Couples who want a civil wedding on Koh Samui will need to spend one day in Bangkok in order to prepare the official documents required by the Thai government and the relevant foreign embassies.

The procedure involves several steps:

a. A document verifying each person's marital status (single, divorced, widowed) must be filled out and endorsed by each person's respective embassy in Bangkok. (Most embassies have their own form, however some do not, in which case we will provide a form for you. Please ask the embassy to fill out and endorse the form, in accordance with Thai law.) If both parties are single, no other documents are required. However, if either party has been divorced or widowed, then legal documents attesting to these facts will be required by our Bangkok representative. Please let us know your status PRIOR to your arrival. The British Embassy requires that you leave your passport overnight and collect the following day.

b. Passports and two photocopies of the page showing each person's name and photograph are required.

c. Six-10 working days prior to the wedding date is required in order to give us enough time to process all necessary documentation and translation. We need to know the couple's arrival date/time in Bangkok and where they will be staying, and if possible a contact telephone number. Once the couple arrives in Bangkok, they should contact our team to arrange the meeting at the appropriate embassy. Embassy hours are normally Monday to Friday from 09:00-15:00, but all embassies close for Thai government holidays as well as their own national holidays. Check to make sure the day you arrive does not fall on an embassy holiday! Our staff will meet the couple at the embassy to pick up the sworn statements which have been endorsed and stamped by the relevant Consul. At this point, the couple is free to leave for Koh Samui. We need to allow 3-4 hours between embassies depending on nationalities and location of the embassies.

d. Our Bangkok staff then takes the consular and supporting documents for official translation and then on to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for verification and endorsement. This process usually takes about four working days. When completed, the documents will be couriered to Koh Samui to arrive the following day.

Once the documents have arrived here, we'll make an appointment with the local City Hall official in charge of weddings and present the documents to be certified for accuracy. This process normally requires two days.

The ceremony itself is actually an official reenactment of an established fact because by the time the certificate arrives back to us, the marriage has already been approved. During the ceremony, the local official will ask the bride and groom to state their names, professions and whether they've made a petition for marriage. After hearing the appropriate answers to his questions (we will be on hand to act as translator), he automatically certifies the marriage and issues duplicate his and hers marriage certificates decorated with conch shells and flowers. The marriage certificate is in Thai but we will arrange for a notarized translation to be sent on later. For some nationalities, there are additional procedures required after the wedding here in order for the marriage to be legally recognized and/or registered in your home country. Please let us know your nationalities when making the initial enquiry so that we can provide with the appropriate information.

This registration process is separate from any religious or spiritual ceremony; therefore, the paperwork must usually be done in the ceremony. Don't forget that the date you register with the Amphur Office will be the date entered onto your marriage certificate, not necessarily the date of your wedding ceremony.

A marriage will be valid under Thai law when it is officially registered with Thai authorities. A valid Thai marriage will then be recognized as a valid marriage in most other countries. If you do not properly register a marriage performed in Thailand with Thai authorities, you are not legally married, either in Thailand or your home country