Today was Peter and Katelyn's wedding day. I was expecting little light in the church, so I brought some 3200 speed film in addition to the two rolls of 400 I had in my purse. As it turned out, the church was very light indeed. Another guest said that that had been her experience with churches in general in Korea: they're much brighter than their American counterparts. Anyway, I might have gotten a couple good snaps of everyone coming down the aisle, but I was too far away from both the front and the back of the church to get any good ones of the ceremony or of the bridal party gathering in the back. Should have brought the zoom.
The wedding reception was held at Ambassador Hubbard's residence, which was practically across the street from the church. It's a beautiful place with a rich history, and obviously well laid-out for holding large receptions. They had two buffet tables of traditional Korean foods, sushi, canapés, and fruit, and an amazingly light cream and fruit wedding cake.
I didn't think Katelyn could have looked more beautiful than she did in her wedding gown... and then I saw her in the traditional wedding han bok. She and Peter changed after the cake-cutting to participate in a traditional Korean ceremony in which the bride meets?and bows to?members of the groom's family. Peter looked pretty neat in the reddish brown top and black pants, and especially the hat that looked like Mickey Mouse ears, but really, Katelyn stole the show.
After the wedding reception we all went back to our respective hotels/embassy compounds to change into casual clothes, and then we took cabs up to the Hyatt Hotel to go ice skating. Oh, how I wish I'd packed my hockey skates! It was very difficult to account for the toe pick and the lack of edges on the rental figure skates. Hockey stops were out of the question, as were sharp turns around the cones. Al had tried one at speed, caught the toe pick, and landed on his knee; for some reason, I wanted to see if I could do the same thing and escape his fate, but of course I wiped out, too. Both of us have one black knee apiece now. Virtually the entire wedding party was there, and we all had great fun despite the injuries.
Next we all took cabs down to Itaewon, where we ate snacks at alley stalls and then took over a salsa bar. It was fun to dance and drink margaritas and beer and hang out. I couldn't believe Peter and Katelyn were still on their feet after such a long day—and they were still at the bar when we left at midnight! We're back in the room now and desperate for sleep; I keep dozing off as I write this, so I'm going to bed.
Posted by Lori at January 11, 2003 07:54 AM