How excited, bound, or free and calm are we planning THE DAY we get married? What do we celebrate and what do we think about? What do we put the main accents on? Do we also enjoy the preparation process itself?
I have read, written and been to weddings that have been successful because there was a good seamstress, a wonderful make-up specialist, a good guest house, a cook and, finally, also the manager of the event. I myself have been an usher at a wedding, where we had planned the translation in the wedding ceremony down to the finest detail, because a Latvian was getting married to a foreigner. I also took on the role of translator during the ceremony, but the woman who conducted the marriage registration ceremony was different from the one I spoke to, and my text was no longer about the newlyweds, but about the history of Cēsis Castle. Oh my, people from five countries have come and are listening to a speech about towers, invasions and flags. And with the best will, I cannot change and influence this moment. The only thing that sounded in my head is: "Earth, open up."
Then how to plan a marriage so that the memories of both the preparation and the wedding itself are good and the aftertaste is sweet?
They did everything as they felt and wanted. Meet
Evija and Maris.
They are nuggets. So much so that, when talking about the wedding itself, generally accepted and usual boundaries are demolished. Yes, they have known each other for three years and as they say, they have been together 24/7 since then. He attracts attention both with his appearance, stately height, and very easy communication. She - with her fragility and reliance on him. Somehow involuntarily comes out: "As made for each other".
A month ago they got married in Thailand, by the sea and in the warmth, as they had dreamed it.
The courtship in May of last year and the wedding were initially planned for the summer right here in Latvia, but the plans changed. In addition, there are so many fast-paced events that your head is dizzy while listening to them, and it even seems a little like the story is about a good movie, rather than a lived and wonderfully successful event.
Why Thailand? Does it mean anything special to you?
Maris: No. We have no special relationship with Thailand. I had already been there once and the only thing I knew was that it was cool there, but Evie had not been there before the wedding. Evie's dad had found a good deal on the trip, but mom argued that the trip was too expensive. I also talked to the grandmother, who was interested in how we are doing with wedding planning. She also recommended: "Such a lot of money for a wedding, imagine what a trip there could be!" That's how it all started.
But the wedding had already started planning right here in Latvia?
Yes, we plan all kinds of things in the beginning. But planning it already started to look quite pointless, first of all, you can't please everyone, there will be someone who won't like something or we will forget to invite someone. Need to find a place, in what way, how, where? So many questions and things to look for and solve that we started to get tired of planning it ourselves. Then we decided to put the planning to rest and decided to go somewhere cool to get married and have peace.
I think many will agree with me that when planning a wedding, a lot of resources are spent thinking more about others, your story sounds like the only and main focus is on yourself.
Yes, on ourselves, parents and drivers, who are also our friends. And the hostess was also our photographer. Elīna (Elīna Upmane ed.) did not specialize as a wedding photographer, but the pictures are great, we really like them. The ushers were already planned for us when we planned to get married right here in Latvia. Therefore, the very next day after the idea of our trip, we invited the guides to the restaurant to announce the news. We couldn't think of anyone else we would want to go on a trip with or celebrate a wedding with. We told them that we had decided to get married in Thailand, strumpet with all the crowds and big cakes.
The drivers answered: "Do it right, guys, it's really cool, definitely go." To which we, in turn: "Well, yes, but we need witnesses!" Elīna and Kaspar looked at each other: "Ok, let's go to Thailand."
Yes, one day the idea was born, the next day we arranged witnesses and the third day we bought rings. There were also invitations that we sent to friends, but the text was something like this: "The date is close, but the road is quite far. We will get married in the second half of February on one of the sunny beaches of Thailand." That's how we warned our friends that we had postponed the wedding and maybe someone would like to join.
From the moment you decided to go to Thailand, there were two months left until you left. How did you choose the date?
We chose the same date we met, February 22. We understood that it should also be announced in time, because it is hardly possible to just leave and say that we want to get married the day after tomorrow. Therefore, even before leaving for Thailand, we called the Krabi provincial registry office, but our conversation was limited to greetings and we didn't go any further. So it was necessary to look for someone who speaks Thai. We don't know any Thai people in Latvia, but a good friend who is Swiss and lives in Latvia had lived in Thailand for some time in his youth. Then we called and asked him, he, in turn, on facebook introduced me to a Thai man who was on a business trip in Japan at that moment. This person from Japan had then called his girlfriend in Bangkok and she had called the Krabi registry office and helped us to register the date. That's how interesting we found the management with the wedding date.
Speaking specifically about Thailand, how many days before the ceremony itself would you recommend to be there already, so that you can calmly complete all the documents and prepare?
We first flew to Bangkok, where we spent two days, but everything would have been calmer and more peaceful if we had planned to be there for another day. At the last minute, however, there was stress because we risked missing our next flight to our destination, so I would recommend a week or even ten days before, because we had a very small margin of error, which was also used, because we did not fully know what papers were needed, what were not needed, where they had to be approved. We went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to submit documents that were not accepted, then we had to go to the consul and there were some snags. We took express service everywhere, it is also more expensive. You have to take into account the working hours, because in Bangkok it was 9:00 - 12:00, so only three hours a day. If there are more days, then all this can be arranged through interpreters and you do not have to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yourself.
