Wedding Photos From the Newlyweds

It's hard to believe that almost two months have already passed since Liz and I got married! After a week-and-a-half honeymoon, we have happily settled into married life.

Thank you to our family and friends, everyone who made our wedding special for us, and all of our wedding guests. We made a wedding video using the wonderful photographs of our photographer, Caroline Tran, as well as a few photographs provided by family and friends. The wedding video can be viewed by clicking here.

Individual photos can be viewed by clicking here (for part one of the photos), and clicking here (for part two of the photos).

Lego Caketopper Part 2

Last week I received the component pieces for the Lego caketopper I designed. I had to go to several online vendors in order to find all of the pieces I needed, but I've received all of the pieces now and construction of the caketopper is complete.

Here's a view of the caketopper from the front:


Here is a view from the rear, also providing a sense of what the model looks like from the side:


Close-up of the groom mini-figure (me):


Close of the bride mini-figure (Liz):

Reception Menu

The reception is being catered by Levy Restaurants, which is the Cathedral's in-house caterer. Levy also caters events at other locations. The sales manager at Levy, Maria Lopez, has been professional, friendly, and easy to work with.

The cocktail hour will have six hors d'oeuvres for guests to sample --

• Fruit and cheese plate with bruschetta d'Parma display, and served with a variety of crackers, flatbreads, bread rounds, and condiments
• Tender and zesty calamari served in crisp pita cups
• Baby lamp chops marinated with rosemary and garlic, grilled and served with mint chutney
• Smoked duck breast and caramelized Asian pear on pecan raisin toast
• Gulf shrimp wrapped in crispy potato, served with banana chili sauce and presented on cocktail forks
• Dried black mission figs wrapped in pancetta and grilled with balsamic

The dinner first course is a delicate cup of seasoned cucumber slices with baby lettuces and micro greens seved with Humboldt Fog goat cheese and a roasted tomato vinaigrette.

For the entree, guests will have a choice of --

• Meat: Bone-in rib-eye steak, topped with herb butter and fried buttermilk onions, and served with horseradish whipped potatoes and roasted farm vegetables
• Fish: Macademia nut crusted mahi mahi on bed of wilted spinach, served with jasmine rice, plantains and pineapple ginger salsa
• Vegetarian: Wild mushroom ravioli with cream sage sauce

Dessert is the wedding cake :)

For beverages, it is open bar all night long. In addition, we will have one signature cocktail for our guests to try, which is a Maker's Mark and gingerale, garnished with maraschino cherries and served over crushed ice.

This is a drink that Liz and I have fond memories of dating back to our initial meetings when she ordered this drink for us and told me it was a "grasshopper." The next time I went to a bar, I asked the bartender for a grasshopper, made of Maker's Mark and gingerale. The bartender looked at me strangely and told me that a grasshopper was an entirely different drink. The next time I saw Liz, she told me that she made a mistake and said it was a "dragonfly."

In honor of this moment, we are calling our signature cocktail the "New Grasshopper."

Ceremony Music

A couple of weeks ago, Liz and I met with the organist at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Mr. Samuel Soria. He played a variety of songs to choose from for our ceremony.

There will be two processionals when the wedding party walks down the aisle to the front of the Cathedral -- one for the groomsmen and bridesmaids, the parents, and the groom (me!), and another for the bride (Liz). Also, there is a recessional where people exit from the Cathedral.

We're looking forward to hearing our choices for the ceremony music played on the Cathedral's impressive organ. Here they are --

First processional -- Across The Stars by John Williams (Love Theme from Star Wars Episode II - Attack of the Clones)



Second processional -- Bridal Chorus by Wagner



Preparation of the gifts -- Ava Maria by Schubert



Recessional -- Arrival of the Queen of Sheba by Handel

Honeymoon

Liz and I are going away 11 days for our honeymoon, spending 5 days in Belize, 3 days in Guatemala, and 3 more days for travel and partial days in Belize and Guatemala. This will be the first time for both of us to visit Belize, Liz's second time to Guatemala, and my first time to Guatemala.

