Korean Wedding

One of Chloe's co-workers recently announced that she was getting married, and invited all of us to her wedding! We were very excited, and decided to all travel there together (more of a bonus of Sam and Chloe, who had no idea where we were going). We chipped in some money, because we were told that you don't bring presents to a Korea wedding, you bring money. We also learned that typically, when a couple gets married, the groom buys the house, and the bride buys everything in it.

We met Sunny, Yui, Hedgin, and Michelle at the bus station on Saturday, and took a bus all the way to Yeouido. It was a short walk to the wedding hall, which is where weddings in Korea are held. Not churches, not usually outside, but at specific halls designed for it. It's interesting, almost like going through a checkout. Brides are almost lined up to get married, *cha ching* next! J.C. was waiting in a side room having pictures, and we joined her for a couple. The groom came in to say hello; I guess there is no rule about not seeing the bride before you get married. We also learned that brides rent their wedding dresses instead of buying them. Well, the western wedding dress, but I'll get to that later.

We met with Jade, his girlfriend, and Daniel, and seated ourselves in the main room. We watched everyone walk down the aisle separately, including the groom. Again, slightly different but not by much. The wedding was all in Korea, obviously, with some prayers, some songs, but no kiss at the end! We kept waiting for it, but I guess they skip that part too. We got to join the family in more pictures; imagine everyone in the room lining up together for one huge picture. The photographer was my favourite, he kept running around screaming like a little girl to get everyone lined up properly. I think that part took ten minutes! Oh, and then the fake bouquet toss! We were lined up to get our picture taken, and one of the brides friend came to join her in front of us to set up for a shot of her catching the bouquet. She missed though, haha.

And then, dinner. I remember waiting to get our tickets for the restaurant, and already seeing a new bride walking down the aisle in the same hall. The food was in the same building, in a large room with the usual round tables, and a huge buffet along the walls. Except, the guests were from at least 3 different weddings, and the bride and groom were nowhere to be seen! So, you get married within half an hour, take some pictures, eat your food, and then get out. The whole thing was done in about 2 hours. But anyways, we managed to get a table together, and started in on the buffet. It was delicious! The usual Korean stuff, soups, ddok, sushi, chicken, meats, salads, etc etc etc. I remember a HUGE fish at the end of the line, with people picking off raw slices. I've never had sashimi like that before. Sam enjoyed the

chicken especially. There was squid hidden in a couple of the pastries, so we kept our eyes open. And some really nicely wrapped dishes, like the rice inside bamboo. When a couple of our friends were finished eating, the servers actually asked them to leave, because more people needed seats. And so, we lost half our table and were joined by some strangers from another wedding! Really strange! The best part was the old man sitting next to Sam. For drinks, we had coke and cider (sprite), but he ordered a few bottles of soju, and started drinking cup after cup of it, hahahaha.

Once we were finished eating, we met everyone in the lobby. The bride and groom met with us, and they were changed into their hanboks. Hanboks are traditional Korean clothes, and when Koreans get married they have a Western wedding with rented clothes, and then a traditional ceremony with newly tailored hanboks. Usually only the family is involved with the traditional ceremony, so we didn't get to see anything.

And then, finished! Like I said, less than 2 hours, and everyone went home. A few pictures together, a quick bus ride back to Ansan, and the end. We were really happy to have had the chance to see a Korean wedding.

Wedding hall.

Fake bouquet toss.

Buffet.

Squid!

J.C. and her new husband.