Korean wedding (with photos!)

On Saturday I attended my first Korean wedding. I would like to state first and foremost that I don't know if what follows is an account of a traditional Korean wedding. In fact, I am inclined to believe that what I experienced was quite different from the traditional wedding, but given that it was still my first Korean ceremony, I figured I would share it anyway.

11:58am--Niki, Darren and I arrive at the Wedding Hall. I am surprised to see a love hotel across the street and an abortion clinic ad in the entrance way of the hall. Niki assures me that this is all normal for the type of wedding we are going to. I also find out that wedding halls like this one typically marry between 1-3 couples an hour.

12:01pm--Ceremony starts. I am amazed to find out that the bride is actually 5 months pregnant. She looks pretty good.

12:10pm--Ceremony ends. Guests file out of wedding hall to begin taking wedding photos.

12:35pm--Photographer finally calls for the friend picture. I am dragged forward despite the fact that I have never met the bride or groom. I am one of two white people in the picture. I feel awkward.

12:39pm--All the guests are directed two floors up for the after-wedding buffet. The bride and groom and immediate family disappear. I am told that this is because there is a special ceremony that is performed with the family. After the bride and groom change into traditional Korean dress, the groom's parents throw chestnuts and pine nuts at the bride and she tries to catch them with her skirt. The number of nuts she is able to catch is supposed to represent the number of children that she will have. I find this amusing, since she had better at least catch one. I also wonder to myself if the groom traditionally stands in front of the bride trying to keep the nuts out.

12:41pm--I find out that Korean buffet has a hundred different dishes that you are supposed to eat from. One of these is a table of long noddles with broth and little fixings. It is traditionally eaten at weddings to wish the bride and groom a long and happy marriage.

1:15pm--Bride and groom enter the wedding hall and begin greeting all the guests. They are surprised to see me, but since I can't speak Korean they smile and offer to take a picture with me.

1:16pm--After greeting the bride and groom, most of the people begin to leave. Apparently this is the end of the wedding.

1;17pm--The bride and groom finish their rounds of the hall, then disappear. I am told that we have about ten minutes to finish eating and then leave, otherwise the next couple that reserved the hall won't be able to get in on time.

1:21pm--We leave the wedding hall. I think to myself that this is the most anti-climactic wedding I have ever been to.



As always, here is the link to the full version of the photos, along with everything from my first week in the city of Seoul. There is still some stuff missing but as I have yet to move into my permanent apartment, I think I can be forgiven for being so terrible.