Korean Wedding

The morning I arrived back in Korea after two weeks in Thailand was a bit of a stressful one to say the least. It was the same day as my co-teacher’s wedding and after landing at the airport I had only a couple of hours to get across Seoul back to my place and back out to get to the wedding venue in time.

It was my first experience of a Korean wedding and I found out quickly how different they are to Western weddings.

Firstly, the bride and bridegroom can see each other before the wedding ceremony begins; it isn’t considered bad luck here. So before the ceremony, the bride sits in a special room having loads of photos taken but the groom is right there too and he can see her! That was very different.

The next huge difference was the speed of the wedding. Korean weddings are SO fast and they’re over in the blink of an eyelid. Within two hours the whole thing was finished and I was back on the subway home!

The third major difference and probably the most apparent was the reception. Western receptions are probably the best part of the day because it’s much more relaxed and it’s when the bride and bridegroom finally get to enjoy their day together. But at a Korean wedding it’s a different story entirely! While the photos are being taken after the ceremony, some people choose not to watch and instead, to my surprise, go straight ahead, before the married couple, hand in their ‘meal coupon’ and begin eating. I wanted to watch the photos being taken, which I did, but I still ended up going to the reception hall and eating before the bridal party because they had the second part of the wedding to get underway before they could eat.

The second service is the traditional Korean wedding and this part was just for the family. The bride and groom and both sets of parents wear hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) and this service is very different to the first ‘Westernised’ ceremony but I can’t comment too much as I didn’t see this part.

Just as the bride and groom arrived at the reception hall our table had finished eating and we were being moved out so the next wedding party could come in. So I didn’t even see them sitting down and eating together. And unfortunately there were no speeches. It wouldn’t have worked as people were coming in and out all the time.    

Despite all the difference there were some similarities like the dress, the bride’s walk down the aisle with her father and lots of flowers. The wedding even included Julie throwing her bouquet which is apparently not typical of a Korean wedding.

Although it was very different to the weddings I’m used to, I had a lovely time and was so honoured to be there to share in Julie and Julian’s special day. I wish them a lifetime of happiness together :)