All services / Buddhist merit & blessings
Lanna (northern Thai) wedding ceremony
พิธีแต่งงานแบบล้านนา
A Lanna wedding has several parts: monks, the khwan rite, Lanna dress and a running order. Someone else lines them up.
Today's price ฿25,000
- 9Monks Thai people usually invite to the Buddhist ceremony at a wedding thailandfoundation.or.th
- ฿170Khantoke dinner: starting price per person at one Chiang Mai caterer wiangpingcatering.com
- ฿350–1,650Starting price per guest at five Chiang Mai wedding venues listed as Lanna in style or feel centerwedding.com
- 10–15Minutes the mo khwan takes to call the khwan motdang.net
Try it
What your Lanna wedding costs
How it goes
- Monks invitedHongdam · Before the day
- The khwan rite arrangedHongdam, with the family · Before the day
- Lanna dress fittedHongdam, with you · Before the day
- The running order setHongdam, with you · Before the day
- Venue, food, photographer and envelopes, charged at costHongdam and the vendors · Before the day
- The legal marriage is registered at the district office (amphoe), apart from the ceremonyYou and the district office · On a date set with the office
- Monks invitedHongdam · Before the day
- The khwan rite arrangedHongdam, with the family · Before the day
- Lanna dress fittedHongdam, with you · Before the day
- The running order setHongdam, with you · Before the day
- Venue, food, photographer and envelopes, charged at costHongdam and the vendors · Before the day
- The legal marriage is registered at the district office (amphoe), apart from the ceremonyYou and the district office · On a date set with the office
What you get
- Lanna (northern Thai) wedding ceremony฿25,000We arrange monks, a khwan rite (spirit blessing), a fitting for Lanna (northern Thai) dress and the schedule. The place, food, photographer and money envelopes are charged at the price we pay. The legal marriage is registered at the district office.
What others charge
| Lanna costume hire at a Chiang Mai shop | From ฿280 an outfit; couple sets are priced on request siphatsorncostume.com |
|---|---|
| Thai wedding costume hire (Chiang Mai directory text) | Groom's costume from ฿800; bride's Thai costume from ฿1,200 centerwedding.com |
| Khantoke dinner from a Chiang Mai caterer, per person | From ฿170; a VIP set from ฿200; a buffet from ฿110 wiangpingcatering.com |
| Chiang Mai wedding venues listed as Lanna in style or feel, starting price per guest | ฿350 to ฿1,650; the ฿1,650 venue is a Lanna-style wooden house for Thai-Lanna weddings and khantoke dinners centerwedding.com |
| Offering for nine monks, from one Chiang Mai resort's price list | ฿18,000 (prices valid from April 2024) anantara.com |
| Wedding photographer packages, Chiang Mai directory text | Packages start between ฿7,000 and ฿40,000; full packages run from ฿40,000 into the hundreds of thousands centerwedding.com |
| Hongdam · Lanna (northern Thai) wedding ceremony | ฿25,000 |
Useful facts
- Khwan is the life essence a person is born with, and Lanna counts 32. A fright, an illness, a fall or a long journey can make it wander. The khwan rite calls it back. motdang.net
- A mo khwan calls the khwan: usually an older man who was ordained as a monk and left the robe. He reads the call over the finished tray, then ties white cotton thread on the wrists, left first. The thread stays on for about 3 days, until it greys. motdang.net
- The northern wedding is called mat mue, tying hands. It opens with morning merit-making by the senior relatives of both families, then the families hold a bai si ritual. The couple's hands are tied, and coins of ฿9, ฿12, ฿21 or ฿99, by belief, go into individual bai si bowls. tatnews.org
- The northern khwan tray, khan bai si, is a silver or lacquer bowl on a footed stand. It holds tiers of banana leaf folded into points, a ball of steamed sticky rice, a peeled boiled egg, a banana, flowers, incense, candles and white cotton thread for the wrists. motdang.net
- Thai people usually invite nine monks to the Buddhist ceremony, the first part of the wedding morning. The couple offers the monks food. The monks bless the couple and pray over water that is used later in the ceremony. thailandfoundation.or.th
- Lanna dress for the bride is a silk tube skirt with a teen jok hem, the woven hem of a Lanna tube skirt. The groom wears a silk jacket and pha khao ma. motdang.net
- For a foreigner, registering at a district office (amphoe) takes an affirmation of freedom to marry from the embassy. The other way is to register at home and hold the rite in Thailand. motdang.net
What people ask
What is a Lanna wedding ceremony?
TAT News calls the northern Thai wedding mat mue, tying hands, and describes it as a simple ceremony rooted in self-sufficiency. It starts with morning merit-making by the senior relatives of both families, then the families hold the bai si ritual. The site adds that younger couples now blend it with central Thai rituals. tatnews.org
What happens in the khwan rite?
A mo khwan calls the khwan of the bride and groom over the bai si tray, which takes about 10–15 minutes. White cotton thread is then tied on the wrists. Mot Dang describes it as a folk rite within Buddhist Thailand, not a Buddhist ordinance. motdang.net
What does Lanna dress hire cost?
One Chiang Mai shop lists hire from ฿280. Depending on the package, an outfit covers the shirt and tube skirt or trousers, plus a sash, belt and accessories. Couple sets are priced on request, and the final price depends on the outfit, the hire period and the accessories. siphatsorncostume.com
Why nine monks?
The Thailand Foundation writes that Thai people usually invite nine monks and does not say why. Thai Rath writes that nine is the highest lucky number in Thai belief, and that the word for nine, kao, sounds like kao, to step forward. thairath.co.th
How is it different from a central Thai wedding?
In the rod nam sang ceremony, guests pour water from a conch shell over the couple's hands while giving blessings and a money envelope. The Thailand Foundation writes that in the north, holy threads are bound around the couple's wrists as an alternative to the shell ceremony. thailandfoundation.or.th
Does a Lanna ceremony make us legally married?
No. Mot Dang's page states that a rite in Thailand is not a legal marriage. A marriage is legal when it is registered at a district office (amphoe). The registration is a separate step from the ceremony. motdang.net
What does a khantoke dinner cost?
One Chiang Mai caterer lists a khantoke dinner, a Lanna-style banquet, from ฿170 a person. Its buffet starts at ฿110 and its VIP set at ฿200. Table, chair and tent hire is listed as a separate service. wiangpingcatering.com
What does a Thai wedding ceremony package cost at a resort?
Anantara Chiang Mai Resort lists a Thai wedding at ฿189,000. It includes a groom's procession with dancers and long drums, wrist binding, a Thai music ensemble, chairs for up to 100 guests and two nights in a suite for the couple. An offering for nine monks adds ฿18,000. The prices are valid from April 2024. anantara.com
Also from Hongdam
Su khwan ceremony (spirit blessing)
฿3,000
A mo khwan (the person who leads the rite) found and the ceremony arranged, with a translator.
Wedding planning
from ฿20,000
Full planning, partial planning, or only the wedding day; suppliers charged at the price we pay.
Bride concierge
฿12,000
Help with your dress, hair, makeup, dress fittings, photographer and wedding-day schedule.
Auspicious (lucky) date
from ฿2,000
Two lucky dates for a wedding, a house move, a shop opening or a new car.
Document legalised
฿1,500 / document
We take your document to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an official seal, or to a notary (who certifies papers), and bring it back.
Web page for a wedding, a monk ordination or a memorial
from ฿5,000
Photos, video, times and a map, to share on LINE.
Elsewhere
Small print
Prices here move with demand: when most of a month's places are taken, the price goes up a step; when few are, it comes down a step.
Sources read 2026-10-24.