How much does a dowry cost at a Thai wedding?

December 28, 2018 - Reading time: 8 minutes

If you are in a serious relationship with a Thai lady, then at some stage you might think about tying the knot and getting married to her. In Thailand, it is tradition for the groom to give the parents of his Thai wife a gift when getting married, this gift is usually called a sin sod or dowry payment. The tradition of paying a dowry or sin sod to the parents of your Thai bride is common and practiced by most families in Thailand.

So how much does a dowry cost at a Thai wedding? Average dowry payments in Thailand tend to range from 500,000 THB to 1,000,000 THB cash. Often the cash payment will be accompanied by gold, properties, or brand new vehicles. If the groom’s family is wealthy then the dowry might consist of millions of baht. The cost of a dowry does not include the cost of the actual wedding itself.

Remember: The amount of money that you pay as a dowry or sin sod at your Thai wedding is up to the parents of your Thai partner. It will be their decision alone how much money they ask you to pay when getting married to their daughter.

In some cases, if your Thai partner is from a wealthy family or background, then they might not ask you to give them any money on your wedding day. However, with foreign men marrying Thai ladies this is seldom the case. Many of the Thai ladies that marry foreigners are from rural farming communities in the north of Thailand and come from relative poverty. If this is the case then you are more likely to be asked for a significant dowry or sin sod payment.

Marriage is very important in Thai culture. If you are in a relationship with a Thai lady and not married, then usually the relationship will not be seen as legitimate. We have seen time and time again that Thai women can be open to relationships with other men until the day that they are married. If you are in a serious relationship with a Thai lady, it would be advisable to get married as soon as possible.

Often is the case that the lady’s parents will be keen for her to get married so that she does not cause them to lose face by remaining unmarried in a formal relationship for a long time. You may also need to get married in order to be eligible for visas in Thailand or overseas.

How much does a wedding cost in Thailand?

The dowry/sin sod payment does not include the cost of the wedding ceremony itself. So how much does the typical wedding cost in Thailand? Well, the answer to this question depends on the bride and groom. Some people can choose to get married cheaply, others insist on a more lavish ceremony.

The cost for a wedding in Thailand can range from 200,000 – 800,000 THB, depending on the type of wedding that you have and how much you decide to spend. Some people spend much more than this getting married, and some might spend less.

If a Thai person has a good career and is doing well for themselves financially, then they will typically splash out on a decent wedding ceremony with lots of food and music. Part of their decision on how to celebrate may tie into the Thai “face” culture, where many Thais feel it is important to appear wealthy and successful.

Of course, the total amount of money that you spend on a wedding in Thailand and paying for sin sod will all depend on your Thai fiancé and her family. If your partner is happy with a budget wedding ceremony, then that’s great. Often Thai people will seek to have an impressive wedding, so that they can increase their face and appearance in their community, which is important to many Thai people.

Sometimes if a Thai lady is getting married to a foreigner, she will insist on the most expensive and elaborate wedding ceremony possible, and delight in showing off a massive pile of cash which her parents will receive as a dowry or sin sod payment. Whether or not your Thai girlfriend falls into their category will be something that you will need to figure out yourself by having discussions with her on the type of wedding ceremony that she would be happy with.

How will the dowry/sin sod be spent?

If you are giving money to the parents of your Thai bride as a dowry or sin sod payment, then understand that this money is a gift, and her parents may choose to spend the money in anyway that they please.

Photo: Cash and gold are paid as a dowry at a Thai wedding

However, you would be wise to try and ensure that the money is spent wisely and in a way which will benefit the family long term. For example, if your Thai girlfriend comes from a rural farming community, then perhaps her family could earn more money farming if they had a tractor, or a rice milling machine, or a bore hole. This goes back to the old adage of “give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime”.

In the past, we have heard stories of dowry payments being used as the down payment for a brand-new vehicle (usually a SUV or pickup truck). When the parents then run out of money for the repayments, they will look to their daughter (you) for the cash. Other times vehicles might be given as part of the dowry or sin sod payment itself.

Trying to build a healthy relationship with the parents of your Thai wife, and learning where their priorities are would be a good start. Afterall, how much money they will accept as a dowry or sin sod payment will ultimately be up to them.

Before paying a dowry or sin sod

If you are paying a large amount of money to the parents of your Thai fiancée, it's important that you are totally sure this woman is committed to you, and that she won't just take the money and run off. Searching the internet you will find countless horror stories where this has happened.

Of course, your dowry or sin sod payment is strictly a gift. This means that after you have given it to the parents of your bride, you will not get it back.

If you were spending significant money on any form of business venture, then you would probably perform proper due diligence, in order to make sure that you are making a wise and sound investment. We feel that if you are paying a significant amount of money to the parents of your Thai bride, then it would also be wise to perform due diligence beforehand.

We can help to check your Thai girlfriend by running background checks, checking her lifestyle through personal surveillance, and sometimes utilizing our decoy service. Before paying a dowry or sin sod to the parents of your Thai partner, we can run checks which help make sure that you are not wasting your money on a doomed relationship.

Should I marry my Thai girlfriend?

As we have mentioned, marriage is an important part of relationships in Thai culture, and it may be seen as a necessity by your Thai partner or her family. Legally marrying your Thai partner may also become useful if you intend to apply for visas later down the road.

Whether or not you should get married should be a question for yourself and your partner. If you decide to take the path of a traditional Thai wedding, then you should allocate funds for this and discuss the level of sin sod or dowry that your partner's family would be happy with, or if they even want any money to be paid to them on your wedding day.

The cost of investigating your spouse is often negligible compared with the hefty dowry payment you'll need to make when tying the knot. We can find out if a Thai lady is in other relationships, and how she responds to being approached by other men. Get in touch with us today for a free, no pressure consultation.