Our marriage is legally under Thailand and will always remain so. In Latvia, the marriage we have registered in Thailand will be legalized and recognized
And what are the costs for completing the documents?
If the cost in Latvia is 14.15 euros, then it cost us around 500 euros to complete the documents - translations, notarial confirmations.
All other expenses were only as much as the planned trip?
The biggest costs are really document processing and interpreters. As far as we have researched ourselves, it is also possible to hire agencies. They are very popular and there are a lot of them, almost any hotel deals with this and can help organize this process so that you can get legally married, but you have to travel and arrange it yourself. If you choose an agency, of course the costs are higher, but they also offer different options, for example, you can get married on the beach of the hotel. In many places, the beaches are owned by hotels. They undertake the decoration and other things. But we didn't want it to be so clichéd and corporate.
Evija: "We hung the flags on the trees ourselves, We went to the local market to buy dishes to put snacks on."
About preparing for the ceremony. Evie, how about the dress, hairstyle, hairdos. I was fascinated by your sandals in the photos. Wouldn't high heels be so comfortable?
Evija: "I didn't even have shoes with me, only beach slippers. I had only taken laces that I put on for the moment of the ceremony. We got married barefoot. I painted myself, washed my hair. Later, I borrowed sandals from my mother. She was also happy about it, because goats must have something that is borrowed. I bought the dress when we decided to get married In Thailand, it was already seen a month before the wedding. This was the first one that caught my eye and I bought it without going to any wedding dress shop. Mari also had a suit, a shirt and shoes with her, which we bought shortly before traveling to Thailand. He didn't wear a vest at all."
Back to the romantic section. Where and how did your marriage ceremony take place?
When we arrived at the destination, we rented a boat and drove ourselves to find a place where we want to get married. We did not want to use hotel offers or anything else stereotypical.
While walking around the area, we found a romantic beach, which is kind of deserted, where there are no crowds of people, tourists. The only thing is that at low tide it doesn't look so beautiful because the beach remains muddy and ugly, but at high tide it's a fairy beach. That's why we wanted the ceremony to take place until the beginning of low tide. We found one. On the spot, we had also arranged officers, the person who will marry us. But he didn't speak English, so a translator was also needed. We had also arranged a meeting place with him by phone, he confirmed that he lives nearby and that it would not be a problem to come.
At the moment when we have all arrived, both the parents, who were brought by bus, and we are already ready to get married, the officer is also waiting and the tide was approaching. We call our translator and it turns out that he had mixed up the place we chose and went somewhere else. At that moment there was excitement, but we had a brilliant idea. Since the parents had come in a bus and the bus had a driver, it turned out that he spoke a little, well, very little, but still spoke English.
Really a script worthy of a movie.
Yes. Instead of an interpreter, we had a driver in a yellow shirt. Officer also agreed to have a driver translate our ceremony instead of the arranged translator. And then the big moment had arrived. It was nice that the ceremony itself only lasted a couple of minutes. And the fact that officer 's speech was much more extended and longer than our driver's translation made me smile.
After the ceremony, we received a marriage certificate, which was issued in 2559, according to the local calendar.
And what about the wedding feast?
On the day we went to look for a place for the ceremony, we also found a cafe nearby that we really liked. With a bamboo canopy, lace curtains, just like we imagined before we went to Thailand.
Maris: "Yes, Evija showed me pictures at home that she would really like a shed like that, to which I replied - well, don't expect that everything will work out that easily". We were really lucky. There we also arranged for a table to be set for us at a certain time and that was our wedding feast.
You missed several things that we are used to seeing at weddings. What did your parents say about it?
Our parents were very happy. They said that it was also the best thing, that everything happened freely, unforced and natural. We didn't have that big crowd that imposes obligations in some sense - how to behave, what to do. We were just ourselves. We had two very good friends and immediate family.
When you come back, don't your friends insist on some joint event?
There will be a party. Without cakes, but with pictures and dancing.
What formalities must be completed for the marriage to be considered legal in Latvia?
We have an idea to write a blog article about this, so that other people have a tip.
- Certificate of marital status (married or single) from the Citizenship and Migration Service ;
- Notarized translation of the certificate in English;
- Certificate + translation must be legalized at the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (we had it, but we do not know if this confirmation is necessary, as we only showed these documents to the honorary consul of Latvia in Thailand, where he made us a new certificate about family status);
- With the certificate issued by the honorary consul of Latvia, you must go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and legalize this document, + also submit copies of your passport;
- Next, this certificate with passport copies must be submitted to Amphur (Thailand local registry office) – we had to submit 5 days before the ceremony;
- Then the wedding day takes place, where the marriage certificate is issued;
- The marriage certificate must be notarized into English and both the original and the translation must be approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand;
- Upon happily returning to Latvia, this marriage certificate must be notarially translated into Latvian;
- This document must be taken to the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, where the documents are legalized (for us, a stamp was placed on the original English translation);
- When all this is done, it is necessary to go to the Department of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, where these documents must be submitted and the marriage abroad must be announced;
- (We are not that far yet), but after submitting the documents to the Department of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, you will be offered to change the woman's surname if it was not indicated in the marriage certificate issued by Thailand.
See Evie and Mara's full wedding story here: Wedding in Thailand
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