While rainy season doesn’t start for another month, we’ve had two consecutive days that have concluded with rain and brilliant thunderstorms.  On Thursday around sunset there was a storm cell perched right over our neighborhood and I was standing near the window watching bolts exploding all around.  Last night there was another storm but thankfully it didn’t start until about ten, just after we had returned home from Tao’s brother’s wedding.

This wedding, like the engagement party we attended a few weeks ago, was held at the Grand Hyatt Erawan, in “The Residence” – the swanky conference / function rooms that are laid out more like a large Martha Stewart-designed loft than a typical hotel facility.  This was another hiso event; I’m not sure how Tawn manages to know so many of these people but we’re regularly at wedding attended by various prominent members of society.  Talk about feeling out of place!

All Thai wedding receptions seem to follow the same pattern: they are held at 7:00 pm, feature food usually in a buffet setting or, less commonly, in a sit-down arrangement.  After people have eaten the emcee comes on stage, introduces the bride and groom who usually come in as part of a large procession, and a short video clip is played, invariably including childhood pictures of the bride and groom and sometimes – if they have the resources – some talented friend has created an animated version of how they met.

Then various “Puu Yai” (respected elders) will speak.  All this time, people continue to talk, chatting amongst themselves, nibbling food, and generally not paying attention.  Eventually, the Puu Yai concludes his or her speech with a toast.  The toast is said, then either the band or the DJ plays a brief fanfare that sounds like some royalty is about to arrive and then everyone raises their glass three times, cheering “Chai-Yo!” each time.  “Chai-Yo” basically is a Thai-ization of the Italian word, “bravo!”  Then the next Puu Yai speaks.

The Bride and Groom’s parents usually have an opportunity to speak, too, before the cake is cut.  In the case of yesterday’s wedding, the cake was actually several tiers of cupcakes, a very cute and easy-to-serve way to handle things.  The buttercream frosting was delicious!

This morning I’m baking several loaves of Whole Wheat Banana Bread.  I started early so that Tawn can bring a loaf to his parents.  Khun Sudha probably won’t eat any, but Tawn’s mother will and she needs to be eating more as she’s lost several kilos over the past few months.  She’ll also give half the loaf to the monks who walk through the neighborhood every dawn to collect alms, so there will be some lucky monks at Wat Pasii this weekend!