We'll spend the first part of our trip on Ambergris Caye, which is an island off the coast of Belize. We're looking forward to quiet, soothing beach time, as well as some snorkeling or scuba. We might even try out fishing.

In the second part of our trip, we'll take a short flight to Guatemala, where we'll spend a couple of nights in Antigua and a couple of nights by Lake Atitlán. It'll be a chance to enjoy some cultural sightseeing, take in some nightlife and good eats, perhaps do a little hiking, and be amazed by the beauty of Lake Atitlán.

It's been busy with wedding prep, and we're looking forward to some R&R after the big day!

Lego Caketopper

I'm just about recovered from my back sprain, thanks to the loving care of Liz, as well as some excellent treatment from her friend who is a naturopathic doctor and also a licensed acupuncturist. While my plans of fitting into my tuxedo pants have been derailed, my time resting at home provided some time to finish my design of a Lego caketopper for our wedding cake.

My Lego interest is something I've rekindled in the past several years. I remember spending many mornings as a kid making spaceships with my brother, and then in the afternoon having our spaceships and their crew wage epic battles with space monsters (which were stuffed animals) and space aliens (which were just mini-figs with a brick for a head). But one day our parents gave away all of our Legos to their friends' younger children, so I stopped playing with them during college and law school.

In the past couple of years, I've focused on building pre-designed Lego Star Wars sets, and making modifications to them to make them more movie-accurate, or to add features to the sets. I've also built a couple of my own models (My Own Creation or MOCs).

When I design my own models, I usually make them from scratch without the aid of design software. I tried using a software program called Lego Digital Designer (downloadable for free from The Lego Company website) to make a version of Anakin Skywalker's personal starfighter (the Azure Angel), but abandoned my design without finishing.

However, I decided to give Digital Designer another try for purposes of building the caketopper for our wedding cake. The basic concept is a white-colored, Valentine's Day-style heart. There is translucent red lettering that says "Eugene + Liz" on either side of the heart.

Also, beneath the two mounds at the top, there is space for bride and groom Lego mini-figs to sit. It's not apparent from the outside, but I did some somewhat fancy designing to create as much hollow space as possible within the heart to decrease the weight of the model (so the model can safely sit on top of the cake).

Here are some images of the design prototype, from a couple of different angles. I've just finished ordering all of the pieces, so it'll be about a week or so before I can assemble the actual model. The real thing will look a little different from these pieces, and will have the bride and groom mini-figs, but these images provide a sense of what the model will look like.

Injured backs but Happy Hearts

We are getting so close to the wedding! Although there is a lot of little things to do, each time we complete something ourselves I always stand back and am happy that a piece of us really went into our big day.

I am so proud of Eugene's creative side. As I've mentioned before on this blog, he is a lego engineer and he just finished designing our cake topper! I cannot wait for you all to see it! It is so cute and will really bring a special touch to our cake. We've really tried to make the style of our wedding modern but playful... therefore the lego love. I think that those words even represent us as a couple :)

On a not so good note: To get in shape for the wedding, Eugene, some of the wedding party and friends have been doing boot camp! I love it but we had a grueling test and Eugene injured his back :( He is feeling progressively better. I was worried there for awhile. But, taking care of him has been some great time for us to enjoy each other's company. Its been quality time that we needed to talk but also to just share how much we love each other.

I am so happy to be seeing all my family and friends soon! Each day I get nervous but excited! Everyone has so many good wishes that it is easy to forget all the stress for that day.

Boot Camp

Liz and I started an exercise "boot camp" this past Monday. It's held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club in downtown L.A. Two of Liz's bridesmaids are also participating in the boot camp.

Classes are every Monday evening, Wednesday evening, and Saturday morning. The boot camp lasts for six weeks; Liz and I will miss the last two weeks because we'll be on our honeymoon :)

After our second class tonight, I'm pretty wiped out. Our instructor wears a military-type jersey and an army hat. He makes people do 25 push-ups if they are late to the class, don't follow his instructions, or forget other students' names. He's tough.

