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. 

Attending A Wedding

It was Saturday, January 4: and it means it was the day my professor, Prof. Cho, got married. Yeaah...all of my friends were all excited to know the happy news last year. And finally the wedding was held on Jan. 4. My friends and I came to attend the ceremony at 소망교회 (Somang Church) in Apgujeong. 

Congratulations, 교수님.

It's the first time for me to attend the wedding at the church in Korea. Well, of course I got lots of pictures of him and his bride, but I would not post more pictures here without his consent. So, instead, I'd just want to post other pictures. 

I attended the wedding along with my wife and kids. Well, it's like a new experience for the kids, too. As for me, I just realized that the ijab kabul or the marriage vow is somewhat similar to that of what Muslims do. Hmm quite an interesting revelation.

Freya, as usual, got excited whenever she saw flowers and ..okay..let's take a pose here!

@ 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.

Korean Wedding: A traditional one (part 1)

아주 좋은 날 'A Very Good Day'

Yes, indeed. It was. Today was a special day not only for the bride and the groom, but also for me^^. I got invited to my friend's friend's wedding. Yes, my friend thought that it would be a good experience for me to experience a traditional wedding in Korea. 

Yes, I've been to several wedding banquet in Korea, but unlike this one. 

The ones I've been to were modern style wedding.

so this was a pretty neat one for me and for my family.

The bride was waiting before the ceremony began. 

I loved the ambiance and the atmosphere of the wedding. 

It is a garden party. Wow..it couldn't have been better... 

The bride was about to be addressed into the 가마 (gama) or 'palanquin' in English or 'tandu' in Indonesian 

now that the bride was seated inside the 'gama', she had to wait until being summoned. 

She's ready...and then...a flash of friends gathered and started to take pictures of her. 

me included.