Another TCIS wedding!

On Saturday, May 24th, a busload of TCISers traveled to a town located about 1 1/2 hours outside of Daejeon to attend the wedding of our middle school secretary, Pam Kang. It was such an interesting ceremony, and combined many traditional Korean wedding practices with the modern wedding hall experience. Here is a snapshot of what it was like: upon arrival at the wedding hall, we all received a ticket for a buffet lunch in the downstairs hall. The buffet was bountiful and offered many traditional Korean foods, including a special dish of cow entrails alongside kimbab, stir fries, rice and pumpkin porridge, shrimp and much more. The ceremony began at 1 p.m. in the wedding hall upstairs, which was lit with huge chandeliers and tracks of neon lights along the ceiling (as the bride came up the aisle, the chandeliers and lights flickered on and off in a disco-type pattern). During the ceremony, the pastor spoke for about 10 minutes and a group of co-workers from the school sang a beautiful song to the bride and groom. Pam and her new husband paid respect to both sets of parents by standing in front of them while the pastor spoke about family ties, and deep bows (particularly deep on the groom's part, all the way to the floor) were delivered as a sign of deep love and respect. As Pam and her husband walked back down the aisle, two attendants shot multiple streamers from trumpets and everyone gathered for photos immediately. During a typical Korean wedding, it is common for the seats to fill up quickly and for many people to stand at the back of the hall. It is completely acceptable for everyone standing to talk and interact during the ceremony, so there is a festive and chaotic feel to the whole thing. Especially when you add in the lights and some dry ice smoke at the front of the chapel, a party-like atmosphere reigns. It was a great day and the bus ride to and from the ceremony afforded beautiful views of the mountains en route.