I hope the rigors of being an exercise grunt are worth it! I've done one spin class in my life, and had a couple of sessions from a personal trainer. Other than that, I've never done any sort of organized exercise class before, and have always done running and weights on my own.

My goal is to lose a couple of inches from my tummy. The pants on the tuxedo I bought a couple of months ago are too tight :( So I either have to trim my love handles, or get my tuxedo pants let out. Either way, with only 30 days until the wedding, it's literally crunch time.

Our Last Anniversary as an Unmarried Couple

Last evening Liz and I celebrated the two-year anniversary of our first date. We went to Ortolan, a top-rated French restaurant in Los Angeles. The chef at Ortolan is Christophe Émé, who also owns the restaurant together with his partner, actress Jeri Ryan.

Both Liz and I enjoyed a sumptuous eight-course tasting. Preceding the tasting was a champagne toast and a flavorful amuse bouche served in test tubes, including a black truffle concoction. Liz's favorite course was the beef carpaccio served on top of cucumber gelee, and mine was the foie gras dunked in mushroom soup. I got the wine pairing for my tasting as well, and thoroughly appreciated all of the selections provided by the sommelier.

The service from everyone at the restaurant was impeccable, and we enjoyed the French accents of our waiter and the sommelier. Also, the decor was very romantic. I took particular note of the high-backed booth we were seated at, which gave us a feeling of intimate seclusion.

When I made the reservation, I let the restaurant know that it was a special occasion, and we were appreciative of the attention that the staff gave us, such as congratulating us on our anniversary. But we were surprised when at the end of our meal, our waiter delivered a complimentary collection of desserts, including a blow-your-mind rum cake and a "happy anniversary" placard made of chocolate (sorry for the darkness of the photo). And this was in addition to the assortment of chocolate wonders that came with the tasting!

All in all, the restaurant and its staff provided us with an experience that lived up to its Michelin rating. Soon Liz and I will have a new anniversary to celebrate, and we look forward to more experiences like the one we had last night!

Our Wedding Shower

We wanted to thank our friends and family who made our wedding shower a special occasion for Liz and me. We especially want to express our gratitude to the organizers of the shower, including the maid of honor, the other bridesmaids, the best man and the other groomsmen, and our friends Max and Mari. Also, a big thank you to Sue for taking photos and making these wonderful collages.

Wedding Invitation

Here's a photo of our wedding invitation (sorry for the blocked out text!). We think it turned out quite well!


We have an extremely large amount of appreciation for our letter press saint, Cristiana, who designed the invitation and also produced it. I really like the Lego elements in the heart :)

We've received a lot of support from friends and family during the wedding planning process. It's heartening to have this support, and makes us excited for the future.

Adventures in Babysitting

Today Liz and I babysit our friends’ nine-month year old baby boy. We were there for about four hours this afternoon. It was my first time babysitting ever, and I was struck by three things. The first is a reminder of how soft a baby’s head is!

The second is how much work raising a baby must be. I have many friends who have children and I have an abstract sense of how much effort being a parent takes, but taking care of a baby by ourselves, even for only four hours, allowed me for the first time to get a first-hand sense of what it takes. Both Liz and I were pretty spent after we finished our shift (although we love the baby and enjoyed spending time with him very much). We changed the baby’s diaper twice, fed him three times, put him down for a nap, and took him for a stroll around the block, plus the constant watching of him when he was playing with his toys. It was a lot different than when I volunteered during high school one day a week at a daycare center, where all I had to do was pick up babies when they started crying.

The most stressful moment was after we fed him the first time. After he was done eating, we put him on the ground and he resumed playing with his toys. But after a few minutes, he started making little crying sounds. I picked him up and rocked him a little, which quieted him down, but when I put him down again, he started crying again, not bawling, but small crying sounds. It was very difficult seeing his eyes fill with water, with a tear streaking his cute face, as he looked at me expectantly. He must have assumed that I knew what was wrong with him, and that I would fix it.

