A Bhutanese wedding is much more than a simple exchange of vows and rings. It includes a number of religious rites performed Buddhist monks and lamas. This represents the importance of the bond between a husband and wife.
Arrive at Paro International Airport from Delhi, Calcutta, Kathmandu or Bangkok. Paro is situated in a beautiful valley at 2280 metres and is a fitting introduction to this charming kingdom. Your guide will meet you and take you on a short one-hour drive along the Paro and Thimphu river valleys to Thimphu, Bhutan’s capital, at 2320 metres. You can stop on the way to take in the magnificent Tamchhog Lhakhang, the hereditary place of worship for Bhutan’s iron bridge builder. Take a late afternoon walk around town and soak in the atmosphere of this magical capital with its busy shops and bazaars and photogenic citizens in national dress.
Thimphu sightseeing. We will visit the weekly market and the School of Traditional Arts. Later we will take the couple to choose their wedding outfit - the traditional Bhutanese dress of gho for the groom and a kira with a scarf for the bride. Overnight in Thimphu.
Today after consulting with a Bhutanese astrologer we will find out what time the wedding ceremony should start.
Wedding ceremony:
-Our staff will be at your hotel to put on the KIRA for the BRIDE and GHO for the GROOM
-When you reach the temple you will be received the monks
-Couple will sit inside the temple next to the LAMA where they will have made special place for them to sit
-LAMA will perform religious ceremony. After that they will ask couple to drink local wine in a cup
-After the religious ceremony couple will be offered final blessing from LAMA
-We will offer Bhutanese tea and snacks during that time and enjoy the ceremony laid on Bhutanese
-After the ceremony will drive back to hotel and the couple will enjoy their evening in the hotel with dinner
The wedding ceremony will take place either in Dechen Phodrang Monastery, Changangkha temple or other private temple.
In the morning we will experience some traditional Bhutanese cooking with a Bhutanese family. You will also have a weaving class before driving to Paro. In Paro we visit a local farmhouse and experience a traditional hot stone bath. After this we return to the hotel in Paro.
Take a day walk to the ‘Tiger's Nest’, the sacred Taktshang monastery which clings to the rock face 900 metres above the valley floor. Guru Rinpoche is said to have flown to the site riding on a tigress. He subsequently meditated here for three months. It is one of Bhutan’s most holy sites and draws pilgrims not only from Bhutan but also from neighbouring Buddhist countries. You can have lunch at the Taktshang cafeteria from where you get a spectacular view of the monastery. On the way back you can visit Dumtse Lhakhang, a temple built Thangtong Gyalpo, the iron bridge builder.
Early in the morning your guide will accompany you to the airport to see you off onto your flight and wish you Tashi Delek