Ceremony Details

The Korean Traditional Paebaek Ceremony was historically a ritual where the groom’s family formally accepted the bride into their home and also allowed the bride to pay her respects to the groom’s family and relatives. It is now popularly performed as a way for the new couple to pay their respects to both sides of the parents and family members, while also receiving blessings for their new union.

It is typically performed after the Western wedding ceremony and in front of all family and guests during the cocktail hour, as part of the wedding program for all to view and enjoy!

The bride and groom enter the room together in their ceremonial Korean wedding attire. The bride wears the Korean traditional Paebaek robe over her hanbok and red dots are placed on the bride's face which symbolizes her youth and pureness. The groom's outfit closely resembles those worn by the ranking officials during the Chosun Dynasty.

As marriage represented the most important event in a man's life, the groom was allowed to wear this uniform, even if he did not hold any position in the palace.

Family members, starting from the groom’s parents will take their turn sitting in front of a table filled with various edibles and alcohol to receive their bow from the couple. The bride and groom will serve wine to each set of parents and relatives after the bow. In turn, the elders offer the couple words of wisdom and blessings. They also present white envelopes filled with money to start the new couple on their way. The parents will throw dates and chestnuts which the bride and groom will attempt to catch with the bride’s apron.

According to legend, the number of dates and chestnuts caught signify how many children they will bear in the future. The chestnuts represent boys and the dates represent girls. As a public display of the groom’s strength and happiness, he piggy backs his bride around the table which concludes the Paebaek ceremony.