The Thais have an innate sense of grace and style. You see this in classical dance, in the arts and in the decorative crafts for which Thailand is renowned. You will also find inimitable grace and style in the traditional Thai wedding ceremony.

Following a time- honoured ritual, the ceremony begins in the morning of the wedding day with the chanting of Buddhist monks, after which the bridal couple and their relatives present offering of food. Once the monks have eaten, the chanting resumes while the senior monk blesses the couple and the whole gathering with holy water.

In the afternoon, arrangements are made for the couple to receive further blessings. With the bride and groom kneeling with their hands in a gesture of prayer, wedding guests pour lustral water from a conch shell on the bridal couple's handles in order to wish them a happy married life.

This is followed by a grand reception dinner, after which the final ceremony is performed, the ritual sending-off of the bridal couple to their room which has been specially decorated with roses petals.

As with other cultural traditions, there are slight variations in the wedding ceremony depending on the region in which the happy couple celebrating their marriage. In northern Thailand, for example, the Bai Si ceremony is customary and festures the trying of thin cords around the wrists of the wedding couple as a symbol of lasting union. In the Northeast, the wedding is usually held over two days, a highlight of the second day being a procession in which the groom offers presents to this bride.

In different style, couples may choose a Chinese-influenced wedding, which features and elegant tea ceremony, as well as a classic Chinese banquet. Alternatively. Muslim weddings conducted by an imam are so widely celebrated, specially in southern Thailand.

For bridal couples visiting Thailand, a marriage ceremony in traditional style can be arranged in every detail by leading hotels or major travel agents to offer a wedding of unique style and grace.

Should couples be seeking something more adventurous they may get married underwater. Every year on Valentine Day, February 14th, a mass wedding ceremony is held in the southern town of Trang in which bride and groom don scuba gear to tie the knot beneath the waves. A grand procession through Trang and a gala reception and dinner in a deluxe hotel also form part of this vary special ceremony.