Korea Fun: The Wedding

Saving the best for last...the wedding! Sora and Eric were married in Jinju and had both Western and Korean ceremonies followed by a luncheon. The whole day went a little something like this:

Pre-Ceremony
Sora's sister met me and my mom to help us get dressed in our hanboks (traditional Korean dresses). I was pretty excited to wear the dress and we were the only non-Koreans wearing the dress. Sora sat in a viewing room and guests who drove from both near and far could walk up, say hello and take pictures. My brother stood by the entrance of the wedding hall saying hello and introducing us to his Korean friends and new family.

Western Ceremony
The western ceremony was first and had all the elements you are thinking: beautiful white dress, tuxedo, flowers, smoke and bubbles. Whaaat? Ok, maybe there were a few surprises. There was a Korean Tim Gunn constantly fussing over my brother, Sora and our parents to make sure clothing was hitting the floor just right and the ceremony moved efficiently. He is also the one who wheeled in the cake table. The cake table with smoke, multi colored lights and a sword. Then a Korean woman came out to sing a traditional wedding song to the new couple. Following the ceremony, we took a bunch of pictures and moved on to the Korean ceremony.

Korean Ceremony
Wow. The clothing was beautiful and the whole family got to participate. Funny side note: my brothers and I have larger than average heads. Its always been a running joke. But the hat Eric was supposed to wear didn't fit! Luckily there was an elastic strap to hold it on his big, ol' noggin. This part went by pretty fast and Eric had a lot to keep up with translating and telling us what to do when.

 Luncheon

After the wedding ceremonies everyone (including other weddings going on simultaneously) changed back into their normal clothes and went downstairs for a big, Korean lunch. If you ask me, there weren't enough meat grills and too many items with eyes.

Some of the aforementioned eyes. 

Celebrations
We said our good-byes to Sora's family in Jinju and boarded the bus bound for Seoul. I really hope we get to see her family again sometime soon, it was really wonderful meeting everyone. Once back in Seoul, we all went out to a big dinner and to a karaoke room. My brother's NM friends are nearly professionals at karaoke, and my brother Alex is a legitimate musician. So I was timid at first. But after many (many) drinks, I thought I was a finalist on the Voice and could hardly give up the mic.