Cultures influence each other, and in 2006 a big city Thai wedding reception is not very different from an American one. In this reception honoring my niece's wedding, there were 700 to 800 guests, so only the senior guests were seated at a table even though the room in which the reception was held was very large and fancy. Most people stood most of the time, as in a Stehparty, though there were many chairs set next to one of the walls of the room. The guests arrived and started eating shortly after 6PM, and most ended their meal with the little pieces of cake shown in the foreground of this photo. The "opening" toast occured after most people have eaten, starting with a highly respected senior person (let's call her the president of the ceremony) offering a toast to H.M. the King and Queen. The rest of what happened was similar to an American wedding reception. There was a computerized, projected show of photos of the bride, the groom, and then of their recent life together. A few people then made speeches. There was then a wedding cake cutting. However, even before the wedding cake was cut the guests already started to leave for several reasons. Some senior guests were tired and needed to leave, as was expected. Traffic wasn't so good and it could take a long time to get home. Also, it was a popular day for weddings and some people had to go to another wedding. So, unlike an American wedding reception, or even Thai receptions in previous decades, the wedding cake was only served to the president of the ceremony. To my surprise there was no dance or anything formal after the cake was cut. This was good for me, however, since I had catch an early morning flight home the next day!