As we finish up the loose ends planning for our big day, I came across an article today…and then another about weddings here in Korea. I thought you may be interested to see how they compare.
The first article I read said that the average Korean man spends roughly $9,000 on a wedding and the woman about $4,000 here. The weddings are mostly package deals where you go to a shop which organizes everything from the rental dress to the decoration of the car to the wedding hall of your choice.
Props to Britton for his photo work….we snagged a photo from a Korean wedding he shot this beaut at a few weeks back. Check him out at his blog. Link
If you chose to leave the traditional wedding hall behind, couples can now rent out 5 star hotels for their wedding, I guess in the past they were reserved for celebrities and the extremely wealthy only. The Family Ritual Standard Act was abolished a few years ago which allows normal people now to have extravagant weddings. Some of the price breakdowns are this: meals cost about $50-$140 a person, flowers $3,000- $14,000, dress rental, make up and pictures runs about $5,000, candles $200 and a 6 layer cake, $900.
The most aspect expense of getting married, which cracked me up, is moving out of your parents home. It said that 45% expect to pay for their expenses themselves, while the other percentage said that their parents will help them, or pay for all of it…even after they are married! (im glad that marriage teaches responsibility)
A third article states that the cash received as gifts (up to about $40,000) sometimes is actually bribery and embarasses the nation.
When a senior government official decided not to accept cash gifts at his daughter’s wedding in June, the decision was such an oddity that it “made news.” The inclusion of bank account numbers in wedding invitations boils down to a simple statement: “It’s time for us to be repaid for all the money we gave out before.” Prominent families fill up expensive hotel ballrooms with wreaths and spend tens of millions of won on banquets to feed armies of guests and on decorations that will be torn down the next day. Parents send out wedding invitations for their children so that they can collect an amount worthy of their social status. Invitations are even sent to business acquaintances like IOUs.Recently, one high-ranking government official grabbed headlines by sending no invitations, declining cash gifts and refusing to accept congratulatory wreaths for his child’s wedding. If we are to stop being ridiculed for a tradition that has become so extreme that we see bank accounts in wedding invitations, the leading members of our society must set the example and scale down their weddings.
Well, ladies and gents…some things are similar on our end, we will have a cake, flowers and food… but of course, no bribes on this end. we can’t wait to see you in December 🙂
(the photo was taken by britton inglehart)
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Intentionally and incrementally. Most families who live this way did not leap from conventional to adventurous overnight. They built remote work capacity, paid down debt, tested longer trips, and had increasingly honest conversations about what they actually want from their lives. The leap feels bigger from outside than from inside.
Different for every family. For some it is long-term travel. For others it is weekend adventures close to home. What connects them is intentionality about how time is spent and a preference for experiences over accumulation. The version that fits your family is the right one.
By finding stability within the adventure rather than treating them as opposites. Routines, rituals, and family rhythms travel with you. Familiar foods, bedtime routines, and predictable family dynamics provide stability even when the location changes. Kids need consistency in relationships more than consistency in geography.
That people are fundamentally similar across cultures in what they want for their families. That comfort zone is a smaller circle than it feels from inside. That the things worth having in life require effort and discomfort to get. And that time together doing hard interesting things is the most reliable source of family closeness.
By getting clear on why you made the choices you made and returning to that clarity when the outside noise gets loud. Most families living unconventionally describe an initial period of explaining themselves that gradually gives way to just living the life. The explaining becomes less necessary as the results become visible.
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I recognize that photo! That's one of Britton's co-teachers from Munwha, Christy, at her wedding at Mudeung Mountain. 🙂 Did you guys go too?
No we weren't there unfortunately….its such a great shot though!
That's my picture! Are you stealing my pictures?? :-p
yes stealing, especially when we see good ones. i added your name to the blog 🙂