Christine Clara Choi and Byungjoo Benjamin Kim
June 5, 2010
Christine, who was born and raised in the US, and Ben, who grew up in Korea, had “some different views about the traditional ‘American proposal’,” recalls Christine. “In Korea, you are officially engaged after a formal engagement dinner between families, and wedding jewelry is exchanged on the day of the wedding.” Christine and Ben planned this engagement dinner followed by a ceremony with both of their families. Afterward, the two went on a drive where Ben traditionally proposed to Christine by dropping down on one knee and presenting the ring. This fusion of the two cultural traditions was also seen throughout their wedding day. “I wanted my wedding to be classic and a traditional, yet have a Korean-inspired theme to it,” says Christine. Mothers of the bride and groom wore matching formal attire called “hanbok.” Instead of a traditional wedding cake, small boxes of Korean dessert varieties were served to the guests. Another special aspect was the beautiful baby’s breath garland spanning 20 feet on both sides of the aisle that Christine’s friends made prior to the wedding day. “It was so tedious, and had to be done so quickly so the flowers wouldn’t wilt. They ended up making the entire church so elegant,” she remembers. “Our entire wedding seemed like a reel of a movie. Everything happened so fast but fell in step like planned.”