But after a while, he realized I didn’t know what was wrong, and he started crying a lot. It was a little bit scary because we weren’t sure whether something was really wrong. Finally we checked his diaper, and we realized we needed to change him.

The third thing I was struck by was how well Liz attended to the baby. She seemed like a natural, for example, when she patiently fed him with spoons of carrot sauce, with much of it ending up on his face and bib. Looking back at this afternoon, I can see us raising our own baby, and visualize how great of a parent Liz will be. It makes me look forward even more to starting a family with her.

All in all, it was a busy but rewarding afternoon and we had a wonderful time babysitting our friends’ baby!

Groom’s Formalwear

I bought a tuxedo a couple of weeks ago at Men’s Wearhouse. I want to give a big shout-out to Liz’s friends Tu and Donny who provided invaluable assistance and guidance during the process.

We went there to look at tuxedo rentals initially, but there was a tuxedo on sale for the same price as a rental, so I decided to take the plunge and become a tuxedo owner. I never imagined that I would have a tuxedo hanging permanently in my closet.

Unlike with a rental, I’ll be able to have it altered to fit my body so I look as dapper as possible on my wedding day. As Tu and Donny said, I deserve to look good in my wedding gown.

Our Wedding Website-- I Do Foundation

Everyone is hurting because of the downturn in the economy. The organizations we love and who have nurtured us are also hurting. For Eugene and I, it made sense that if we were going to get gifts we would want to share them with those that helped us be who we are... no, not crazy toast lady, lego set-obsessed wine lovers, but better versions of ourselves. They always remind the macro "us" that we are all the leaders we've been waiting for.

On that note, through the website www.idofoundation.org we are able to donate a percentage of all gifts at no cost to our guests to two organizations:

1) Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC): The mission of APALC is to advocate for civil rights, provide legal services and education and build coalitions to positively influence and impact Asian Pacific Americans and to create a more equitable and harmonious society. The Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California (APALC) is the nation's largest legal organization serving the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities. Founded in 1983, APALC is a unique organization that combines traditional legal services with civil rights advocacy and leadership development. www.apalc.org

2) Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA): CHIRLA was formed in 1986 to advance the human and civil rights of immigrants and refugees in Los Angeles; promote harmonious multi-ethnic and multi-racial human relations; and through coalition-building, advocacy, community education and organizing, empower immigrants and their allies to build a more just society. www.chirla.org

They are two organizations close to our hearts that have done so much local work. Also, Eugene is the Project Director at APALC and the Maid of Honor, Yungsuhn is a litigation attorney there mostly for Workers Rights. One of the bridesmaids, Xiomara is the Organizing Director at CHIRLA.

Actually everyone in our wedding party gives back to the world by healing and empowering people. We are so proud to have them as friends. If they are not organizing for justice, they are doctors mending sick bodies.

If you want to check out our website you can click on this link www.idofoundation.org/lizandeugene

Food Tasting...Yummy!

Eugene and I just had our food tasting at the Cathedral.... and it was yummy!

First we had choices of three different kinds of wine, then three full salads and three full entrees! Luckily, instead of wasting it, they let us take the leftovers home. We're eating some today for lunch.

Now, we have a better sense of what will be served at the wedding. I was happy to hear that Maria, who is the events coordinator there, will be making sure that the bride and groom get to eat. After tasting the food, Eugene and I both want to eat that day! She said that she would save us a plate of yummy appetizers to eat too.

They gave us smores at the end of the meal which put us over the top! Eugene doesn't even eat sweets and he at both smores quickly. I couldnt' event finish mine at all!

The other thing I am so happy about is that the staff are all in a union!! The service was really great and I hope that Eugene and I get a chance on our wedding day to thank everyone in the kitchen and front of house. The tasting humbled us by reminding us that a beautiful wedding happens off the backs of hardworking people from waitstaff to sou chefs and janitors. This made our meal even more enjoyable!

