Another one bites the dust.
Gorgeous Amy all aglow
Aubrey and Amy
The Air Force lieutenants pose with their swords
The ladies of AP (l to r): Babbie, Jenny, Hyeon Jeong, Sam, Aubrey, and Rachel
Yay, we're married! Amy and Nam Saog pose in matching hanboksThis past Saturday was Amy's wedding at the Air Force Club in Seoul. All week long she had been flashing giddy little smiles and sighing as if she couldn't believe this was about to happen. You could tell that those butterflies were working overtime inside Amy!
Amy's (now) husband is in the Air Force (but has been stationed in Sokcho), so they decided to have their wedding in a very nice area of Seoul. They kindly arranged to have a private bus escort their Sokcho guests to the wedding. So on Saturday, we made sure we were at the fire station by 10:00 am, where the bus would be waiting. All told, about 30 guests from Sokcho (including Amy's stepfather and stepsiblings - her real dad is in Costa Rica) left on the bus.
So Paul, Babbie, Jenny, Rachel, and I were together on the bus. Sam and Hyeon Jeong were already in Seoul visiting their families and would meet us there. The ride to Seoul takes about three hours on average. As soon as we boarded, Amy's stepsister handed out goody bags to everyone, containing a can of Cider (Korean 7-up), a hard-boiled egg, an apple, and rice cakes. A nice touch.
Thankful for the snacks, I was really surprised when about an hour and a half in, we stopped at a local restaurant for hanshig (traditional Korean food). They were ready for us and lunch was already waiting--another thoughtful detail made by the celebrating families, I presume.
The bus ride was pleasant EXCEPT FOR the television screen up front, which had begun to show really cheesy Korean folk videos with old men singers and young scantily clad backup dancers. At first we couldn't help but laugh (it was, after all, a norae (karaoke) bus). The men reminded me of Wayne Newton with their outrageous hair and white suits. We knew from our friends that typically what happens on these buses is for the guests to get all happy from drinking soju and beer and start singing karaoke. Curiously, only the bus driver seemed to be into the videos, and the rest of the passengers were silent. Must have been a sizeable churchgoing crowd on there.
We finally reached Seoul and realized we had about an hour and a half to kill, so we set out looking for a bar where we could order some beer. After checking several floors of a small mall, we found a chicken joint in a building across the street.
Afterwards, we visited the bride, who was strikingly lovely and seated primly on a cushion, awaiting photos with friends and associates. We took a few shots with her, told her how awesome she looked, and bid her good luck before heading in to the wedding hall.
For the size of most Korean weddings, this one seemed to have fewer guests (seated, anyway). There couldn't have been more than about 150 in there (of course, some always linger outside--the ones that don't know the bride or the groom too well). It was strangely quiet and respectful during the ceremony, which is VERY atypical for a Korean wedding (most of the time the guests chat with each other loudly and don't pay attention to the bride and groom, and rush to make beeline for the buffet afterwards--"chew and screw", as Paul puts it). Perhaps because of the religious nature of the ceremony (both Amy and Nam Saog are Christians), the guests behaved a bit better. There was a half-string quartet, a hymn, and a solo during the ceremony, which I had never seen here. Also, Nam Saog sang a proposal song to Amy, which was really sweet (especially since he had to start over 2 times since the tape went out!). Another cool element to this wedding (besides the holy feeling to it--the pastor praying, etc.) was the entrance and exit of the couple. This happened underneath several lieutenants brandishing and clinking their swords, just like in the movies. It looked really cool. I also enjoyed watching the couple make a bow to each set of parents (which is typical in a Korean wedding, to demonstrate thanks and appreciation for all they have done). All in all, it was a really nice ceremony.
Afterwards, we hopped to the dining room, where a luxurious and large buffet was before us. Really good food! And great variety as well. We took a seat in the back and enjoyed ourselves.
After that, we found Amy and Nam Saog, who were already wearing their hanboks, and passed in our loot (it is customary to give money to the couple at a Korean wedding). A few more thumbs ups, have a great honeymoon, and we left them in their reverie. Now they are here (Maldives)--lucky buggers.
We got back on the bus and headed home. Amy's mother was with us this time, and she was so much fun! She was so happy and animated and brought us beer and snacks (squid and candy-coated peanuts). The yucky videos started again, but after about 45 minutes, they stopped, and we began to do KARAOKE! Amy's mom made sure we all got into it, and Paul sang the first English song ("Stayin' Alive"), which everybody loved. All the women were in the front (the men were in the back drinking beer and playing Go Stop). We all took turns and clapped along with the other songs...I'm tellin' you...this bus was a-rockin'! It was a total blast. I sang YMCA, and Babbie did "Country Roads". We all really got into it, and it was so much fun belting out these tunes and cheering each other on. I will never forget that part!
