I'll apologize right off the bat for how few pictures I have. It was kinda overwhelming at the time and I wasn't sure what was appropriate. Once I realized pictures were ok, my Iphone reminded me that it doesn't like to take pictures in semi-darkness and nothing turned out well. Sorry!
This past weekend I went to a wedding. I was invited by my friend Megan to attend her co-teacher's wedding (I met her once) and I had no idea what I was in for. Pre-wedding, all I knew was that I didn't have to dress up and that the ceremony was going to be really quick.
It seems that the majority of weddings in Korea are held in Wedding Halls (unless it's a traditional wedding- I'm focusing on Western-style weddings). Wedding Halls are large buildings with multiple floors completely devoted to hosting weddings that couples can rent for their weddings. Unlike the ballrooms in a hotels, synagogues, or churches, Wedding Halls are permanently decorated for weddings. When we arrived at the designated Wedding Hall and made it up to the third floor, we were greeted with a large amount of people milling around in what appeared to be a lobby. Three or four tables were set up on the side of the foyer with banners hanging overhead with the names of different brides and grooms. These tables were the allocated gift areas. Representatives from the couple's families received the gifts (money) and logged your name. Once we gave our gift, we were given our meal tickets...I'll explain that one later.
Before the actual ceremony, we went to the small room used for the wedding photos to take a picture with the bride. It seemed that all guests are invited to take pictures with the bride (Megan and I got one or two pictures- I was still wearing my winter jacket. Definitely one of my more awkward pictures).
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| The bride in the wedding room. She looked gorgeous. |
At 1:30 sharp we headed into the non-denominational sanctuary. What I found really interesting was how we were walking in as the guests of the previous wedding were walking out. The music started and the mothers of the bride and groom walked down the aisle escorted by Wedding Hall workers (I initially thought they were bridesmaids-nope!) After a quick bow to the audience, it was the bride and grooms turn. They walked down the aisle looking fantastic and happy. The whole ceremony took less than 20 minutes and I have no idea what was said. I couldn't see what was happening very well but they had a small screen projecting the affair. After the couple bowed to both sets of parents, they slowly walked down the aisle to leave. This may have been my favorite part. The Wedding Hall workers stood on either side of the couple and would throw fake flower petals in the air as they walked. The couple then had to stand at the end of the hall and hold a kiss while the photographer snapped as many photos as possible.
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| The bride and groom waiting to enter the chapel. You can see how busy the lobby was with guests from multiple weddings. |
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| The wedding hall. |
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| Wedding Hall workers throwing flower petals in the air every few steps. |
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| The long posed kiss for pictures. I could tell that the bride was trying not to laugh. |
We were pretty confused about what to do afterwards because the couple and their families immediately started taking larger family photos at the front of the chapel. We were starving at this point and decided to check out the food. To my foreigner eyes, western-style weddings in Korea are mostly spent eating. We used our meal tickets to enter a large buffet hall. Guests from the wedding we attending, the wedding before, and the wedding after all shared the buffet and tables. The buffet was really diverse and delicious and we abused the free food whole-heartedly. We spent more than enough time in the buffet hall trying all the food and people watching.
In conclusion, western-style weddings in Korea are quick, efficient, and pretty. The fast pace made it a bit confusing for a first time Korean wedding guest and Megan and I were pretty lost about where to go at certain points. Yet, wedding food is the best and I want more.
Peace!
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