People from many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds live together in Thailand, a country so friendly it is known as the "Land of Smiles." Due to its historical and geographical position as a crossroad, this country's population is ethnically diverse, with many Thais coming from Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, Laotian, Burmese, Cambodian and other backgrounds. While most of the people in Thailand practice Buddhism, there is also a sizeable Muslim population, in addition to Christians, Hindus and others. Over the years, Thai people have borrowed bits and pieces from each other's practices and backgrounds to create new cultural and social traditions.

Napha Phyakul Quach's wedding reflects some of Thailand's ethnic and cultural mix. She was married by an imam in a Muslim ceremony and wore her Indonesian mother's wedding dress — a batik sarong. Her husband, who is Chinese, wore a traditional Chinese gown. The ceremony incorporated the Chinese, Indonesian and Thai tradition of the groom's procession to the bride's house; the groom passed through the series of symbolic "gates" to reach her home.

The Groom's Procession

In Thailand, the pageantry of a wedding focuses primarily on the groom, who makes his way to the bride in a procession that is often accompanied by music. Friends and relatives of the groom, bearing food and gifts such as silver, gold, jewelry and cash, join in the procession. "The procession to the bride's house is the most exciting part of the wedding," Phyakul Quach observes. On his way, the groom passes through the "silver gate" and the "gold gate," which consist of string or chains made of silver or gold that are held at each end by young children. The groom pays a token fee — more for the gold gate than the silver one — to the children, who then "open" each gate so he can reach the bride.