The bride and groom
My dad gave the benedictory prayer.
It was the perfect day for a wedding in beautiful Belvedere. I love how happy the new couple looks in this photo as they leave the church.
The cutie-pie ringbearer with his dad, my cousin.
It was great to see so many of my dear cousins. 
That’s my sister in the middle!
I’ve got a zillion cousins…
…and aunts. The aunt to the left of my mother is the mother of the groom. See my mother’s sister on the right? The delicate and distinguished lady in the grey hanbok with the freakishly large camera apparatus? We had knock-down drag-out beat downs all night long for camera angles. (It was no contest. She won every time, of course. Every. Single. Time.).
The mother of the groom wears a blue hanbok. The mother of the bride wears pink.
And now for the “pae baek,” the traditional Korean wedding ceremony…The couple offers tea or wine and chestnuts and dates to their elders. 
The elders offer their blessings and impart words of wisdom. They also slip them wads of cash in little white envelopes!
The elders throw chestnuts and dates and the couple tries to catch as many as they can in a cloth. The chestnuts represent the boys and the dates represent the girls they’ll have. The bride caught 15 chestnuts and 8 dates. I heard a Korean ajumma say, “You better get busy!!!”
Another set of elders (the uncles and aunties) take their turn. They receive their bow.
My mom tells them, “Don’t fight…And just have two boys and two girls.”(Really? Is that all)?!
The couple shares a drink…
and a date!
The groom gives the bride a piggyback ride around the table. (There’s my auntie with her gigantic camera)! Sometimes the groom will also give a piggyback ride to his mother and maybe even his grandmother as a symbol that he will be responsible for all of them. 
The wooden ducks on the table represent faithfulness, because ducks mate for life.
My little nephews hung out with my cousin’s son during the cocktail hour:
My niece and my mom…
And then it was time for the reception:
My nephew “R”: “Call me!”
Korean wedding buffet. Kimchi, jap jae, sushi, rice…
It was lovely.
o wonderful, wonderful 
Hi there,
You may not remember me, yet alone know who I am.. but I ran across your hanbok photo (on google) while showing my own daughter (5) what her grandmother and myself wore on my wedding day. What especially caught my attention was the photo of Mr. Kim and his wife (your parents as I’ve read). Our family attended Columbia Baptist Church as I was a child (20+ years ago) and your father was the Pastor at the time. I have yet to come across many of the mountains you have climbed but am pleased you have shared all things cherished. I wish you and your family all the best and many blessings to come.
How nice to hear from you! Thanks so much for your kind words!