14 February -- Valentine's Day
Venue: Elephant Study Centre, Surin Province (457 km northeast of Bangkok)
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) invites you to join the ceremony of "Wedding on Elephant Back" at Surin Province. This year, there are 41 couples joining the ceremony.
As elephants and Thais have maintained a close relationship since ancient time, many of the creatures are domesticated mostly in the north and northeastern regions of Thailand such as in Lampang and Surin provinces.
Yearly on 14 February, the Elephant Study Centre in Surin Province holds a Wedding on Elephant Back" ceremony. The couples getting married in this style will go through the "sat-te" ceremony which is the traditional wedding ceremony of the kui* people, which is unique and full of meaning. On the wedding day, the brides and grooms will be traditionally dressed. The brides wear a crown made of palm leaf while the grooms wear a three-coloured auspicious rope.
Before the "sat-te" ceremony begins, the elephant processions of the brides will first arrive at the precinct. Then, the majestic elephant procession of the grooms will reach the ritual ground to start the engagement and wedding procedures. After that, the couples will continue the "sat-te" ceremony in cottages specially built. After finishing this stage, the couples will ride on elephants to register their marriages. The last stage is to joyfully feed the elephants.
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*Kui refers to the descendants of the Mon-Khmer people mostly live in Surin Province.
Couples interested in participating the ceremony can contact all district administrative offices in Surin.
For more information :
Surin Local Administrative Office, tel: +66 (0) 4451 1975, +66 (0) 4451 1599
TAT Surin Office, tel: +66 (0) 4451 4447 to 8
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