Obama: A Reason to Hope, A Reason to Try

Although I don't think that President Obama will solve all the problems in the world, I believe that his message today that we all must work stays with me. The successes and maladies of this world should not rest on one person's shoulders. Obama and his administration will give many of us who work for justice and equality and opportunity for change.

Today, I watched the inauguration with an auditorium filled with members of a grassroots group called Community Coalition in addition to junior and high school students from Foshay Learning Center in South L.A. It was inspiring to be in a room full of mostly young people who were so emotional and hopeful and ready to WORK for our new reality. It makes me hopeful for all our futures especially the family that Eugene and I will be starting soon.

Since we just celebrate MLK, I looked back at his famous speech "I've been to the Mountaintop" which he made after standing with AFSCME sanitation workers who proclaimed "I am a Man" in 1968.

The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That's a
strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough,
can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth
century in a away that men, in some strange way, are responding — something
is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever
they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa;
Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson,
Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee — the cry is always the same — "We want
to be free."

And another reason that I'm happy to live in this period is that we have been
forced to a point where we're going to have to grapple with the problems that
men have been trying to grapple with through history, but the demand didn't
force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. Men, for years
now, have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just
talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this
world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence.

For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing
to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.

This is an exciting year to celebrate love, hope and struggle.

Groom’s Thoughts on Catholic Engaged Encounter

I had (and I think Liz and I both had) a fulfilling weekend going through the Catholic Engaged Encounter program (CEE).

CEE is 44 hours of marriage preparation. By topic, the program consists of three items – including communication, the marriage relationship, and the Sacrament.

Liz and I worked through several important things. For example, we developed an understanding of how to apply an open and fair decision-making process (and one that incorporates our values) to issues we’ll face as a married couple such as deciding on career paths, combining families, raising children, and purchasing a home.

We also identified specific issues that we can work on individually so we can mesh better as a couple (or as a unit in the words of the CEE presenters).

What was most meaningful to me was an important realization for me about an issue that we had previously identified, but had difficulty working through. Sometimes I have difficulty expressing my thoughts or feelings to Liz. It goes without saying that communication is an important part of any relationship, but especially in the couple relationship.

As an introvert, I need time to think on my own, to let things work themselves out in my mind. As an extrovert, Liz resolves issues by talking them out with people. Given these differences in thinking process, part of the lack of communication issue can be helped by Liz giving me time and enough space to let me form my thoughts on my own.

But also I need to make an effort to get past my reticence to open up. While this is something I have known for some time, what struck me as a new, important realization is that I have a safe space with Liz.

Expression of feelings and thoughts can make me vulnerable, but I know Liz is always of accepting of me, good and bad. This really hit home during my dialogue with Liz this weekend. This wonderful, beautiful realization will help me overcome barriers to opening myself up to Liz.

Catholic Engagement Encounter--Her Side

I was nervous entering Catholic Engagement Encounter because 1) my fiance is not Catholic and he is very critical of religious institutions but also very open-minded and 2) my own weariness of religious emotional manipulation and anti-gay messages. This was a requirement for our marriage preparation but we are both open to deepening our relationship and opening more lines of communication.

What we got was real talk (not the McCain kind) from married couples and the opportunity to hear and meet from other engaged couples from all walks of life. There was about 30 couples there from all over Southern California. I guess there are normally smaller groups but we had what one particpant called "orphans" from a retreat that was cancelled in Santa Barbara because of the fires. Regardless, I was hopeful when I saw so many couples and many that were Asian, Latino and Black.

Although some parts were a little preachy towards the end, it was mostly a time where Eugene and I had exercises to get us talking and using very good communication and life partnering tools.

There were also two couples, one was married 47 years and the other 9 years, who really poured their hearts out telling us their ups and downs in all areas of their marriage. First, the stuff they said was so open and honest that I was either crying or laughing most of the time or both! I could really relate to many of their personal stories dealing with their family backgrounds or fears that they had. I really felt that they were courageous in sharing the issues and walls that they are working on breaking down consciously.

