I decided to step a bit outside my comfort zone this week and talk about a cultural wedding tradition I am unfamiliar with, but I’m looking forward to the day I get to work with this bridal couple! As I am always looking to expand my cultural knowledge and understanding of traditions far and wide, I came across a great wedding planner out of California – My Bride Story. Esther’s site is chalk full of goodies and nuggets of inspiration. Her approach to topics and honesty is refreshing. I’ve gathered a few gems from her collection that I will share with you, of course with my own perspective on the topic.
What I am sharing with you today, as I mentioned before, is beyond my current repertoire of knowledge, and was inspired by Esther extensive information on the Paebaek – the Korean Wedding Ritual. With her permission, I am very excited to be able to share with you a quick video demonstration of the ritual from start to finish! I want to go over the quick basics before you watch so you have an understanding of what is there.
A Paebaek ceremony is a traditional Korean ceremony performed at weddings. The ritual is the groom’s family acceptance of the bride and a way for the bride to pay her respects to the groom’s family.
The engaged couple will enter together dressed in ceremonial Korean wedding attire called hanbok. Their parents, the honorees, will be seated in front of a table laden with various edibles and tea (or soju – rice wine). The couple will bow deeply to the honorees, and then kneel as one pours tea/soju. Once each honoree drinks the tea/soju, they impart wisdom, advice or a wish for the couple’s future.
Finally, the honorees will throw dates (symbolizing girls) and chestnuts (symbolizing boys) which the bride will try to catch in her apron. According to legend, the number of dates and chestnuts caught signifies how many children she will bear. Later in the evening, the couple is supposed to eat the dates and chestnuts that were caught.
Traditionally, as noted above the ceremony is set in respect to the groom’s family, but now often includes relatives on both sides of the family participating and offering blessings to the couple. The ceremony is traditionally limited to family only, but increasingly Paebaeks are performed in front of guest, especially here in America.
In respect to cultural fusion, Korean-American couples incorporate both a Western ceremony and a Paebaek ceremony, with the Paebaek following the Western ceremony, often during cocktail hour.
So now that you have a quick understanding, take a look at the intricacy of this tradition.
Paebaek Demonstration from Full Circle Eventi on Vimeo.
The traditional costume is, for me, the most striking visual of the ceremony, and quite detailed as well. I am absolutely in love with the hanbok! I secretly want to wear one (I guess it’s really not a secret anymore!) I never knew that Sandra Oh, of Grey’s Anatomy, actually worn a modernized hanbok to a few red carpet events, but here’s an images from her hanbok red carpet look. There is so much detail about the hanbok, I think I will have to leave more information for another post! Hee, hee . . .
