Wedding Season in Korea

A few posts ago I wrote about my friends Daniel and Yena who were engaged...now I'm going to write about Daniel and Yena who are MARRIED! And, by doing so, share some musings on Korean weddings.

Many Korean weddings take place in a wedding hall, but Daniel and Yena's wedding was in a church near COEX.  It was really beautiful. First thing, Yena was set up in her own Bridal Photo Shoot room, or so it seemed. She looked like a princess, and guests could come and sit by her for photos. I think this is a pretty good idea, really, and may need to adopt it for my future wedding day.

When the ceremony started, people did not stop talking. In fact, there were cell phones going off through the whole thing and a low constant chatting. Each part of the processional was announced...for instance "Now the bridesmaids come in. Please stand for the bride."

The ceremony was in English and Korean, so it took longer than most American weddings. The pastor would say like 2 sentences in Korean and then translate, then 2 more sentences, then translate again. This kind of drew out the message, but it was nice to be able to understand it. Daniel and Yena wrote their own vows: his were in Korean and hers in English.

After they kissed and walked down the aisle, a few minutes later they were walking back up again for photos. Apparently, there is no time to waste for the photos. Some people rushed downstairs for the reception, but many people stayed to watch the photos. They quickly snapped photos with family, extended family, and more extended family. Last was the "friends" photo, where we all got to have a photo with the couple.

A note about wedding wear: everything is RENTED! Except for the bridesmaids dresses...but even Yena's dress was rented. The mothers and grandmothers all wear hanbok, which is traditional Korean dress. Also, the church wasted no time in cleaning up decorations. As soon as the couple was done with the aisle, someone was there rolling up the carpet and pulling back the flower arrangements. There was also a wedding planner, who was kind of like a wedding ninja, and was making sure every ruffle and strand of hair was perfect for every photo. She seemed very stern. Stern but fair.

The reception was held in the dining hall of the church. There was SO MUCH FOOD! Tables and tables of food...but no wedding cake. In addition to salads and noodles and fruit and ddok and every type of meat imaginable, there was also a gyro stand. My favorite part was coming to the last table and picking up a mini gyro. I thought it was very innovative, as far as fusion wedding food goes. 

In Korean weddings, you apparently don't have to wait for the bride and groom to arrive to start eating. In fact, many people skip the ceremony and go straight for the food. And they don't waste time eating either; they eat, and then get out of there. While we were eating, Daniel and Yena were performing Paebaek, or a traditional Korean ceremony to honor parents. When they are done with paebaek, the couple comes to the reception to say hello, but Daniel and Yena didn't really make it down in time. By the time we were done eating, they were already in their matching t-shirts and ready for the airport.

I am super-excited for Daniel and Yena and wish them the best for their marriage. Yena was so beautiful...it was like looking at a princess!