Scene Together

Couples on their wedding day

By Jacqueline Miller

Thidarat Raksakant & Michael Graeff
May 16, 2019

Every culture has its wedding traditions.  In America, we sometimes throw uncooked rice, the bride wears something old, something borrowed and something blue, and at the end of the celebration, the bride tosses her bouquet to a group of unmarried women.

But when it comes to wedding traditions, Sarasota’s Michael Graeff could never have known that one day he would experience the beauty, splendor and traditions of a Thai wedding on his own special day.

Michael is the son of Bonnie Morton and the stepson of Morton’s Gourmet Market owner Eddie Morton. He is a graduate of the Art Institute of Boston with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and is a self-employed glass blower.

He met the beautiful Thidarat on social media. Thidarat lives in Bangkok and works in inventory control for a Japanese company. They communicated for some time before Michael decided to visit Thailand for an extended vacation.

After spending six weeks together, Michael knew that Thidarat was the woman for him.  He proposed to her on top of Thailand’s tallest structure, the iconic King Power building. After learning of the difficulty in obtaining a fiancé visa, the couple decided to obtain a spousal visa, which has less stringent requirements. So, Mike retuned to Thailand a month later to marry Thidarat and begin the visa process.

Their wedding was held in Thidarat’s parents’ home in the Issan region of northern Thailand. The couple wore traditional Thai garments, and guests were seated on a carpet where a small ceremonial tree was placed in the center. The wedding date of May 16 was chosen by a Thai monk as a day that would bring good things into the couple’s lives. The ceremony was conducted by one of Thidarat’s former high school teachers in a mix of Thai, English and an Issan dialect called Yawt similar to the language spoken in nearby Laos. Thidarat is trilingual.

As is Thai tradition, gifts were exchanged—a gold necklace, bracelet and ring were presented to the bride. Each guest removed two white strings from a little tree and tied one on each of the newlywed’s wrists as they gave them a monetary gift. The strings were to remain tied for three days to ensure good luck. The couple was then led upstairs and told to lie in a bed where they were asked to pretend to sleep. A minute later they are told to awaken from their dream of success, wealth and many children!

For the rest of the day guests ate traditional Thai dishes and enjoyed a relaxed atmosphere. Michael and Thidarat left the next day for a beautiful four-day honeymoon on the tropical island of Koh Lipe on the Andaman sea, off Thailand’s west coast.

A few weeks later, Michael returned to Sarasota and began the spousal visa application, a process that could take seven months. He currently awaits notification that Thidarat will be able to join him in the United States and they will soon begin their forever after.