Group Wedding Ceremony Turns Married Couples Into Newlyweds

Thirteen married couples, unable to have a wedding ceremony because of circumstances ranging from poverty to illness, partook of a festive group rite Saturday thanks to a Koreatown radio station and Korean American businesses.

The multiracial group, ranging in age from 22 to 61, renewed their wedding vows inside Radio Korea’s history museum, wearing wedding attire donated by 50 Korean American businesses. Gold wedding bands, flowers, makeup and hairdos were all provided to mark Koreatown’s “Love Your Neighbor Month.”

More than 200 people attended the colorful ceremony, officiated by South Korean Consul General Tae Hee Park.

“This is fantastic!” said a smiling Alan Greenbaum, who traveled from Ft. Lee, Va., with his wife, Kyong Sook, to be in the ceremony.

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The couple were married Nov. 10, 1984, in a civil ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, he said. Their wedding ceremony, scheduled for the next day, was canceled, however, because the bride’s mother fell ill, dying the day after.

Over the 12 years of their marriage, the couple sometimes talked about the ceremony they never had, but they were busy at home and work and raising two daughters.

Then Kyong Sook Greenbaum’s brother, who lives in Los Angeles, called the couple to tell them of Radio Korea’s wedding project.

The couple flew at the chance.

“I am so thankful to Radio Korea and all the people who made this possible,” Kyong Sook Greenbaum said.

“This is a marvelous opportunity for all of us to renew our vows and have romance all over again,” her husband said.

Although the majority of the couples were non-Korean, the ceremony had distinctly Korean aspects. Congratulatory speeches tended to be long and the couples did not kiss after they were declared husband and wife.

In a satin wedding gown, Margarita Cabrera said what was happening to her Saturday seemed too good to be true.

“I am happy--so happy,” she said.

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Cabrera works for a Korean American clothing manufacturer near downtown. She said that when she married her husband, Victor, in 1991, they were too poor to even consider a ceremony.

The group wedding was the brainchild of Janghee Lee, president of Radio Korea, the biggest Korean language radio station in the nation.

“What better way to observe this month of goodwill than to provide a wedding ceremony to couples who were deprived of it for many reasons,” said Tom Byun, news director at Radio Korea.

After their vows, the couples cut two large wedding cakes, had lunch at the radio station, then took a leisurely drive to Long Beach for a harbor honeymoon cruise provided by a Koreatown travel agency.

“This is just wonderful,” said William Brower. “They prepared everything for you. All I did was pick up my tuxedo last night.”