You can check out the rest of the wedding day pics here.
Amy's (now) husband is in the Air Force (but has been stationed in Sokcho), so they decided to have their wedding in a very nice area of Seoul. They kindly arranged to have a private bus escort their Sokcho guests to the wedding. So on Saturday, we made sure we were at the fire station by 10:00 am, where the bus would be waiting. All told, about 30 guests from Sokcho (including Amy's stepfather and stepsiblings - her real dad is in Costa Rica) left on the bus.
So Paul, Babbie, Jenny, Rachel, and I were together on the bus. Sam and Hyeon Jeong were already in Seoul visiting their families and would meet us there. The ride to Seoul takes about three hours on average. As soon as we boarded, Amy's stepsister handed out goody bags to everyone, containing a can of Cider (Korean 7-up), a hard-boiled egg, an apple, and rice cakes. A nice touch.
Thankful for the snacks, I was really surprised when about an hour and a half in, we stopped at a local restaurant for hanshig (traditional Korean food). They were ready for us and lunch was already waiting--another thoughtful detail made by the celebrating families, I presume.
The bus ride was pleasant EXCEPT FOR the television screen up front, which had begun to show really cheesy Korean folk videos with old men singers and young scantily clad backup dancers. At first we couldn't help but laugh (it was, after all, a norae (karaoke) bus). The men reminded me of Wayne Newton with their outrageous hair and white suits. We knew from our friends that typically what happens on these buses is for the guests to get all happy from drinking soju and beer and start singing karaoke. Curiously, only the bus driver seemed to be into the videos, and the rest of the passengers were silent. Must have been a sizeable churchgoing crowd on there.
We finally reached Seoul and realized we had about an hour and a half to kill, so we set out looking for a bar where we could order some beer. After checking several floors of a small mall, we found a chicken joint in a building across the street.
Afterwards, we visited the bride, who was strikingly lovely and seated primly on a cushion, awaiting photos with friends and associates. We took a few shots with her, told her how awesome she looked, and bid her good luck before heading in to the wedding hall.
For the size of most Korean weddings, this one seemed to have fewer guests (seated, anyway). There couldn't have been more than about 150 in there (of course, some always linger outside--the ones that don't know the bride or the groom too well). It was strangely quiet and respectful during the ceremony, which is VERY atypical for a Korean wedding (most of the time the guests chat with each other loudly and don't pay attention to the bride and groom, and rush to make beeline for the buffet afterwards--"chew and screw", as Paul puts it). Perhaps because of the religious nature of the ceremony (both Amy and Nam Saog are Christians), the guests behaved a bit better. There was a half-string quartet, a hymn, and a solo during the ceremony, which I had never seen here. Also, Nam Saog sang a proposal song to Amy, which was really sweet (especially since he had to start over 2 times since the tape went out!). Another cool element to this wedding (besides the holy feeling to it--the pastor praying, etc.) was the entrance and exit of the couple. This happened underneath several lieutenants brandishing and clinking their swords, just like in the movies. It looked really cool. I also enjoyed watching the couple make a bow to each set of parents (which is typical in a Korean wedding, to demonstrate thanks and appreciation for all they have done). All in all, it was a really nice ceremony.
Afterwards, we hopped to the dining room, where a luxurious and large buffet was before us. Really good food! And great variety as well. We took a seat in the back and enjoyed ourselves.
After that, we found Amy and Nam Saog, who were already wearing their hanboks, and passed in our loot (it is customary to give money to the couple at a Korean wedding). A few more thumbs ups, have a great honeymoon, and we left them in their reverie. Now they are here (Maldives)--lucky buggers.
We got back on the bus and headed home. Amy's mother was with us this time, and she was so much fun! She was so happy and animated and brought us beer and snacks (squid and candy-coated peanuts). The yucky videos started again, but after about 45 minutes, they stopped, and we began to do KARAOKE! Amy's mom made sure we all got into it, and Paul sang the first English song ("Stayin' Alive"), which everybody loved. All the women were in the front (the men were in the back drinking beer and playing Go Stop). We all took turns and clapped along with the other songs...I'm tellin' you...this bus was a-rockin'! It was a total blast. I sang YMCA, and Babbie did "Country Roads". We all really got into it, and it was so much fun belting out these tunes and cheering each other on. I will never forget that part!
You can check out the rest of the wedding day pics here.
posted by streetwise at 6:34 AM
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