The best part for me was that Eugene and I got to spend time together forced away from computers, tv's, cell phones, work, wedding planning and other distractions. As one other participant said "in all the years we've been together I was hearing but I wasn't listening." I pride myself in being a good listener. I mean, it is my job... but I realized that I was only listening and taking in what I wanted to hear. I really was able to listen to Eugene and he was really able to open up. We were also able to take time to concretely express our love and hurt toward each other.

The best part though is that we received very simple tools to use throughout our relationship that have to do with decision-making, forgiveness and arguing that hopefully we'll use forever.

Overall, great experience because it was mostly about Eugene and us. My favorite topic :)

I think that if you're Catholic or a fallen Catholic this will be really easy to accept but Eugene wil be posting on his perspective soon in a guest blog... so he can give you the non-Catholic scope.

Our Letter Press Saint

Another blessing to be counted... our friend Cristiana! Not only is she an amazing poet and book maker... she is designing and letter pressing our invitations! Saint I tell ya!

Check out some of her poetry at http://bluehourpress.blogspot.com/

I really love letter press. Its one of those crafts that I hope to learn one day. Its one of those things that never goes out of fashion. It can be old and modern but to feel the letterpress it makes me think of all the artisans in the past. Maybe if Cristiana buys a letter press when she is in LA, she can teach me.

I didn't think that we could afford letter pressing because it tends to be very expensive but we're able to have beautiful invites because of the love, sweat and creativity of Cristiana. I am so thankful.

I will post the final invites after they're sent out... so I won't spoil them for our guests who also read this blog.

Our Photographer--Caroline Tran

We wanted you who follow the blog to meet our photographer, Caroline Tran. She is very talented and when we met her, she felt like one of our old friends! You all will see her and her husband snapping photos at our Pae Baek and Catholic Wedding.

This is her below riding a bride's bike after an engagement shoot. She also does great maternity, family and children's photos. Check her out at www.carolinetran.net and you should take the link to her blog. Amazing!

I love this photo. I love dichotomies...stillness... movement. I should write a haiku (special haiku shout out to Mari)!

I imagine that this is what my big fat Korean wedding will be like.

I love hip hop and graffiti art and Los Angeles! If it fit in with our theme, I would have a live graffiti wall... but don't think that would go over well with our formal setting. Will save that for another event.

I love how Caroline captured this little girls helpfulness and confusion. She is so cute! I hope she didn't burn herself!

I think that father's crying are some of the best moments of a wedding. When I see anyone cry let alone a parent, I definitely start crying too. Let it all out Dads!

This little naked baby photo is so cute! This is such a great modern take on the Korean cultural tradition of taking naked photos of babies. Its so cute and tasteful.

Caroline is so great and I am excited to have her as part of my overall wedding experience! I feel very appreciative that such talented and amazing people will be a part of our celebration.

Karin and Jeff's Wedding

Karin and Jeff were married this past December. They're such great people independently and together even more so. Their wedding was at a cute little gallery in Alhambra, CA called Nucleus. All their photographs were taken by Shu-Jon Mao.
They had a non-traditional ceremony which included a poem written for the couple by their friend.

Jeff is Japanese American and part of the ceremony included a Japanese Sake Ceremony. I didn't realize how much sake they had to drink! I believe it was 3 sips/shots seperately and 3 in a shared cup... thats 9 total! I wonder if the Korean Pae Baek includes that much sippin'.

There were cute little paper flowers on branches placed into jars the couple collected. It matched the minimal but warm decor and vibe of the wedding.

The food was delicious too! Catered by local activists turned caterers, Good Girl Foods (www.goodgirlfoods.com).

Karin and Jeff posted photos of their relationship, family and friends alongside art along the walls of the gallery.

It was so cute! When we walked into Nucleus Gallery in Alhambra, CA... we saw this sign.

