No longer 10,000 miles apart but...

With Krong in Dallas and me in Michigan, we're still about 1,000 miles apart by car and plane. We hope that by the time we actually are married, we can cut that distance by another factor of 10. Maybe we'll eventually live on the same block!

Here are some of our past trips to visit each other and friends.

• Sep 29 - Oct 1: Krong flew to Chicago & I drove and we went to Javin's wedding in Green Bay
• Oct 13 - 16: I flew to Dallas for Val's b-day party and the Texas State Fair
• Nov 17 - 26: Krong flew to MI and we drove to New Albany for Thanksgiving
• Dec 22 - 27: Krong flew to Louisville for Christmas in New Albany
• Dec 27 - Jan 4: I flew to Dallas for New Year's and we drove to San Antonio & Austin
• Feb 23 - Mar 4: I flew to Dallas to propose, Mom & Dad visited too and took a trip to Ft. Worth
• Apr 3 - 10: I flew to Dallas for Easter and to take care of some immigration paperwork
• Apr 20 - 29: Krong flew to MI for Andy's wedding
• Jun 7 - 17: Krong flew to MI for some marriage prep workshop and a firm cruise on the Detroit River
• Jul 17 - 26: Krong's flying to MI, again for some marriage prep stuff and maybe a trip to Chicago!

That's quite a carbon footprint we have, not that I'm counting...

Possible US reception dates

List of possible Indiana/Louisville reception dates:
3/1 - last weekend of my spring break
3/8 - too cold?
3/15 - my birthday
3/22 - Easter
3/29 - #3 choice, weekend after Easter, no baseball
4/5 - Heather's wedding
4/12 - Thunder Over Louisville
4/19 - #2 choice
4/26 - #1 choice - halfway between two other weddings
5/3 - Kentucky Derby
5/10 - middle of my finals week
5/17 - my graduation weekend
5/24 - Sonia's wedding
5/31 - #4 choice

Song Requests!

Krong and I have a similar problem in that we don't know the names or artists who sing many of our favorite songs. So we'd like your help in choosing songs you'd like to hear at a wedding reception.

So please add some comments to this posting or email your favorite songs you'd like to hear at a wedding. Dance, slow, hip-hop, country, jazz, whatever! Pick as many as you like.

And pick a few you'd rather not hear at a wedding--like that chicken dance song or whatever.

I just heard a song on the radio last night that I liked--"The Story" by Brandi Carlile. Kind of a slow rock ballad with some nice wailing vocals. Never heard of her before, but then again, I don't know any artists after about 1997.

More on the ceremonies

We don't want to give too much away, but we want everyone who plans to come to Thailand to be prepared. So here are the very basics you need to know.

Accommodations
We have not reserved a block of rooms just yet, however, we are looking at a place along the Chao Phraya River. All visitors to Thailand will have transportation to and from the ceremonies and the reception.

Rehearsal Dinner for Catholic Ceremony
At this point, I'm not sure we'll have a rehearsal dinner. Still working on that.

Thai Ceremony @ Siam House
On the morning of December 29, Krong and I will begin to prepare for the day at about 4:00AM. Hopefully I can sleep a little more than her, but apparently I get to wear some make-up too. I'm a bit in the dark on this myself. At about 6:00AM, guests will start to arrive at Siam House, a restaurant that caters to Thai wedding ceremonies.

Around 7:00AM, 9 monks will arrive to perform blessings. Krong and I will serve them breakfast. More blessings will follow breakfast. I'm not sure if the guests will be eating anything at this point.

By about 9:00, the monks will depart and the engagement ceremony will begin. This involves a procession of the groom's party, both family and friends. There'll be some hootin' and hollerin' at the bride's family I think followed by some procession into the bride's "house." Typically, this ceremony would actually take place at her real house. Anyhow, my groomsmen will be leading the charge on this, coached by some people at the restaurant.

Soon, we'll all calm down a little bit and the ceremony will begin. I'll leave some of this as a mystery, but basically my parents and Krong's parents "negotiate" a deal so I can have her as my bride. The ceremony is largely symbolic nowadays, and Krong's father and I have already talked about what he expects. I'm sure my parents won't fail to meet those expectations! Ha ha ha...

Once the negotiations are complete, we'll exchange rings and promises. Guests will then come up to bless us and then move on to the brunch waiting for them.

Dress for the occasion will be Thai traditional for the parents and bride and groom. Everyone else should just wear their Sunday best. Transportation to the ceremony will be by a chartered bus. After the brunch, guests will be encouraged to return to the hotel to relax before the Catholic ceremony.

Catholic Ceremony @ Assumption Church
The Catholic ceremony will begin around 3:00 at Assumption Church. It will not be a full mass but will be a word service. This should be considerably shorter than most Catholic weddings which may be a bit of a blessing. The Church is not air conditioned. After the ceremony, we'll have some pictures.

