Couples tie the knot in style on Valentine’s Day
LOVE was celebrated across the nation yesterday as couples marked Valentine’s Day by professing their love in style and tying the knot at venues as diverse as aloft in air balloons, under the sea, on the edge of a cliff at the first light of day or in events in Bangkok.
Bangkok’s Bang Rak district, or the “Village of Love”, was the most popular location for marriage registrations (625 couples), followed by Bang Sue (125 couples), Bang Khae (84 couples) and Lak Si (82 couples). On the same day last year, 1,045 couples tied the knot in Bang Rak.
The 50 district offices in Bangkok registered 2,663 couples, 823 less than last year. As many as 80 couples also marked the day by signing divorce papers yesterday, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Administration and Registration Office director Panupong Sutthisarn said.
Meanwhile, Bang Rak held a lucky draw at the Central Post Office, in which a gold marriage certificate was handed out to a lucky couple every hour for 10 hours. Other gifts for lucky lovebirds included a Bt2 million insurance policy, a pair of SIM cards with one-year unlimited free calls and plane tickets to honeymoon destinations.
In the South, 20 couples joined the “Under the Sea Wedding Ceremony 2017” in Trang’s Na Yong district, while another 14 couples were wed at a beach in Koh Yao Noi of Phang Nga’s Kho Yao district.
In the North, 22 couples exchanged wedding rings while riding air balloons at Singha Park in Chiang Rai’s Muang district. The event, titled “Balloon Love: Love Declaration from the Sky”, was held as part of the “Singha Park Chiang Rai International Balloon Fiesta 2017”, featuring 32 balloons from 14 countries to compete for a Bt500,000 cash prize.
In Si Sa Ket’s Kantharalak district, 28 couples tied the knot in traditional nuptial rites at the Mor-E-Daeng Cliff in Khao Phra Viharn national park. The high-altitude spot is known for its “Tawan Sam Phaendin”, or sunrise over three lands – Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
Loei’s Chiang Khan district office offered a bit of nostalgia by organising a Mekong riverside event in which 11 couples made merit, got married in a traditional ritual and walked under an arch made of old police swords. Loei province is known for hosting one of the nation’s oldest couples – Chun Srihawong, 108, and his wife Jiang, 104, were born during King Rama V’s reign and live a simple life in Na Haew district.
Love was apparent even behind bars, as 46 inmate couples reunited at the Samut Prakan provincial prison yesterday at a concert. The prison also offered couples photo shoots.
Flower vendors also were in the mood yesterday as the price of roses soared, with a bouquet costing up to Bt1,000 in Phitsanulok province.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha offered “love” to all 70 million Thais, saying: “Thank you for the support and I wish you all the same encouragement. Hope we all retain our good virtue and help the country move forward. I love everyone, all 70 million people here, every day, not just on Valentine’s Day.”
In keeping with the day’s theme, police at checkpoints in Kalasin’s Muang district decided to hand out roses and warning notes to drivers who committed minor traffic violations, while soldiers at checkpoints in Narathiwat handed rose-themed souvenirs to passers-by.
Even animals were part of Valentine’s Day celebrations at Chiang Mai Zoo, with pandas Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui being given heart-shaped fruit in ice cakes and giraffes Thanwa and Nong Dao getting “wed” in a special ceremony.
In Ayutthaya, provincial governor Sujin Chaichumsak led officials and members of the public to attend the “marriage” of a pair of buffaloes at the Self-Sufficiency Learning Centre farm.