Engagement Session - Diversifying the Hanbok

Photo by David Tran, 8 Degrees Inc.

I should start this post by saying that Ryan and I were not initially planning to do engagement photos, but... I got lucky at a work gala silent auction and happened to win an e-session with David Tran of 8 Degrees Inc. I'm SO glad we did!

Excitement over my winnings! I think the last thing I won was a coloring contest. I won for being 'different' because I colored the moon pink.

Wearing hanbok (한복), traditional Korean dress, was an absolute must for our wedding. (While certainly not our reason for wearing hanbok, check out this article on 'How hanbok is influencing biggest fashion names'.) Since we were having them custom-made and I absolutely adored them, I wanted to get as much wear out of the hanbok as possible. In fact, we actually traveled back and forth to Bidulki Judan near Philly (once to select fabric and get measured and another time for the final try-on). I highly, highly recommend them!! They were such a pleasure to work with throughout the whole process. I was more excited about the hanbok than the traditional wedding wear! (Ryan and I unfortunately did not end up doing paebaek (폐백) for reasons out of our control, but we would have absolutely requested the services of Bidulki Judan had we done it!)

Literally from scratch: fabric + designs

I arranged my hair and make-up trial (with Sabrina of Sabrina Gilbert NYC) for the day of the e-session. (Loved her work! - I generally wear glasses with minimal make-up and hadn't had my make-up professionally done since prom.) Sabrina worked her magic on me in NY that morning, which meant that Ryan and I drove from NYC to Boston just in time to change and meet our photographer David. (Ryan of course forgot his belt so we stopped off at a local thrift store on the way to the shoot. Once he bought the belt, he then had to find/borrow a pair of scissors to poke a hole through the leather so it would actually fit.) We then rushed off to the North End to meet David. (Another sincere apology for being late David!)

(*Side note, I found it pretty hilarious that Ryan, being a guy, was pretty confused by my eyelash extensions. I kept telling him that they photograph well, and he kept whining that they were brushing up against his face whenever we were up close. Ha! I ended up going for a shorter length the actual day of the wedding.)

Being late and flustered for the e-session, we started in our first outfit a bit awkwardly; but David was so laid back and great about leading us through the shots. We ended up changing into the hanbok in a random hotel bathroom, and neither of us could figure out how to tie our belts... even with the illustrated instructions from Bidulki Judan. It was my first time wearing hanbok(!), and Ryan hadn't worn it since he was a toddler. We stood in the lobby mirror trying to tie our respective belts as folks stared walking by - and some even requesting to take pictures. We never actually figured out the belts 100% (as is evident in the photos), but we did our best! At a bare minimum, I wish for these images to diversify the visual representation of those who may wear hanbok.