Wedding day part 4: Myeongdong Church buffet & hanbok

The wedding ended, and we were hungry.

But before we could eat, we had to take some photos.

Arrrrhhhhh...

(no I'm not angry, that's just my stomach)

With our priest

Our priest, Yobi, had to rush off to another wedding.

So he was up first.

I like to call him Yobi-Wan Kenobi.

He didn't lead us to become Jedi masters,

but he may have pulled some Jedi mind tricks.

*hand wave* you will both walk down the aisle

*hand wave* you will live happily ever after

With her parents

Her brother and sister-in-law joined in

Her extended family

Her relatives seemed very kind.

Some of them were able to talk to me in English.

Just don't ask me to name them.

Friends 

Though mostly Sungeun's friends,

some slid over to my side to even out the photo.

I'm grateful to the friends of mine who made it,

and to her friends who posed as my friends.

Kiss time

Kissing 8th grade dance style.

Must've brought back some good memories for my friend David.

Notice he's air-spanking someone.

Bouquet toss

Her college friend, Jinyoung (Emily), caught the bouquet.

The one to catch the bouquet,

should hope to marry soon.

If she doesn't marry within 6 months,

she will be cursed with another 3 years of loneliness. 

Luckily for Jinyoung, 
she married a month later.



Once the group photos ended,
we went native.
By native, I mean traditional Korean style.

Hanbok time

Suddenly we went from Gavin & Sungeun,

to King Gavin & Queen Sungeun.

These hanbok were the traditional dress for kings and queens.

Even the crowns...

which I felt looked more like a Mickey Mouse hat.

Traditional wedding food

Her parents joined us,

and everyone sat comfortably.

Everyone but me that is.

My hips don't lie...they don't bend that way.

So my knees popped up higher than the table.

Love shot

Next we took a shot of cheongju.

This is a traditional Korean drink, similar to sake.

It's a wine made from rice, with a sweet taste.

Feats of strength 

Sure, after I have a shot,

they drop this news on me.

I had to put Sungeun on my back,

and carry her around the room numerous times,

to prove my manhood.

My chicken legs may not look like much,

but they have the strength of a clydesdale. 

After carrying Sungeun around,
my hunger had reached a new level.

In our wedding hanbok

After one more wardrobe change,

we were finally able to go eat.

We were so hungry we forgot to take pictures of the food.

Sungeun's college friends

Another college friend

Sungeun with her friends

Her elementary school friends

After enjoying a good meal,

we took a few more pictures 

with friends we didn't see before the ceremony.

It was a long day,

but one we will remember and cherish forever.

And there you have it,
the wedding posts are all finished.


Or are they....

Wedding day part 3: Myeongdong Church ceremony

The happy couple!

I decided to mix this post up a bit.
It was a day that started out very nerve-racking.

I believe by posting pictures in reverse,

I can convey to you why I felt more nervous at the start

than at any other point.

So...welcome to my backwards wedding day post.

Walking down the aisle as husband and wife.

It was much easier walking with Sungeun than doing it alone.

Felt like a celebrity with all the cameras flashing.

Bowing to the audience to thank them.

But to get the pictures,

we had to bow to our audience.

Actually it's the polite way to thank them for attending.

Before bowing to the audience,

we bowed to her (our) parents.

Father's blessing.

Of course before I could bow to my parent-in-laws,

we had to become official in God's eyes.

Here is Pastor Yobi blessing 

and proclaiming us husband and wife.

Open up and say ahh.

This was one of the landmark moments I was waiting for.

Once we received communion, 

I knew we had reached the home stretch.

I could finally start to fully relax.

Calm & cool

This was a moment where I thought I'd be more nervous.
But when I looked into Sungeun's eyes,
any nerves I had melted away.
I calmly slid the ring on her finger.

Nervous & shaky 

Wish I could say the same for her.

She avoided eye contact,

and somehow, while her body experienced an earthquake,

she shook the ring onto my finger.

Another moment where I expected butterflies.

But while reading the vows I remained calm.

While holding her hand and looking into her eyes,

it felt like it was just the two of us.

My loving, calming caress 

Naturally I wanted to do the same for Sungeun.

To help calm her, I reassuringly rubbed her hand.

Rejected

Extremely nervous, she rejected my loving gesture.

She again chose to avoid eye contact.

My theory for this...

Had she made eye contact,

she would have begun crying uncontrollably.

I forgive you Sungeun.

Patrick and Jiae

Our friends Pat and Jiae were our witnesses.

They were there for support...

or perhaps to make sure we didn't run?

Pastor Yobi giving an impassioned sermon.

Let's go ahead and take a look from his angle.

Hmm.

These faces look...slightly glazed.

Sungeun and her sister-in-law Jina may be sleeping?

I couldn't understand what he was saying.

What's your excuse Sungeun?

During much of the ceremony,

I was unable to understand.

Mostly I was peeking at Sungeun.

If she stood, I stood.

If she knelt, I knelt.
If she sat, I sat.

If she slept...I didn't sleep.

Once we made it here,

it was all downhill for me.

Knowing I couldn't understand the Korean ceremony,

I knew I could relax for a bit.

Taking a big step

Now you know,

I was pretty relaxed during the ceremony.

You may now understand why 

this moment was a nervous one for me.

Clearly I'm thinking 'don't trip on this step.'

I whispered "time to let go."

He whispered "never."

[Not really.  Would've been cooler if we had.]

My view

Having made it safely down the aisle,

I could now enjoy one of the best views of my life.

This photo was at the height of my nervousness.

So nervous in fact,

that I forgot to walk like a normal human being.

I kept my hands crossed the entire walk.

Well there it is.
From happiest to most nervous,

this was our special day.

Wedding day part 2: "Greet the guests"

Traditionally names were written top-to-bottom.

As we pulled up to the church,

we saw our photo and names were already in place. 

We knew we found the right church.

Waiting area outside of church

There was no time to linger around outside,

we were immediately ushered into Sungeun's waiting room.

But I wouldn't stay long.

A quick picture together,

and I was shoved outside to greet guests.

I didn't even have time to finish my coffee.

Outside with the Kim family

Guests coming to say hi

Many guests came through,

some said hi and shook my hand...

...others left me hanging.

Sungeun's dad was the VIP outside

Mark (L) and David (R)

A few of my friends were able to make it.

After meeting so many new people,

it was nice to see some friends.

Sungeun's parents getting a quick breather

With Sungeun's brother & sister-in-law

Sungeun's mom & dad were definitely the busiest greeting guests.

I snuck in a couple hello's,

then hung back with Duck-gil and Jina.

Meanwhile,

in the waiting room...

Childhood best friends

University friend

Work friends

Friends from Canada

More university friends

Seems Sungeun was having a great time.

Many friends stopped in to visit her.

But she couldn't hide out in there forever.

 Time for the fun to stop.

She has a grand entrance to make.

To be continued...