The day before M&A’s Persian-Korean wedding at Potomac, Maryland’s Bolger Center, family of the bride & groom gathered for a Korean pre-wedding ceremony called the “Paebaek.” This was a first not only for me as M&A’s Korean wedding photographer, but also for our Persian groom, and even for A., who, despite her Korean heritage, had never before witnessed a paebaek, much less been the center of attention in one! Originally, the purpose of the paebaek was to introduce the groom’s family to the bride, and for the bride to pay her respects to her new family, with whom she would live. Of course, nowadays, since newlywed couples don’t usually live with the groom’s parents, today’s paebaek ceremony typically includes both the groom’s family and the bride’s family.

And so, M&A, both adorned in traditional Korean wedding garb called “hanbok,” performed a series of bows to parents and elder family members seated on cushions in front of a painted screen. Parents and elders, after drinking tea, give their bit of advice and best wishes to the couple, ending by throwing chestnuts and dates (symbolizing male/female children), which the couple tries to catch with the bride’s wedding “skirt.” The number of dates and chestnuts caught is supposed to indicate the number of children the couple will have!

But my favorite part of this Potomac, Maryland Paebaek ceremony? The piggyback riding at the end!

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