Lao people typically socialise as families, and most live in extended families with three or sometimes more generations sharing one house or compound. The family cooks and eats together sitting on the floor with sticky rice and dished shared by all. Sometime when someone pays a visit unexpectedly at meal time we automatically invite them to join us without any hesitation.
With the Lao people's simple life, it is perfectly normal for relatives or friends to drop by without calling in advance. So, if you live or work in Laos, don't be surprised if your Lao friends suddenly appear at your front door. If they do that, it's not because they are tactless, it's because it seems perfectly usual behaviour for them, and also perhaps because they don't know or understand your cultural habits. Time is also a fairly flexible commodity in Laos culture. Planning ahead and making firm times for occasions can sometimes be frustrating for foreigners who find the idea of something happening at "maybe two o'clock" difficult to cope with. Also invitations to parties and wedding are often only issued the day before the event and the host is sometimes surprised that others need more notice that this in their social lives.
wedding/marriage
In Laos culture, before a Lao wedding takes place,(after the proposal) a traditional procession call Sou Khor is arranged (an envoy of the boy sent the girl to ask if her parents will allow the marriage). If her parents agree to let their daughter to marry the boy, a Kha Dong (bride-price) is negotiated as well as who pays for what at the wedding. This is usually the groom, but today often both parties share the expenses. The Sou Khor session takes place several days or even months before the wedding.
Laotian Culture