Erin and Sun's Wedding: Part 1

    This past weekend we attended our friend and co-worker Erin's wedding where she and her fiancee Sun were married in an incredible traditional Korean ceremony. The ceremony took place in Naju, a farming town just outside Gwangju, at an academy that teaches traditional Korean curriculum. Large and numerous temples, intricate tile work, the iconic curved roof structure of all the buildings, and the majestic mountains in the background made the academy the perfect setting for a wedding. 
    The wedding itself was, as you can imagine, quite different from one that you would experience in Western culture.  There was a large group of foreigners in attendance, as well as Sun's Korean friends and family. Even Erin's parents and brother came all the way from Canada to attend the wedding. We arrived about an hour before the ceremony began at which time guests mingled outside. The bride and groom (dressed in formal wedding outfits) were also outside to mingle with the guests. The ceremony began at around 11am with the audience seated on the floor while the bride and groom came in. The ceremony itself focused on honour and respect. A lot of bowing occurred, first between the mothers and then between the bride and groom. The bride is required to cover her face by keeping her arms up the entire time, which Erin later said was exhausting. Both the bride and groom also drank Soju (Korean wine) from two cups that were tethered together. For the entirety of the ceremony one priest chanted while another one commentated and said some vows (I think) in Korean. 
   Immediately after the ceremony the bride and groom stood together and posed for pictures with their families. Then we all moved outside where the bride and groom stood with all of their friends for another large group picture. After the group picture we moved to a group of tents where there was a very large and delicious buffet lunch. Oddly enough, after lunch is finished the whole thing is over. Most Korean ceremonies are very short and efficient, and although they all feature a buffet after, the guests just eat and leave without saying goodbye to the newly married couple. Sun and Erin however did have a reception later that evening, which I will feature in "Erin and Sun's Wedding: Part 2". Overall, the wedding was a unique experience that I'm sure I will remember for a long time and above everything else, it's always enjoyable to be a part of such a special day for two amazing people.