Sunday, June 26th, 2011

    Wow what a day it has been!  My body continues to wake up at 4:30 AM,  but it allows me time to update our Korean 2011 Blog.  Kelly and Melissa kindly walked down and got me my black (American no sugar) coffee at the local McDonald's while I was able to stay caught up on our journaling and pictures.

 After getting ready for the day, Aaron met me here at he room and we  traveled to the McDonald's (which has become our standard pick up spot!) to wait for Jeong Mi's brother. He was to pick us up and take us to meet Jeong Mi and her mother at a hair salon.  The Park's were generously paying for me to have my hair and make up done for the wedding.  (Aaron was also scheduled for a make up session which sounded a little scary for Aaron! hahahaha.)

While we waited for Jeong Mi's brother,  Aaron and I went into the restaurant where he got a breakfast meal and I got my second cup of coffee. I took his birthday picture!  Hard to believe that he was now 28 years old and that coincidentally or providentially, was born at Brown Memorial Hospital in Conneaut, Ohio delivered by a Korean baby doctor, Dr. Moon K. Yoon.  (Doing an internet search it appears that she is still practicing in Ohio! Life has a way of coming full circle for sure!) Kelly was the camp director at Calvary Episcopal Church Camp on Lake Erie at the time.

After a birthday breakfast, Aaron and I headed to a salon in a nearby town where we were given "star treatment."  It was fun to share the time with Jeong Mi, her mother, Aaron and me.

We then headed to the wedding site having to drive through a torrential rain storm. The wind started to kick up and the clear skies that we were hoping for were not to be. 

Melissa, Alan, and Kelly joined us at the wedding site  and it was wonderful to have Melissa help me get into my Hanbok for the wedding ceremony!  Kelly also got into his hanbok for the ceremony.  He looks very handsome in pink and purple.

Well, besides the tremendous rain and wind storm (did someone say typhoon?), we also had a number of emergency issues.  Two of Aaron's friends, who were to help carry him in on the chair, were stuck in their apartment elevator between floors!  And Jeremiah's ride to the wedding site forgot her camera, so they returned to her home for it and he arrived with only a few minutes to spare before the start of the wedding.

Fortunately, for the guys stuck in the elevator, they were able to get a ladder and climb out of the stuck elevator and  showed up in the nick of time!  The wedding was ready to begin! As we waited for our entrance cue, we had time for some picture taking.

Needless to say, Aaron's traditional Korean wedding contained elements that were foreign to us and so different from Melissa's wedding.  But we were given a script that explained what the parts of the service were and their symbolism.  During the ceremony people were snapping pictures and laughing, and as the ceremony continued people would get their food from the buffet tables and start eating!  There were so many exciting moments and we hope to share more about the ceremony at another time.  Birds are an important symbol of long life and happiness together so the fathers of the bride and groom released two chickens into the air near the end of the ceremony (poor birds do this task day in and day out.. they never get very far....).

Family members participated in a "pay back" time where the bride and groom served all family members a bite of food, ceremonial drinks, and an opportunity for family to share thoughts and well wishes to the bride and groom.  We all kept Aaron busy translating our well wishes and thoughts in Korean to his lovely bride and the rest of the Korean speaking guests!

The ceremony concluded, some more group pictures were taken, and the family was able to eat and visit.

                         The Park and Bruckart families were all gathered for a group picture as well!

Some of the staff and teachers from Aaron's school (Hambok Elementary School) were there to support Aaron as well.
                                                          Good to sit and eat and visit!

 

Kelly had the help of Jeong Mi's cousin to try to explain to Jeong Mi's dad what he wanted to say. Kelly and his Korean phrase book are never far from each other!

 Melissa and Alan were such a big help before and during this service.  We look forward to seeing the pictures that Alan took during the ceremony.

 And Jeremiah... well what can we say?!  He gave a moving big brother speech for sure!

Aaron and Jeong Mi changed out of their wedding honboks into their reception attire.  They both were relieved to be out of the hot bulky clothes and into their more casual look.

Then it was time to clean up.  Once the rain and wind stopped, we could enjoy the beautiful architecture and grandeur of their wedding site. What a beautiful location for a traditional wedding ceremony.

It was time to  head back.  We all showed up at the Radio Bar which is near where Aaron and Jeong Mi live to continue to celebrate their union in a more relaxed atmosphere.

