Being invited to a korean wedding is something you'll probably be asked to do at least once with such a large and young population. I had been to one of the teachers weddings last year and was again invited to a friends sons wedding this past weekend. Korean weddings have several common features but also have their own unique customs and traditions. **I am deliberately not using personal photos since this blog is totally public With western weddings the biggest question after deciding what to wear is what to give. This has been simplified in korean weddings, you only give cash. If you are close to the family you give 50,000w ($45), otherwise 30,000w ($27). Upon entering the hall there were envelopes for you to fill out with your monetary gift. The event hall was also unique in that it was being held at the Daegu Art Museum. Typically wedding halls are in multi storey buildings. Each floor is a seperate wedding hall. One floor is a common buffet floor where guests from all the weddings in the building mix together. This time the venue was more private as the Museum can only host one event. Korean weddings are divided into two parts, the western style ceremony where the bride wears a white dress and the groom in a tux. Then all the guests goto the buffet dinner while the wedding party changes into traditional outfits. The second traditional ceremony is held in a small room and only parents and important relatives are invited. However, being foreigners I was invited at both of the weddings I had been invited to, although I didnt attend the last one. The wedding hall was a large western style banquet hall with a long runway leading to the main stage. First the mothers entered together, followed by the groom, and finally the bride. The ceremony is a short process, about 20 mins. There is no exchanging of the rings and no kissing of the bride. Then the bride and groom will bow to each set of parents sitting at opposite diagonals to the stage. Finally both sets of parents will come to the stage and the entire wedding party will bow to the guests. Then the bride and groom walk to the end of the runway as if leaving, although they come back to the stage for more wedding photos. Officially the wedding service is now over and people head to the buffet dinner. The bride and groom remain to have their photos taken on the stage along with a mass group family photo. While people are eating they will get changed into their traditional outfits and head to the small private room for the traditional service. Down in the buffet restaurant there was a lot to choose. At first I couldnt get to the food as with most weddings it was a food frenzy. On my second round I was able to find the salad and vegetables and take a better look at all the items. Finally was the dessert round which I wasnt able to complete as we were dragged quickly to the private ceremony which was beginning. The family is friends with several foreigners and we were the only ones invited to the private traditional service, since otherwise we wouldnt get to see a real korean wedding. There is a small room decorated with a mountain backdrop behind floor cushions and a small table laid with ceremonial items. The bride and groom enter in their traditional outfits. The bride is decorated with facepaint, although today they were using red stickers on her cheeks. The bride and groom then bow to the boys parents. They then use the long cloths of their robes to form a basket between both their arms. The father will toss chestnuts and dates into the air and see how many land in their arms. This is to symbolize how many children they will have, chestnuts for boys, and dates for girls. They caught seven so it seems they will have a bountiful future! Next both grandmothers will enter. The bride and groom will stand, and bow again, before sitting. The grandmothers spoke briefly and called the bride "miss korea". Then another set of relatives enter, the bride and groom stand again, bow, and then remain seated. This repeats for several sets of relatives, I'm guessing all the uncles and aunts from the grooms side. Finally the host will wrap the chestnuts and dates in some cloth and present it to the bride. The role of the host is to direct the activities and assist the bride with standing, sitting, and bowing in her long robes. Traditionally the host is a older female relative. However, today the wedding hall had provided an assistant that specializes in this for family weddings. This concluded both sets of wedding ceremonies. Unlike western weddings there is no drinking, music, singing, or dancing. Wedding halls do not have a dance floor or a bar. There is no tossing of the bouquet (although this was staged for photos last time at my teachers wedding), and no seeing off the bride and groom as they finally depart with a confetti shower. However, it was an enjoyable event. Being my second wedding I understood better what to expect. The choice of venue was more private than a multi storey wedding hall. If you want to experience a traditional wedding they do have demonstrations at many of the folk villages. However, I havent stayed for one so havent seen how they compare. I will be curious now to go back and look