Korean Wedding Crashers

My first performance in Korea. With no notice and no practice, I was swept away this weekend to Gangneung, a city by the sea, to play guitar at a Korean wedding. I didn't know the bride or the groom, but a fellow teacher asked me if I would play guitar so that she could sing them a song, so I went along. We arrived at the wedding just in time for the ceremony.

"What time do we play?" I asked.
"Oh, sometime later, probably at the dance." Brianne says.
"Good, we should practice the song once together before playing."
"Don't worry, we'll have lots of time."

So we settle in at the back of the crowd on an oceanfront hotel terrace which in itself was absolutely breathtaking. The groom rushes up and asks Brianne what the name of the song she was going to sing was. This in itself should have been warning bells, but I have become so accustomed to spontaneity in every fashion in this country, that I wasn't even surprised when I heard from the stage: "Blah blah blah blah Canada blah blah blah Brianne blah blah blah I'm Yours!"




So no practice, our performance would not be later on that day, it would be right that second. No worries though, we took the stage and played well, impressing a small crowd who wasn't really listening or watching anyway. But I can rest assured knowing that I had participated in creating wonderful memories for myself and the happy couple, whom I had never met, nor would again...

For entertainment's sake, here's a photo of Katherine, at the coffee/telephone machine: