Valentine’s Day Special: Couples Tie The Knot Riding On Elephants

Bangkok: Valentine’s Day is celebrated all over the world on February 14 to mark love and romance.

For people of Chonburi province in Thailand, it has an added dimension as a mass wedding ceremony is conducted on this day.

It was no different this year as 59 couples got married while riding elephants on Sunday at Nong Nooch Tropical Garden, Reuters reports.

A band and a group of dancers led a procession of couples atop elephants, with a local official — also on an elephant – overseeing signing of the marriage licence.

One of the grooms summed up the excitement of the couples.

“I’ve been planning for a long time that if I were to sign a marriage licence one day, it must be an extraordinary event,” said 26-year-old Patiphat Panthanon, sitting beside his 23-year-old bride.

The annual mass usually attracts around 100 couples. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number was restricted this year.