Korean Job Discussion Forums

cdninkorea · Joined: 27 Jan 2006 Location: Seoul

My girlfriend and I are going to be getting married later this year, and neither one of us want to do so in a wedding hall for a myriad of reasons all related to the fact that a wedding hall wedding is like a factory facing layoffs: you go in, get "processed" as efficiently and joylessly as possible:

- the wedding hall employees are sometimes less friendly and mirthless than convenience store workers, who can actually be very pleasent sometimes.
- many guests don't want to be there, arriving late, talking on their cell phones, to each other, and even leaving early to eat.
- the tacky way they count the cash you bring and write it down alongside your name, like it's some kind of business invoice.
- etc. I could go on.

I realize I'm likely preaching to the converted here, so I'll get to the point: I want to look into a ceremony not at a wedding hall. In Canada, my native country, it's possible to get married in a park, on a mountain, on a beach, and even at commerical venues like gyms and coffee shops (not my idea of romance, but to each their own).
Is it possible to get married in somewhere other than a wedding hall where the gathering will be intimate and tasteful (without costing a small fortune)?

aishiii · Joined: 24 Apr 2009

You can get married in a church.

ChilgokBlackHole · Joined: 21 Nov 2009

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=473061

"Nobody wants to go to your wedding."

FYI

thrylos · Joined: 10 Jun 2008

Traditional Confucian/Korean style wedding at a hyangkyo-- impresses both western/Korean parents & family, fun wedding pics, nice outfits/props/surroundings, not too long.

Nick Adams · Joined: 26 May 2005

Get married at one of the outdoor traditional villages/parks. Several of them offered weddings, and a few years ago the deal was if there was a foreigner in the wedding party, the wedding was free or reduced price.

Its been awhile so I am hazy on details, but this was the option I didn't learn about until months after our wedding.

Horangi Munshin · Joined: 06 Apr 2003 Location: Busan

I went through this seven years ago.

Outside weddings are definitely possible. There will still be a table for the notebook and white envelopes. Depending on who comes there will still be someone glued to their cellphone. Get someone professional to take a video of the ceremony, it may make people more conscious of where they are.

jiberish · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Location: The Carribean Bay Wrestler

My wedding was amazing because I didn't have it in Korea.

Easter Clark · Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong

We got married in a wedding hall and it was nothing like what you wrote in the OP. Nobody was rude, talking on their phones, etc. Everybody was cordial and the setup was very "storybook."

That said, we'd also had a ceremony in the US so we got the best of both worlds. And the money we got paid for both the hall and the honeymoon to Thailand.

In contrast, I've been to a few weddings in churches and those were so dry I wanted to go to sleep.

Don't knock the wedding halls, it's possible to find a good one.

pkang0202 · Joined: 09 Mar 2007

Wedding Halls are the ultimate in wedding convenience. They take care of everything. The only thing you do is make a guest list and show up.

You won't complain about the wedding then you take the big box full of money home and you count how much money you MADE.

Customize your ceremony so no one eats until after you say I DO.

Seoulman69 · Joined: 14 Dec 2009

I went to a traditional Korean wedding at the Lotte building which contains Lotte World. It was cool. The groom was from South America and the bride was Korea. They converse in Japanese but the service was in Korean. It was the best wedding i've been to in Korea.

crossmr · Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul

conrad2 · Joined: 05 Nov 2009

I went to a wedding at a place called Hera House. Its a new trend in Korea called "house wedding" It a large mansion and it has an out door area for the ceremony. There is a buffet and you can eat indoors or outdoors. It is only for your wedding and guests ( no multiple brides running around) and you keep the place as long as you need it. String quartet, big cake, intimate tables. Similar in price to a regular wedding hall. Highly recommended.

Dazed and Confused · Joined: 10 Jan 2003

I got married at a restuarant that had an outdoor pagoda for weddings. String quartet, big cake, champagne, and everything!
PM your email and I can send you pics.
If you've got time hit one of those wedding fairs the next time they have one at COEX. They have vendors with lots of options.

crsandus · Joined: 05 Oct 2004

To OP:

How did you ever get Hyori to say yes? Very Happy

I just went to a wedding held at the catholic church at the Sogang campus and that was somewhat different from the normal wedding factories. I didn't see any other wedding groups there, although the same buffet/cash table was present. The guests attending the ceremony were quieter than normal and I heard only one handphone ring a few times.

cmr · Joined: 22 Mar 2006

One guy wrote about his wedding once. He did a traditional kind of wedding at the small folk village down Seoul Tower. What I remember is that he said it was way better (to him... would have been to me as well I guess) than going to a wedding hall and it was also cheaper. I don't know if it can be cheaper, but if it's better, than just do it wherever it is!