Other Side of the River
How to get Married in Thailand
I never wanted a big, fancy wedding. I get anxiety when I think about all my friend groups mixing, not to mention both sides of the family! The pressure to ensure everyone is having a good time would ruin my good time.
My husband also never wanted a big wedding, or any wedding at all, so getting married abroad was a great option for us.
We got married in Bangkok, Thailand in 2013 and from current research, I can tell the process remains the same. It was not that difficult to do; it just takes a few days to get all the necessary documents translated and legalized.
Start by going to the US Embassy with your passports to get an affidavit to be married. The US Embassy will help with this document, any questions you have about the process, and provide you with all resources needed. All documents, including the bio-page of your passport, will need to translated and legalized. Because getting married in Thailand is a multi-step process, streamline it as much as possible and find a place that translates and legalizes all documents.
The internet recommends the following location for both, and you can verify while at the US Embassy:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of Consular Affairs, Legalization Division
123 Chaeng Wattana Road, 3rd Floor
Tung Song Hong, Laksi District, Bangkok
Phone: 02-575-1057 or 1058
Fax: 02-575-1054
Email: consular04@mfa.go.th
Service hours: 08:30 AM – 2:30 PM (closed on weekends and public holidays)
It is a really good idea to have all addresses written in Thai as well as English. One of our drivers struggled to find the Amphur office because I had written the address only in English. We drove around for a really long time. It was an excellent test to see how well Graham and I could handle the stress.
Somehow we ended up at our chosen Amphur, a local government that handles public service matters. There are a few Amphurs to choose from, and which one you choose depends on where you are staying. You can find a complete list here.
You can either call the Amphur ahead of time or just show up. At the location we chose, no appointment was needed. (Which was good because we were driving around lost and would have missed our appointment anyway.) We just showed up with all our documents and money. We were so impressed with how lovey-dovey the place was decorated; fresh flowers, balloons, hearts, streamers, and ribbons everywhere. It took us awhile to realize this wasn't an everyday occurrence, and that it was actually Valentine’s Day!
At the Amphur, be prepared to pay a little extra for someone to serve as your witness. At the time, I think it was just $20.
After we were married, we had to get our Thai marriage certificate translated into English and legalized. You will need that back in the US to register your marriage. Wisconsin legally identified our marriage without any documentation but every state is different.
I cannot remember how much everything cost in total. We had to pay for everything to be translated and legalized, transportation to get to all of the places, and for the services at the Amphur. It probably cost us around $200 total.
All in all, it was a really awesome experience for us. We have a beautiful Thai marriage certificate, avoided a big wedding, and got to spend our honeymoon at Tonsai Beach!
Arriving to Tonsai Beach by boat. The water was so clear!
We enjoyed sipping magic mushroom shakes by the beach.
Make sure to book a rock climbing trip while visiting Tonsai!
Friendly Reminder about the food: Be careful what you eat on the beach there. The entire part of that island is powered by a generator and the generator goes out from time to time. I was hit with a bad case of food poisoning. I fully recovered and still enjoyed my time on the island!
Make sure to take the trail over to the other side of the island to Railay Beach for a day trip.