Our Friend, Sol's Wedding @ Cheonan

December 19, 2014. We went to Cheonan to attend our friend's wedding.

Yes..this is our first international wedding we attended to. 

Sol married to her husband from Greece. 

What a great moment it was. 

Of course, since Sol is our classmate, lots of our classmates did attend the ceremony, too. We traveled by train to Cheonan specially to meet and congratulate her in person. 

What a great moment, again..indeed.

well, getting married in Winter just worked out fine, too, afterall.

Congratulations, Sol. 

Korean Traditional Wedding @ Cheonan!!!

 

We came along way down to Cheonan to attend my class-mate's wedding, Sol.

Yes, she married to a man of her dream, someone from Greece she met when she's studying in Europe. 

A traditional wedding in the middle of cold Winter? outdoor? yes..yes..indeed it was. 

First, I thought that the wedding ceremony would've been carried out indoor..but I was wrong. It turned out it was like this. Yes, it's cold, but still..bearable. 

Most of the guests were, of course, still clad in their winter attire during the whole process. 

A rare sight to behold: seeing a live event of this traditional wedding ceremony.  

I used to see, but not the real one in 민속촌 or Korea Folk Village. But this one is real. 

so, upon the completion of the ceremony, my wife didn't think twice about taking a snap of memorable pictures. 

here and there before the whole procession stuffs were removed. 

Hm..full of symbolical meanings I assume. 

Before the banquet began, the couple had some photo session. 

Oh, did I mention that it was carried out at the outdoor section of Cheonan National Museum? 

and..that's how the blue tent looked like. we're there a couple of minutes ago..to witness the ceremonial procession. 

Now..we're about to have a whole photo session. 

The almost empty site...where we just had the ceremonial wedding procession there. 

Eyra and Freya, clad in their winter attire, were excited to be able to attend

 the whole process..I could tell.

@ The Wedding (part 5)

 

Now the whole procession was over. We now proceeded to the banquet. 

Eyra got amazed by the sparkling decoration she encountered along the way. 

Trying to reach one of those glittering ornaments. 

While we're having a banquet, another couple was ready to have a traditional wedding procession.

Yes..this is King Sejong Wedding Hall that provides this kind of rarely-seen traditional wedding procession in Korea--well at least in my point of view. 

Wedding in Autumn: it is indeed 좋은 날이다 'a good day' *'an auspicious day'  

Just like the colorfully bright alley themed with Korean traditional colors, the wedding wishers wish for the best for the couples, right?

@ Traditional Korean Wedding (part 4)

Now let's take a pose to capture the moment. 

We received grains, rice, and other grains we didn't know what.

and what for? We'd toss them into the bride and groom while they're walking though the aisle ....a symbol of 'wish-them-luck' 

so, these were the grains we had to toss 'into' them. 

Ready, girls? 

Yes. Freya was ready as the couple was about to walk up the aisle. ^^ 

One... 

two... 

three...go! 

and off they went. 

and back again to the altar. 

The music kept on playing.. 

yes..their beautiful story now starts.

Wedding Ceremony (part 3): A Traditional One

 Being immersed in the procession... 

The groom was waiting to meet the bride. 

Along came the bride, with her adorned costume, she took a slight bow before proceeding to the wedding altar. 

First, the groom had to wash his hands.  I think it's a kind of symbol for purification before taking a vow to marry. 

Then, it's the bride's turn to do the same. 

Up they went into the altar... 

And...after this, I couldn't make out what's going on. I was too far away from the altar that I think I got to dash myself in, had I really wanted to take a closer look.  

The path leading towards the altar. 

Eyra, Freya, and their Mom were enjoying the wedding process. I wonder what Eyra and Freya were thinking as the process took place. 

I could only capture it from afar. 

oh, well..I might as well take a moment to capture the statue of King Sejong.

Yes, this wedding venue was in King Sejong Wedding Hall. 

Another look at how the process was developing.

Now the bride and the groom were sitting right in front of the altar. 

'Now, you may kiss the bride'

(wish I'd zoomed it in)

A Wedding Reception (part 2)

Still @ the traditional Korean wedding ceremony @ King Sejong Wedding Hall.

Now I know why early autumn is a perfect setting for wedding. One of the reasons is the perfect blue sky.:) 

Being outdoor would be a great thing to be and to do.  

The groom is ready to summon the bride? No, he's going to gama as well. 

Now...that both the groom and the bride are inside the gama (palanquin), they are ready to initiate the process. 

hmm...I just realized that the palanquins were set on wheels. Instead of people carrying them, wheels now do the job.^^ 

the 'samulnori' troupe with its ear-deafening sounds started the procession. 

then...some supposedly tough guys (who in the past did the job of 'carrying' the gama on their shoulders) came up.... 

The guests were ready to take a look at the procession. 

First, the groom underwent  tedious ceremonial processes that must have lasted a an hour or so..should had it been in the past? but...well...I don't know... 

it lasted for a mere 5 minute or so. 

The groom paid a respect to his parents before proceeding to be wedded.