Karin and Jeff are both amazing people who work for social justice. Karin actually works with Eugene at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center and is on the board of API Equality LA. They both look so joyful in this picture like they're dancing toward a happy future.

I like how this photo really captures the moment. I know we all feel uncomfortable being photographed (most of us anyways) but you can't beat the way they are looking at each other. That had to be captured.

My fiance loves legos!

For any of you who know Eugene, you know that Legos are a passion of his. He has become at Master Lego Architect since we've started dating! I will have to post some of his work later but I thought it would be fun to show you all some other weddings that feature legos.

Many brides and grooms have used legos as cake toppers and one couple had a whole lego wedding! They even had a short film about how the met made out of legos. Those graphic designer brides and grooms are really creative!

The lego design master who created the wedding cake above got so many requests, he's stopped making wedding-related lego designs. Who knew?

I would like to use some lego elements to incorporate my fiance's passion and artistry... but our guests will have to wait and see.

Pae Baek: Korean Wedding Ceremony

Eugene and I have decided to incorporate the traditional Korean wedding ceremony called Pae Baek. Most modern couples choose to squeeze it in between their civil or religious wedding and the reception but Eugene and I decided to share the ceremony with our close friends and family at the Rehearsal Dinner.

We're both trying to read up and Wikipedia the customs for the ceremony so that we can make it our own. Jung Hee Lee, who I met when I was working at the Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates (KIWA) and is like an older sister to me is helping me put together the Pae Baek. We are trying to incorporate as many symbols of social justice in our Catholic wedding as well as the Pae Baek such as the symbolic food and objects placed on the ceremony table.

Here is some information I found:

TRADITIONAL DRESS:

(From Rituals of Bliss)

The two dresses worn by the bride were once the costume of the noble class.
The simple lime-green wonsam and the more elaborate hwarrot, or "flower robe,"
are embroidered with flowers and butterflies. Underneath, she wears the hanbok,
the doll-like traditional dress of Korea. On the bride's head is a black cap
studded with gems. On her feet are white socks and embroidered shoes. Her makeup
is simple, except for three red circles, yonji konji, the size of nickels. These
circles, traditionally made of red peppers, but now often drawn on, are supposed
to ward off evil spirits. The groom's faruotsu is also the dress of the
nobility. It is made of dark green damask with auspicious symbols woven in gold.
The headdress is the tall black cap of high-ranking officials made of silk.

THE CEREMONY

Traditionally, the groom would give a live goose--a symbol of fidelity
because it takes only one partner in its life--to his new mother-in-law as a
sign of his faithfulness to her daughter. Today's Korean families substitute the
live goose with a wooden one called a kirogi. The ceremony takes place around a
table, or teresan, in an area set off by a screen with images of peonies. The
highlight of the ceremony is the sharing of a special white wine called jung
jong. Traditionally, this wine was poured into cups made from two halves of a
gourd grown by the bride's mother. The bride and groom sip from their separate
cups and then the wine is mixed together, poured once more into the gourd cups
and sipped again. This is kunbere, the wedding vow. One ritual often seen at
Korean American weddings is the peh beck ceremony. At this ceremony, usually
only attended by family and close friends, the new wife offers her new in-laws
gifts of dried dates and jujubes, symbols of children. They in turn offer her
tea, a subtle but significant gift. At the ceremony's conclusion, they toss the
dates and chestnuts at the bride, and she tries to catch them in her large
skirt.

I think that I am going to make my mom start growing a gourd :P

I've always wanted to do the Korean engagement ritual but Eugene doesn't like the idea of the squid.

Gifts are an important part of an engagement. Traditionally, gifts from the
groom's side would be delivered on the eve of the wedding day. With faces
blackened with dried squid's ink and in costume, friends of the groom would
parade a box, or hahm, filled with gifts. As they approached the bride's house,
they would chant, "Hahm for sale, buy a hahm." Her family would rush out to
greet the gift-bearers, enticing them with money and food.