Korean Wedding

I wasn't planning on blogging about this, but it's been awhile, so here goes. One of Marc's Korean co-workers invited us to his wedding last Saturday up in Seoul. We were told it was going to be "Western-style" so I curious to see what their version of a Western wedding would be like. Just so we're all on the same page, this is not Western as in cowboy boots and mechanical bull rides. According to them, anything not Asian is Western!
We arrived at noon to a large judicial building where many weddings are held.

Prosecutor's Office. Romantiiiic!

Somehow we figured out what level to go to and entered a lobby area with a table on either side and two receiving lines for the bride and the groom. The groom and father in suits and the mother in a traditional Hanbok dress took our hands and greeted us very sweetly. Marc wrote our names in a book and then we were given a blank envelope and four meal tickets. The envelope is for money. Instead of gifts, guests bring cash. The amount depends on how well you know the couple. We gave less because I had never even met the groom, let alone the bride. At first it seemed rather impersonal to give cold, hard cash, but really it's for the best. Instead of having a dining room table covered in crystal vases, the couple gets a nice chunk of change to put towards whatever they like! I would love to know how much they raked in! It also solves the predicament of how many people to invite. Invite every single person you have ever known, met or passed in the street because they all have to bring money!
Once we stuffed the envelope, they gave us the four meal tickets. It kind of felt like, "Give us the cash and we let you eat."

The lobby

Blue tickets for the groom, pink for the bride. This is curious because from what I've been told, Korea doesn't have "gender colors". Baby boys wear pink as much as they wear blue and vice versa. So now you know. If you ever dress your baby boy in head-to-toe blue and someone asks, "What's her name?" you can then reply with, "By any chance, are you Korean?"

As we entered the wedding hall I could see a little room off to the side with a flock of women hovering around a seated bride. But I only saw a corner of her dress! She was still a mystery!

Theater-style seating

We didn't have to wait long for the ceremony to begin. First, the mothers walked down together, climbed the stairs, each lit a candle and then there was a lot of clapping.

There were no bridesmaids or groomsmen, just these helper gals who I think work at the building.

They bow and we all clapped.

Then the radiant groom enters with more clapping.

Bowing and clapping.

AND NOW...the moment we've all been waiting for. The bride in the blingiest dress I've ever seen. Looking at her dress was like standing in front of the paparazzi with their flashing cameras all pointed directly at your face.

With her father.

Another random attendant helping her not trip up the stairs.

There was a long Christian sermon. The only way I know this is that I heard a lot of "amens" from the crowd. Other than that, I didn't understand a single, solitary word.

He did well considering he would normally be napping at this time of day. Jonah, that is.

The couple exchanged vows and rings, then turned to face a piano where two girls sang a song to them, then turned to the crowd for lots of clapping. There was no kiss! They walked down the stairs to the brides parents and hugged each one, then across the room to the groom's parents and hugged them. Then the couple and their two sets of parents faced the whole crowd for more clapping.

Reading their vows.

Hugging the groom's parents.

And it was over! Without any ceremony of exiting from front to back, everyone got up and made a b-line for the elevator or stairs. With Wedding Day Food Coupons in hand, we made it to the dining floor and found a cafeteria-style room with a very long line of food and people. There was no seating chart and definitely not enough tables for everyone. Somehow we squeezed in at a table with some other folks.

They had sushi, Korean food and their version of "western food".

My good eater.

After the eating it was pretty much over. From beginning to end it was maybe two and a half hours. There was no cake cutting, no dancing, and no reception to speak of. Their posed pictures had already been taken, printed and were on display. From what I could tell there wasn't much of a personal touch from the couple. It felt more like a generic wedding package: preacher, flowers, food. Maybe that's the norm here or maybe just what this couple wanted. Its the first Korean wedding I've been to so I really can't say. But it definitely looked a lot more simple and easy to plan than the elaborate, very personalized weddings going on in the US. We did see the couple on our way out already changed into their getaway clothes. I assume they were making the rounds thanking people for coming but we didn't hang around. Instead, we hit the road for home and let the boys finally take much-needed naps.

I'm not sure if this was a Korean wedding with Western influence or a Western wedding with Korean influence. I wonder if traditional Korean weddings still happen. That would be really interesting to witness!