A Javanese Wedding
We were invited to attend a wedding on Tuesday. We don't actually know the bride and groom, but the bride is our house helper's niece, and because of that relationship, we were invited to attend. We were so honored by the invitation and jumped at the chance to see a real Javanese wedding.
It was beautiful and so different than anything we'd ever seen before. Sean and I were very impressed with all the intricate decorations - mostly made from natural materials. There were ornate decorations made entirely from reeds, amazing floral arrangements, a water fountain, and an ornately carved wooden back drop. Even the headdress the bride wore was made of reeds and flowers!
Look at that bride! Isn't she beautiful? I was so intrigued by her ornate costumes, elaborate hair, and artistic makeup. Everyone in the wedding party was dressed up in traditional Javanese fashion. It was lovely.
There was food for all and drinks and boxes of snacks just in case! This is what saved our bacon - we brought along Maddie and Paige (they specifically asked us to bring all our children but Brooklyn had to go to school) and without the distraction of yummy snacks and drinks, we never would have made it through the hour that we were there!
Oh, and this was the culmination of four days worth of celebrating! They take marriage serious here!
What's more, all the beauty you see was set up on the street in front of the bride's family home! Whenever anybody has a wedding here, they usually block off the street in front of their house for several days and turn the whole street into a lovely wedding hall! It's pretty amazing. I was grateful for the tent over our heads - it rained very hard during the ceremony!
Here we are moments after meeting and congratulating the happy couple. They were happy, by the way...I think!
They didn't smile for a single one of their pictures and nope, there was no "you may kiss the bride" either. It was all very proper and it almost felt like a royal affair. Indonesians consider kissing to be a "behind closed doors only" event. Even hand-holding in public is looked down upon! (That's a bit of a drastic change from Latin America!) They looked very regal and dignified in their fancy costumes, don't you think? I loved it.
Here's a picture of me and the girls with our helper, Ibu Tutik, and her daughter who was all dressed up to be part of the wedding party. I'm not actually sure whose little boys those are - they were also part of the wedding party, as you can see by their fancy costumes.
This was a really fun and intriguing experience and I truly look forward to my next chance to see a wedding here in Indonesia!
It was beautiful and so different than anything we'd ever seen before. Sean and I were very impressed with all the intricate decorations - mostly made from natural materials. There were ornate decorations made entirely from reeds, amazing floral arrangements, a water fountain, and an ornately carved wooden back drop. Even the headdress the bride wore was made of reeds and flowers!
Look at that bride! Isn't she beautiful? I was so intrigued by her ornate costumes, elaborate hair, and artistic makeup. Everyone in the wedding party was dressed up in traditional Javanese fashion. It was lovely.
There was food for all and drinks and boxes of snacks just in case! This is what saved our bacon - we brought along Maddie and Paige (they specifically asked us to bring all our children but Brooklyn had to go to school) and without the distraction of yummy snacks and drinks, we never would have made it through the hour that we were there!
Oh, and this was the culmination of four days worth of celebrating! They take marriage serious here!
What's more, all the beauty you see was set up on the street in front of the bride's family home! Whenever anybody has a wedding here, they usually block off the street in front of their house for several days and turn the whole street into a lovely wedding hall! It's pretty amazing. I was grateful for the tent over our heads - it rained very hard during the ceremony!
Here we are moments after meeting and congratulating the happy couple. They were happy, by the way...I think!
They didn't smile for a single one of their pictures and nope, there was no "you may kiss the bride" either. It was all very proper and it almost felt like a royal affair. Indonesians consider kissing to be a "behind closed doors only" event. Even hand-holding in public is looked down upon! (That's a bit of a drastic change from Latin America!) They looked very regal and dignified in their fancy costumes, don't you think? I loved it.Here's a picture of me and the girls with our helper, Ibu Tutik, and her daughter who was all dressed up to be part of the wedding party. I'm not actually sure whose little boys those are - they were also part of the wedding party, as you can see by their fancy costumes.
This was a really fun and intriguing experience and I truly look forward to my next chance to see a wedding here in Indonesia!
Valerie Grace is very interested. She is not convinced that the bride and groom are real people. How interesting to be able to go and see a local wedding!
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