The Wedding Fiasco: My Weekend (Part 3 of 4)

Okay, it's not a fiasco, but I've got a theme going here.

Weddings in Korea are odd in that they're mostly the same. It's those little differences that get you.

The clothing is the same: Gal's all decked out in a flowing white dress, Guy's in a tux. There isn't a wedding party (so there isn't a wedding procession), but the mothers DO go up to the front and light candles (they, however, are in traditional Korean clothing). At the wedding I went to, there was a little slide show before hand that showed the bride and groom at more and more recent times until there was a picture of them together...then a picture of them together in their wedding clothes.

The ceremony started out pretty much the same (or I can assume it did because it was all in Korean)...but here's where things got a little odd. About half way through the preacher talking (and yes, preacher is correct. It was a Christian wedding) one of my friends from work tapped me on the shoulder.

"We have to go eat now," she said.

"What?" I said, "they're still in the middle of the ceremony."

"Yeah, I know," she said. "But it's our turn to eat."

See, in Korea, most people get married at what are affectionately called "wedding factories." The couple has a limited amount of time to get married, have a reception, and get the hell out of there before the next couple comes in. So there isn't enough time to lounge around just watching a wedding. Oh no, you have to go and take part in the reception right in the middle of the ceremony.

The buffet style set up was right next door. I casually ate and then strolled back to the ceremony. Korean weddings must be rather long, because everything was still going on...and people were still getting up and heading over to the buffet as they felt like it.

The ceremony ended and that's when the pictures began: Pictures of all the attendees, pictures of the bride with friends, pictures of the groom with friends, pictures of the bride and groom with friends. I ended up in all these pictures with my arms around people I'd never met before, and we were all smiling and pretending we liked each other.

And then, right when that last shutter snapped, we were ushered out. The next wedding party was already on their way up the stairs and the buffet was already being replenished. I could barely take all that romance.

R