Dress for the Catholic ceremony will be whatever you would wear to a wedding in the US. Transportation to and from the church will be by a hotel boat on the Chao Phraya River. After the ceremony, the boats will begin to take people to the reception.

Reception @ Suanthip
The reception will be at another restaurant. We will have both Thai and Western food available followed by the usual type of reception you'd expect. Dancing, drinking, and fun! Maybe we'll get some Thai traditional dance going or something. The reception will be outdoors, but the evening should be a bit cooler. It should last from about 6:00 to 12:00.

Transportation back to the hotel will be arranged for the guests, most likely a bus of some type.

We hope the information above is helpful in preparing you for the long day. If you have any questions, please email or post a comment on here.

Our Flight Information

Krong and I have made our flight reservations for the trip to Thailand including my parents. The US departure may change for my parents, but Krong and I plan to get to Bangkok a week before the ceremonies on December 29.
Airport abbreviations: SDF-Louisville, ATL-Atlanta, ICN-Seoul, South Korea, BKK-Bangkok, CNX-Chiang Mai, HDY-Hat Yai

Louisville to Bangkok
Departing on December 20, 2007
KE7194 SDF-ATL, 07:05 - 08:30
KE0036 ATL-ICN, 12:10 - 17:20
KE0653 ICN-BKK, 20:25 - 23:45
Arriving on December 21, 2007

Returning on January 10, 2008
KE0652 BKK-ICN, 22:45 - 06:00
KE0035 ICN-ATL 10:05 - 09:35
KE7193 ATL-SDF 13:13 - 14:40
Arriving on January 11, 2008

In addition, Krong and I are planned a trip for my parents and family to see Chiang Mai between the ceremonies.

Chiang Mai Trip
Departing on December 30, 2007
Air Asia FD3234 BKK-CNX, 12:50 - 14:00

Returning on January 3, 2008
Air Asia FD3243 CNX-BKK, 18:50 - 20:00

And our flights from Bangkok to Hat Yai:

Hat Yai Reception
Departing on January 4, 2008
Air Asia FD3133 BKK-HDY, 12:10 - 13:35

Returning on January 9, 2008
Air Asia FD3136 HDY-BKK, 21:00 - 22:25

I hope this helps people in planning their flights to and from Thailand!

Catholic Church ceremony update

There is a strong likelihood that the Church for the Catholic ceremony will actually be "Kalawar" Church which is also in Bangkok but closer to the Chao Phraya river. Kalawar is sort of the Thai transliteration of "Calvary," but the Church was actually given the name Holy Rosary. It is smaller and has an interesting history related to the fall of Ayuttaya and the rise of Bangkok.

Krong and I are working on securing the date at the Church as well as getting a priest who speaks English. We spoke to one priest, Fr. Martin, about a month ago who was fluent in Thai and English. However, he said he was too old to be doing weddings. We will likely find a priest at the Church near the U.S. Embassy. That Church, Wat Ma Ha Thai (Holy Redeemer), is available and temporarily booked for December 29. It is not in a good location for the ceremony though.

Some of you have begun to look into flights, some of you have already told me that you won't be able to join us. For those who are undecided, please email or give me a call if you have any questions. Krong and I really would like to see as many people there as possible! We'll probably be coming up with a list of people who are definitely going so some of you can plan vacation trips together.

The Bangkok Weddings and Hat Yai Reception

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Krong and I are going to celebrate our marriage in both the Thai-Buddhist tradition and the Western-Catholic tradition, all on December 29 in Bangkok. All of this activity will be on Saturday, so if you plan to arrive on Thursday night, your first day in Bangkok should be a day of rest. Everyone should plan on taking things easy on Friday unless you are in the wedding.

Thai Ceremony
The Thai ceremony will take place during the morning at a place called the Siam House. It will consist of a traditional engagement ceremony as well as a Buddhist ceremony.

Catholic Ceremony
Later that afternoon, there will be a Catholic ceremony at Assumption Cathedral. This should be the standard Catholic ceremony complete with bridal party, Catholic mass, and everything. The church is NOT air conditioned though, so beware! We are awaiting confirmation that the church is available for that date.

Reception
The reception will take place at Suan Thip and will be similar to Western receptions. Thai food will be served although we can probably have some Western items there too. And there will likely be music and dancing, but don't expect to see many Thais joining in the craziness. Just Krong... and probably a couple of her friends.

Rehearsal
We will probably have a rehearsal for the Catholic ceremony along with a dinner.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

A week after the wedding ceremonies in Bangkok, there will be another reception in Hat Yai.

Hat Yai Reception
A week after the wedding, there will be a big reception in Krong's hometown, Hat Yai (means "big beach" in Thai!) Check out this map of Thailand for a better idea of where everything is located. I'll try to update it so you can zoom in and see where things are inside Bangkok itself too. Anyhow, the reception will be at a large hotel in Hat Yai and will probably have over 500 guests. It will be a 10-person table dinner, probably with some speeches and cake. And whiskey.

If you have any questions about any of this, shoot me an email or leave some comments!