I was invited by one of my co-teachers, as it was her brother-in-law's wedding. Her husband was the best man (or Korean equivalent) so we didn't feel too much like we were crashing a completely unknown wedding.
It was not a full, traditional Korean wedding, but a somewhat scaled-down and more modern variation. I was very sad to hear that, as apparently a custom of traditional Korean weddings is to tie a chicken and a rooster to the wedding table and ceremonially release them during the event, at which time the guests chase them in an attempt to capture them. Those who succeed are allowed to keep the rooster, which I imagine ends up on a Korean dinner table somewhere rather than as a pet or a wedding 'keepsake'. I guess this part of the traditional ceremony is akin to the Western tradition of throwing the bouquet. I imagine throwing a rooster or two over your shoulder would be considerably more exciting, and the possibility of it crapping on your guests in mid-toss would add a whole new air of drama and anticipation to an otherwise boring tradition. I can only hope that in the unlikely event of me ever getting married that they allow roosters in Elvis's little white chapel in Vegas.
The roosters (so I'm told) are symbolic. The crowing of the rooster marks a new day, and a fresh start (like the marriage for the couple). The crowing is also meant to scare away evil spirits. The chicken represents fertility, and the hope that the bride will have many children, which was important in traditional agrarian societies - probably not so much in modern-day Korea!
But, I digress. The ceremony itself was pretty standard, with one notable exception. The ceremony was held in a hotel ballroom and lasted only 20 minutes. On any given day the hotels are booked out with weddings in half hourly slots - the venue is set up with your cake and standard plastic flowers and you are given only a short amount of time to herd your guests in and out before the next wedding (the time of which is conveniently signposted on the door outside). After the ceremony everyone departs for the banquet which is usually held nearby - in our case the same hotel in the basement restaurant. The food at this wedding was amazing - I didn't know where to start! Despite claims by my co-teacher that the food was not good (the Koreans are very self-deprecating), we ate and drank til we felt sick. So did the mosquitos, as I discovered.
It is also customary to give gifts at a Korean wedding, however it is very difficult to know what to get for a situation like this. Paul and I deliberated over what to offer as gift, and finally decided on a simple congratulatory card and some money. Our only remaining hurdle was deciding what to write in said card, particularly when (a) the recipients don't speak English, (b) have not met you, and (c) you do not know their names. Bearing this in mind, we decided a blank envelope with some money would suffice. If we were to write in the card however, we envisaged something along the lines of "to whom it may concern, congratulations on your marriage. Yours faithfully, the white people". As it transpired, our gift was rejected ("you are guests!" ..... er, yes....) so we needn't have worried.
The ceremony itself was very simple. The bride wore white and looked stunning, the groom looked terrified, the parents all looked grim and there were toe-tappin' oldies and errant children everywhere. The wedding cake looked amazing, particularly as it was nestled atop a smoke machine, and it was cut during the ceremony. On the bride's return down the aisle the bubble machine kicked into life, and the guests made a hasty exit to ensure their place at the buffet.
Chalk up another fantastic Korean experience!
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