This was one of the first traditional Korean weddings that I’ve produced that included a Paebaek (Korean wedding bowing ceremony). After the wedding ceremony the bride and groom changed into special garb called a hanbok and bowed to their parents who were seated behind a low table. Traditional foods such as jujubes, dried persimmons, rice cakes and chestnuts abounded in the room. The parents blessed the couple who then took their place at the center of the room and were thrown jujubes and chestnuts. The bride would try to catch these in her dress and it was a fun game of guessing how many treats she would catch. The number implied the number of children the married couple would have in their marriage.
The day ended well but began a little hectic. The bride and groom anticipated doing the guest seating, cake pop party favors, and floral centerpieces all on their own. Which turned out to be a bit overwhelming for them, as it would be for any couple on their big day. The night before the wedding, they had both been completely spent and fell asleep before everything was finished! I showed up the morning of the wedding to coordinate the day-of and thank God for the army of volunteers that worked to make everything turn out beautifully. No one saw the last minute scramble but a word of caution to brides – don’t try to do it all yourself. You should definitely outsource as much as possible and on the wedding day you’ll be glad you did!
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