on that dress! OMG I just love the pics so nice!1!
W-O-W! I love the outfits and all the beautiful gold jewelry! You two look fabulous!
you look gorgeous!!! i love the gold, it looks so warm and happy
pengy you look gorgeous in your thai dress!!!!
it’s funny when i see brides in traditional attire, i feel like they look more like a bride than when i see them in the white dress.
Wow, the environment is just so beautiful, the flowers and the water, they are amazing! and YOU, YOU…look spectacular!!!
wow, i LOVE your dress…you look amazing!
Ditto! I you look gorgeous in the Thai dress What a wonderful way to do your receiving line.
That Thai dress always takes my breath away! Amazing. You are absolutely gorgeous! You guys make quite the handsome couple.
I love your Thai dress, and I’m glad you went with the gold jewelry, it looks lovely!
You look amazing and you were right about the gold jewelry with that dress! Your photographer is amazing as well.
…and it’s totally adorable that your dog fell asleep.
you look amazing! wow, i’ve never seen a thai water ceremony and it looks wonderful. i hope i get the pleasure of experiencing on in real life.
i plan on performing a paebaek. it’s the one thing i’ve always wanted to do since i was younger. plus it’s a perfect excuse to buy a new hanbok!
I love that you wanted to look as Thai as possible, and that dress is stunning stunning stunning.
You look amazing!!
gorgeous :)!! i also love the little shot of billie — hee, too cute.
what a great idea to have everyone participate 
I love your thai look even more than your regular wedding look. rock on!
you make me wish i were thai! so beautiful!
very pretty! i like your outfit! =D i had a traditional khmer (cambodian) ceremony. our cultures are similar because thailand and cambodia are neighbors. i wore lots of gold & white too! =D
I don’t think Mr. Penquin looks “dorky” at all! A little Scandinavian maybe, but definitely not dorky!
so. incredibly. gorgeous. wow…beautiful! oooh and if you do have a thai wedding, you will need to blog alllll about it!
Your photos are so stunning… This may seem like an odd question, but I’m sitting here with a Thailand guidebook planning fantasy travels (no? I’m the only one who does that?) and so I’m wondering where in Thailand your family is from?
You look gorgeous in all of these photos
[...] of the Penguins… 1. Morning, Sunshine! | 2. Ready, Men? | 3. Formalities | 4. We’re Hitched! | 5. Thai Time | 6. Detailing All photos by Sarah K. Chen [...]
@alexinwonderland: LOL, i love that you do that.
@alexinwonderland: So sorry I didn’t catch this earlier! My family is plain Bangkok city folk
Mrs. Penguin, Sacramento
Age and Occupation: 26, Video & TV Producer/Director/Editor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Doctor of Physical Therapy
Engagement Date: January 29, 2007
Wedding Date: June 7, 2008
Blogging Since: September 14, 2007
Venue: Winery in the Gold Country
About Me: I'm a silly mess of a girl who, above all else in this world, LOVES the Spice Girls. I eat sushi at least 3 times a week, and feel guilty about how much it costs the other 4 days a week. I love designer jeans and cheap accessories. I don't like sweets, but I love the UCLA Bruins!
wow, the photos are beautiful. I’m not Thai but I want a Thai water ceremony!!