Right after we returned from our amazing scuba diving trip to Bunaken, Tim and I were lucky to be invited to an Indonesian wedding! The daughter of one of the drivers working for Tim's company, Sumijan, was getting married and we were lucky to be able to join in on the festivities.
We took a cab to the wedding, which was held in a large tent in a residential neighborhood not too too far from us... our cab driver had to stop about a block away from the address on our invitation because the party basically took over the whole street. As we walked towards the music, we saw the big tent, the Indonesian greeting cards (below) and the balloon sellers taking advantage of the crowds (above). Streams of people came and went from the party.
We actually showed up post-ceremony, which is quite common in Indonesia. The philosophy at Indonesian weddings is the more, the merrier, in the sense that you invite everyone you know, no matter how much of an acquaintance they are. My understanding is that it's socially acceptable to "crash" a wedding, too, if you go in with someone who was formally invited. In any case, most people don't actually show up for the ceremony, which is mainly for family members (although I kinda wish I was there to see it...). Apparently the Indonesian wedding ceremony is known for a rather long series of speeches by family members.
The wedding set-up was basically an elaborately decorated stage where the bride, groom and their parents received guests, a long buffet line with all sorts of food, and rows of chairs and a few tables for the guests. And a bandstand. See above.
When we arrived, we went through a barrage of handshaking... ushers, groomsmen (or their equivalent), other family members, until we were ushered to the stage to shake hands with the bride and grooms themselves. And look how beautiful they were (despite my camera's fuzzy lens, which I blame on apartment + AC + cab + AC + tent + not AC... but don't get to frustrated, the photos improve):
I am still in awe of how amazingly elaborate their wedding outfits were. Look at the bride's hair!! She literally has a 4 foot long ponytail made from flowers! And the groom has some golden elf ears (these I find harder to explain):
Here's me and Tim with the bridal party... we got to wear our formal batik (including the batik dress I made a couple weeks ago!!):
The bride and groom with the bridal party, all in matching batik sarongs and lovely lacy and sparkly kebayas:
And the groomsmen, in matching batik shirts:
Tim and I were a little sweaty, which is par for the course (and makes me really respect the bride and groom, who were wearing approximately one thousand heavy layers):
Luckily, the party favor was a personalized batik fan (Ade & Atika, 12 Mei 2013):
A big group of Tim's coworkers joined the party not too long after we did:
Lots of hand shaking:
The proud father of the bride (and a good side view of the bride's amazing hair-do):
Some of the posed photos... beautiful!:
Congratulations, Ade & Atika!!
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