The bride’s name is Sora and she is Korean. She is marrying a French man named Nicholas. They met on a blind date in Korea and decided to tie the knot. They will have two weddings—one in Korea and one in France.
On Sunday, the day of the wedding, I met up with Amy and two other friends, Diana and Kayse and we headed out to a town called Ochenjeong. We were told to arrive early because they had ordered traditional Korean outfits called Hanbaks and we would need help putting them on.
When we arrived to the location, we were surprised to see a beautiful asian inspired garden with a beautiful stage and chairs set up. Sora was getting ready in a Hanok which is a Korean house type room off to the side of the yard and we went in to see her and get ourselves dressed. Her wedding dress wasn’t the traditional white that I would expect but rather a beautiful intricate design of red, gold and many colours. She looked beautiful.
When it came time to put on the Hanbaks, there were only three (because I was an ‘add on’) so Amy, Kayse and Diana sported the look. It was really interesting watching the Korean women dressing them… there were so many steps involved. When they were finally ready, they looked like cute little Easter eggs… so bright and colorful!
When the ceremony began, a Korean dancer bagan and then Nicholas was brought to the ceremony area in a golden cart type thing that four men were carrying. He then stepped out and walked up to the ‘alter’. The ushers then laid out a white cloth pathway for the bride, who arrived in a golden cart carried by four women. She stepped out and made her way up to the ‘alter’ as well.
The ceremony was conducted by a Korean ‘minister’ (for lack of a better word). He spoke some English and would make little jokes throughout the ceremony. I noticed that the overall ceremony was very similar to a tea party.
Both the bride and groom sat on opposite sides of the alter and the minister would say things and then they would have to drink tea and eat rice cakes. Although the ceremony was conducted in Korean, the minister would randomly make comments in English about the groom’s use of chopsticks etc. It added quite a bit of humour.
As the ceremony was finishing up, the bride and groom stood in front of the audience. Two chickens were kept wrapped in cloth throughout the whole ceremony, but now they were unwrapped and brought to the front as well. I was quite nervous that there would be a sacrificial offering or something strange. Instead, they threw the chickens high in the air and they thudded on the ground (ouch!) and then ran around. At this point, various people in the audience began throwing rice at the couple and then the bride had to go on the groom’s back for a matrimonial piggy back ride.
After the outside ceremony finished we were brought back into the little Hanok and changed (this is where I tried on one of the Hanbak’s just to see what it looked like). At this time, the parents and Sora and Nicholas sat at a decorative table and had their own private ceremony. We weren’t sure whether we were intruding, so we decided to leave the Hanok and give them all some space.
Lunch followed the ceremony where there were plenty of different dishes.. all very delicious. As with other Korean weddings I’ve attended, dining isn’t as formal as back home. Once people sit at a table they just begin eating and there is no set up of a head table. None the less, it was very delicious and there was a beautiful baby beside us who was very charming.
After lunch we gave Sora and Nicholas an envelope with money inside (this is the typical gift… unless you’re family you don’t give actual presents, just money) and we headed home.
It was a great day filled with awesome new experiences!
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