Thai Engagement Ceremony

Question: Exactly how and when to get engaged is not clear to me. Is this simply between the man and woman, or is it customary for the bride’s parents to be involved?

Answer: It is definitely customary for the bride’s parents to be involved in the engagement, however a Thai engagement is much different from what we are used to in the west. Thai’s have a ceremony for the engagement which is called thong mun in Thai. This literally means “gold giving” and that is exactly what the ceremony is, the prospective groom gives gold to his fiancee.

Thai’s do not typically give diamond rings as a promise of engagement, but have historically given gold instead. Of course, almost every foreigner that I know how is engaged or married to a Thai girl has given her girl a diamond ring and the ladies really seem to like it. So, you may want to go with both.

The engagement ceremony is normally attended by friends and family and can be done in advance of the wedding ceremony or can even be done right before the marriage ceremony. When giving the gold it must be an even number of baht (a baht is the unit of measure for Thai gold. One baht = 1/2 troy ounce). The gold is usually in the form of necklace or bracelet.

I hope this was helpful and wish you all the best with your Thai girlfriend or fiancee.

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