BANGKOK - "Ho hee ho hewwww!" yelled
Siriporn Poonsombat, 71, remembering the cheer her
guests shouted at her wedding 48 years ago. The
memory of that cheer - like the memories of the
auspicious time for the ceremony selected by a
monk and the nerves she felt waiting inside her
house for her groom's marriage procession - still
remains fresh nearly a half century later.
Couples today, however, are less willing
to depend on family, friends and the stars to
ensure everything goes perfectly on the
big
day. Making memories for this generation of
newlyweds has become a multimillion-dollar
industry.
As the wedding season begins
this month, some of the 50,000 couples to be
married in Bangkok this year are racing to Soi
(road)Thong Lor's many wedding studios to ensure
that every invitation, photo and hair on their
heads is exactly as they always dreamed. And
they're willing to pay big money.
Thong
Lor's now ubiquitous wedding studios are one-stop
shops, providing not only dresses and portraits
but invitation cards, make-up, tailoring and
planning services.
An estimated 100,000
couples nationwide will be married this year, half
of them in Bangkok. The Business and Economic
Research Center of Krung Thai Bank estimates the
wedding industry will grow 10% this year to 43
billion baht (US$1.04 billion). In 2001, the
industry earned an estimated 33 billion baht.
"There are so many wedding studios now, at
least 200-300 in Bangkok alone," said Attapol
Itthirattanakomol, vice president of the Wedding
Business Association and managing director of
Tonsak Wedding Center. "I am surprised by how many
there are. They are everywhere, even in the
suburbs, upcountry and near the market. In the
past, most studios were in Thong Lor or in big
department stores."
According to the
Commerce Ministry, revenue from the major studios
has consistently increased over the past three
years. The popular Tonsak Wedding Center's
earnings increased 19% in 2002, to 26.8 million
baht. Krung Thai estimates the center could earn
38.5 million baht this year.
"We have
1,400 to 2,000 customers a year," Attapol said.
"It is a good business, that's why it draws many
new players to the market. Couples have more needs
and less time so they grab anything that is
convenient."
Newly married Nattika
Kanjanasantikul, 29, believes weddings are largely
psychological - as couples believe their wedding
is a "once in a lifetime" occurrence, newlyweds
spend with little constraint. "It's like buying
flowers on Valentine's Day. It has become the
norm," she said of spending lots of money on the
ceremony. "People accept it, even knowing that the
price doesn't reflect the actual costs, just
because it is their special day."
She
spent about 50,000 baht just on her wedding dress,
she said.
"When I think back about my
wedding dress, it's like you paid 50,000 baht for
just one day. The next day everything is over and
life is back to normal, the dress is hanging in
the closet and we started to think about what we
had spent."
Wedding planners estimate that
middle-class couples spend an average of
300,000-500,000 baht on a typical reception for
200-300 guests. However, many others spend more
than a million baht on larger parties. Despite all
the time and money couples are investing in their
weddings, traditional ceremonies - of the sort
Siriporn had in 1957 - are being forgotten.
Even Attapol, whose job is to provide a
new generation of couples with a new style of
wedding, laments the change. "Couples these days
practically skip the most important part of their
wedding. They just want to get it over with and
focus on the reception, which I think is quite
regretful."
Siriporn believes young people
have forgotten that weddings are sacred
ceremonies.
Traditional Thai ceremonies
are complicated and involve several steps,
including the kan mak parade, merit-making,
pouring lustral water, ancestor worship and a
bed-making ceremony.
It is difficult to
find people who are well versed in all of the
details. In a kan mak parade, the groom's
family carries different trays of gifts and
auspicious materials to the bride's house. These
include certain types of flowers, vegetables and
desserts. Each item requires a certain tray,
carried in a specific order.
"It is all
these rites that make the wedding holy," Siriporn
said. "But couples these days think a wedding only
means the reception."
Couples today are
rebelling against tradition, looking instead to do
something unique. They are holding weddings on the
beach, in restaurants, under water and even at the
cinema.
As a result, a whole new
profession - the wedding planner - has emerged in
Thailand.
"The profession already existed
in Western countries for a long time but Thai
people only began using wedding planners four to
five years ago," said Ekkawat Amornpongpisut,
client service director and head producer of the
Wedding Story Co, Thailand's first wedding
planning business, established in 1994.
"We believe each wedding has its own story
and that we have to create each wedding to be
unique. So far, none of our weddings have ever
been the same and we will not make them the same."
In designing a unique wedding, the company
asks their customers to fill out questionnaires
that analyze the couples' personalities and needs.
Since opening, the company has never lacked
customers, and fees (which do not include
production costs) have risen to 100,000 baht from
15,000 baht in 1994.
"People are more
independent and want their identity or personality
to reflect their wedding," said Natalikarn
Suriyawat, editor-in-chief of the bridal magazine
WE. "I think it is the result of globalization,
which allows people to see more choices and want
to be more modern and trendy."
"In the
future, I think people will enjoy going to
weddings more," Attapol predicted. "Weddings will
be like a product launch party and people will
want to go to see new creative ideas and enjoy the
different themes of each wedding. More wedding
planners will emerge and become a common
profession in the society."
Siriporn,
however, insists that weddings are not launch
parties but holy rites that tie couples to old and
sacred traditions. "I think they spend too much on
unnecessary things such as having their portraits
taken or investing on flowers. But it is
understandable. It is the era of consumerism and
there are many unnecessary things out there on
offer."
