Get married in the traditional Phuket Baba style (video)

PHUKET: Every wedding day is something special, but now, thanks to the Thai Peranakan Association, you can make yours even more unique by having a traditional Baba wedding ceremony right here in Phuket.

The two-day wedding festival is held each year to honor and ensure the continuance of Baba Pernankan (“Straits Chinese”) traditions on the island.

This unique event will give the attending couples a rare opportunity to experience the colorful, traditional Baba wedding ceremony, which features beautiful silk costumes and age-old Baba ceremonies.

The association has prepared a special wedding package for couples willing to tie the knot in this unusual and memorable way. It all starts one day before the wedding, with the couples checking in at the Sukko Spa, a charming resort in Phuket Town. After registering with the Thai Peranakan Association, the bride and groom will depart for the Chalong Temple for blessings.

Phuket Baba believe that the married couple’s family will prosper if they receive blessings from two highly venerable monks, Luang Pho Chaem and Luang Pho Chuang.

The visit to the temple will be followed by a romantic sunset cruise. During the cruise, the couples will be briefed about the next day’s schedule and learn more about Baba wedding elements such as the tea ceremony, the procession and the evening reception dinner.

On June 22, the wedding day preparations will begin after breakfast with hair, makeup and suit fitting sessions. After a lunch break, the brides will depart for Hongyok’s House, ceremonially used as the Bride’s home, and the Grooms will depart for the Blue Elephant Restaurant at the Phra Pitak Chinpracha Mansion, a historic, 105-year-old landmark.

What will follow is a set of traditional rites and rituals, including the Pang-tae or “tea offering” ceremony, one of the most significant events in a Baba Wedding, which includes very formal introductions of the bride and groom and shows respect to their families.

After a group photo session of brides and grooms in front of Hongyok’s House, the procession will continue through old Phuket Town along Thepkrasattri Road, Talang Road and Krabi Road to the Phuket Thaihua Museum for a short historical photo session.

The wedding reception dinner will take place at the Blue Elephant Restaurant where the guest will enjoy some of Phuket’s unique delicacies of Phuket Baba cuisine.

The night will end when the couple will be taken for their Honeymoon night at one of Phuket’s many beautiful resorts.

This unique experience costs 39,900 baht per couple. The price includes the wedding ceremony, one night at the Sukko Spa & Resort and two nights at a nearby beach hotel, transportation during the wedding ceremony, traditional wedding attire and suit with accessories, souvenirs, photos of the couple and their family and special activities arranged by the associations. Not to mention a lifetime of vivid and fond memories.

The Thai Peranakan Association with the support of the City of Phuket, the Tourism Authority of Thailand – Phuket Chapter, the Phuket Tourism Association, the Phuket Chamber of Commerce, the Old Phuket Foundation and Phuket’s Culture Preservation Network will host the 2014 Phuket Baba Wedding from June 21 to 23.

Applications for the package have to be submitted before May 31 at the Thai Peranakan Association office. For more information, call 081-691 1955

The Phuket Gazette and PGTV’s ‘Phuket Today’ show, the island’s only nationally broadcast television program (aired daily on True Visions channels HD-79 and SD-107), are proud to sponsor this event.