Most Korean American families do not grow up doing paebaek. We did not either, the first few times. The order of the bows, what goes on the table, when the rice comes out, who pours the tea, all of it gets handed down or it gets lost.
Our work is to make sure it does not get lost. Mrs. Lee cooks for the families we dress. We sit with the bride before the ceremony. We hand the groom the cup. That is what event preparation means here.
The doljabi table set with the brush, the thread, the coin, the rice. Saekdong sleeves on the one-year-old, jobawi tied at the chin. The peony-and-magnolia folding screen behind the family, the rice cake tower in the front, the photograph the family will keep across decades.
We coordinate the part of the day that becomes the memory. The setup of the table, the order of the moments, the small adjustments to the hanbok before the camera comes out.
Doljanchi setup. Painted folding screen, doljabi table with brush, thread, and coin. Photograph from a recent family ceremony.
We set the table, guide the bows, and walk the family through the order of the ritual. The structure of the ceremony, in the right register, without anyone feeling they should already know it.
The bride in hwarot or wonsam, the groom in samogwandae. Dates and chestnuts on the table, the bows in order, the cup of tea passed between families. We handle setup, sequencing, and the small explanations so the moment feels grounded.
The doljabi table with the brush, the thread, the coin, and the rice. Saekdong sleeves on a one year old. The hanbok, the table, the photograph the family will keep forever. We coordinate the small piece of the day that becomes the memory.
Charye, sebae, songpyeon, tteokguk. For families wanting to bring the holidays back into the house, we help set the table, walk through what each dish is for, and explain the bows so the kids see how it goes.
The 60th and 70th birthdays carry their own register. We dress the family, set the table, and treat the day with the weight a Korean elder’s milestone is owed.
Korean home cooking, not restaurant catering. The food a Korean family would actually eat at a paebaek or dol, made by my mother, brought to your table.
Banchan and a main, scaled to the room. The $800 minimum is a floor, not a target. The conversation starts with your guest count, your space, and the dishes that mean something to your family.
For families hosting at home but not wanting to spend the whole day in the kitchen. Mrs. Lee handles the labor-heavy dishes, you handle the table. The kids still see the food made by Korean hands.
A rotating set of Mrs. Lee’s home cooking. Banchan, a main, the staples that make a Korean table feel like home. Limited weekly capacity (currently 20 slots). Reservations open week to week through the inquiry form.
The hanbok work does not stop when the garment ships. For the day itself, we help dress the family, sequence the morning, and make sure the photo-worthy moments land the way they should.
The bride into hwarot, the mothers into their wonsam, the children into their saekdong. The collar, the goreum tie, the norigae placement, the headpiece set. Onsite where possible, walkthrough by photo and video where not.
The order of dressing, the room for paebaek, the moment for the photographer. We hold the timeline so the family can be present in the day, not running the day.
For families with a photographer, we make sure the formal hanbok photographs and the paebaek sequence get captured. For families without one, we can recommend a few we have worked with.
Whether the conversation is hanbok, catering, ceremony coordination, or all three, it starts the same way. Tell us about the day. We will take it from there.
Mrs. Lee cooks · We coordinate · Eric replies personally, usually same day
