One Friday, after lunch time, I get handed a cute little envelope with my name on it, and inside, an invitation to a Korean wedding. Great! A first, and I can put this down on my 'Been there, done that' list. "So when is it?" I say, "Tomorrow." my colleague responds. Oooowkay. That's great. I don't even have shoes, my hair looks bad (and so my thoughts went, in true South African pre-wedding style). Jasmine kept telling me how unimportant it is and that Koreans weddings are no big deal. I believed her, but a wedding's a wedding, you know? It's a huge thing so I wanted to be prepared.
A little last minute ensemble, and I'm ready to go. Meet my co-teachers at school (they have to work on Saturdays) and we drive about 30minutes out to the venue. The parking lot was full, so that seemed like a good, normal wedding type of welcome.
Fast forward to the horror.
The bride is sitting on a chair in the entrance hall, getting pics taken with every guest. The groom is standing nearby, chatting to his buddies like it's an ordinary day and people are just all over the show.
The ceremony was about 30 minutes long, the guests walked around and chatted freely while the MC was talking and there were none of the formalities I'm used to seeing. The only thing that was similar to vows, was the sports fan-like cheer the MC made the groom do as a joke.
I stood against a wall at the back, while people were out in the entrance hall joking around as if they were forced to be there. I was soooooo confused, and half annoyed.
The highlight of the wedding though: This lady gets up to serenade the newly weds and she sings Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You." THAT was when I cried. Laughing.
It was the first time that I realised what the song was about and that a wedding was NOT the place to be singing a 'goodbye my lover' type song.
Allow me (via lyrics 007) to quote the lyrics:
If I should stay,
I would only be in your way.
So I'll go, but I know
I'll think of you ev'ry step of the way.
And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
You, my darling you. Hmm.
Bittersweet memories
that is all I'm taking with me.
So, goodbye. Please, don't cry.
We both know I'm not what you, you need.
And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
(Instrumental solo)
I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you've dreamed of.
And I wish to you, joy and happiness.
But above all this, I wish you love.
And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I, I will always love you.
You, darling, I love you.
Ooh, I'll always, I'll always love you.
Hilarious, neh? After that, we headed downstairs to eat the buffet food we PAID for and found half of the guests already well fed 'cause they had spent the entire time down there (they did pay for the food though, so I don't blame them for choosing the time it'd be good to enjoy their purchase). The food was great, regardless of the fact that we sat on normal, unassigned chairs, with no fancy table decoration to set the mood.
It upset me that they whole idea of marriage was executed like a quick factory process, but I learned that they have a smaller, more meaningful traditional thing with just the family. That, and a nap, gave my mind a rest from all the "what on earth is happening? why do they bother?".
A little last minute ensemble, and I'm ready to go. Meet my co-teachers at school (they have to work on Saturdays) and we drive about 30minutes out to the venue. The parking lot was full, so that seemed like a good, normal wedding type of welcome.
Fast forward to the horror.
The bride is sitting on a chair in the entrance hall, getting pics taken with every guest. The groom is standing nearby, chatting to his buddies like it's an ordinary day and people are just all over the show.
The ceremony was about 30 minutes long, the guests walked around and chatted freely while the MC was talking and there were none of the formalities I'm used to seeing. The only thing that was similar to vows, was the sports fan-like cheer the MC made the groom do as a joke.
I stood against a wall at the back, while people were out in the entrance hall joking around as if they were forced to be there. I was soooooo confused, and half annoyed.
The highlight of the wedding though: This lady gets up to serenade the newly weds and she sings Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You." THAT was when I cried. Laughing.
It was the first time that I realised what the song was about and that a wedding was NOT the place to be singing a 'goodbye my lover' type song.
Allow me (via lyrics 007) to quote the lyrics:
If I should stay,
I would only be in your way.
So I'll go, but I know
I'll think of you ev'ry step of the way.
And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
You, my darling you. Hmm.
Bittersweet memories
that is all I'm taking with me.
So, goodbye. Please, don't cry.
We both know I'm not what you, you need.
And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
(Instrumental solo)
I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you've dreamed of.
And I wish to you, joy and happiness.
But above all this, I wish you love.
And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I, I will always love you.
You, darling, I love you.
Ooh, I'll always, I'll always love you.
Hilarious, neh? After that, we headed downstairs to eat the buffet food we PAID for and found half of the guests already well fed 'cause they had spent the entire time down there (they did pay for the food though, so I don't blame them for choosing the time it'd be good to enjoy their purchase). The food was great, regardless of the fact that we sat on normal, unassigned chairs, with no fancy table decoration to set the mood.
It upset me that they whole idea of marriage was executed like a quick factory process, but I learned that they have a smaller, more meaningful traditional thing with just the family. That, and a nap, gave my mind a rest from all the "what on earth is happening? why do they bother?".
 |
| Foyer photo area with the bride (pre ceremony) |
 |
| Venue |
 |
| Groom (white gloves) and his mom (traditional attire) also chilling in the foyer |
 |
| Pre wedding photoshoot done and dusted, on display in the foyer |
 |
| Guests not even interested in the their walking down the aisle. hehehe |
 |
| Not even 30 minutes later- tada! (Still, the guests couldn't care less) |
Despite the HUGE culture shock this gave me, I had to remind myself that there is lots I don't know and what we find important, is never the same in Korea (and vise versa). I was just glad I didn't go and spend a cent on getting my hair fixed and buying appropriate shoes for the occasion ^^. Culture Shock doesn't explain it enough!
That's too funny, Whitney Houston's song at a wedding!! WOW!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting that its not such a big deal although I do still think its rude that people were just doing their own thing and not even paying attention to the MC.
Anyway,that's the beauty of traveling and being exposed to different cultures.
You had to pay for your meal?? WOWSER!!!
I was beyond annoyed and shocked with the chit chat in between. And, yes, we had to pay for the food we ate, which is why it was no big deal that there were a few wedding crashers- they weren't blowing money that wasn't theirs so...
ReplyDeletehaha korean weddings are an "interesting" experience :)
ReplyDelete