 And a Bruckart wedding/celebration is not the same without the "Chicken Dance"!  So the song was found on the internet and downloaded and played, and Aaron, Jeong Mi, and their friends and family all  joined in a rousing dance!

A cake was presented to Aaron during his wedding ceremony and with sparklers added the whole assembly joined Jeong Mi is singing Happy Birthday to Aaron. Jeong Mi sang Happy Birthday to Aaron in English!  Later, we were able to cut the cake at the bar and pass it around.

While Aaron and Jeong Mi continued to party with Jeremiah and  their friends, Kelly, Melissa, Alan, and I checked out the local Pizza Hut and Baskin Robbins... we walked the streets in the evening and even got some money from the local ATM convenience store.  Kelly and I were able to say good night to Jeong Mi and Aaron at their apartment later in the evening and we were grateful for a room nearby to get a good night's sleep.

It is time to travel to the East Coast for some beach sun (WE HOPE!) and fun.  Check out the rest of my random pics from Aaron's wedding day from this link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/embruckart/Korea_2011_6262011#5622450265310115970

We thank again all our family and friends for their love and support of Jeong Mi and Aaron.  Their wedding ceremony was wonderful and Kelly and I still cannot believe that we would be in S Korea for our son's wedding.  We continue to be blessed with our children's accomplishments and choices in love.  We thank God for all that He has given to us and continues to provide to us...It was "A Great Day in the Kingdom!"

Korea 2011_Saturday June 25th

Well the walls of our "home away from home" appear to be paper thin because at 4:30 am (UGH) guys next door were talking and the passcode locks were buzzing... so after hitting the bathroom we tried to go back to

sleep.. Skype call!  Marty!  She saw that my online light was on so she thought she would say hello!  ahhaha

We chit chatted a bit then went back to bed.. and
Skype call!  Paul and Pauline saw our skpe light was on they wanted to say hello also!!  Great technology to visit with siblings across the world! What a good conversation with Marty, Pauline,and Paul!

So got ready and experienced the shower again where no stall/door and water running onto floor into drain.. seems so odd! But it works..

Kelly, Melissa, and I walked to our favorite Korean McDonalds where we were able to enjoy a cup of coffee.  Kelly said that the young lady that waited on us was the same teenager as last year!!  I told Kelly that she probably remembers us too!  That American with his phrase book trying to say, "4 black coffees!  Ahahahhaha

It was a rainy ole morning.. A tropical storm has been forecasted for days and I would say it has arrived. We bought umbrellas at a local conveniencestore and returned to our hotel. Alan and Jeremiah were moving when we returned and so we all got ready and went over to Jeong Mi and Aaron's apartment where we had a nice visit and enjoyed a delicious breakfast!  Thanks Jeong Mi!

 A return trip to S Korea is not the same without a visit to the Lotte Mart.  We explored the three floors and checked out the merchandise. We all bought something interesting to eat. No, we did not buy Kimchi!
But they certainly had tons of it!

Upon returning to the hotel, Jeremiah, Melissa, and Alan headed out to explore the city a bit and get some lunch.  Kelly, Aaron, Jeong Mi, and I hailed a taxi and headed to the location of their wedding so we could preview a wedding going on there and get an idea of what we will be doing.

The rain continued to pour.. they had tents set up and the ceremony took place under a roof.. if the weather is nice for us Aaron and Jeong Mi will have their wedding in front of the temple. 

A "westerner" from Florida was marrying a Korean young lady so we enjoyed watching what they did.  The wedding coordinator urged us to eat heartily of the wedding buffet so we stayed and did just that!  Thought it was interesting when the fathers of the bride and groom were handed chickens (?)/hens (?)/roosters (?) and after some words were spoken tossed then into the air..something about long life and happiness?... anyway Aaron is excited that we may be doing that as well during his wedding ceremony!

We took a cab back to the hotel where we dried off and rested for an hour.  Then it was off to one of our favorite restaurants for grilling, eating, and celebrating.. there were 10 of us there and we toasted the soon-to-be bride and groom and just enjoyed visiting...

Then, since the baseball game had been canceled due to the rain, we headed across the street to a Noribong (Karaoke Singing Room) where the 10 of us sang and laughed and enjoyed the evening.  

After our singing time ended, we slopped through the rain and the wind and returned to our hotel room to get rested for the "big day" on Sunday, June 26th, 2011:  Aaron's birthday and wedding day!  

Enjoy the rest of the day's pictures here:  https://picasaweb.google.com/embruckart/Korea2011_6252011#5622143305916695282