I was beyond excited to be invited to a traditional wedding.  Probably the most ritualistic event a person can experience, the wedding is filled with days and nights of preparation with each ceremony being very different from the last.

For this wedding, I attended what I would consider “the reception.”  Traditional weddings can have a few different vow ceremonies which can take place at home or in a mosque and are usually attended by close family and friends.  Sometimes days or weeks later the “reception” happens, and is much the same as what I would expect in the USA.  The bride and groom are dressed in traditional outfits, the wedding party is all dressed in a color of the brides’ choosing, and guests are there to eat and be merry.  Upon signing one of the many guest books at the hall’s entrance, we were put in the path of  large white “ballot” boxes for guests to drop their envelope of money for the bride and groom and then we were given our party favors before entering the crowd.

The food was buffet style and everyone was able to walk around, get a plate and mingle.  There were two types of rice, chicken and vegetable stir-fry, fried fish, beef “BBQ,” seasoned hard-boiled eggs, and cucumber salad in yogurt sauce just to name a few items.  And everything was more delicious than the last item.  The bride and groom remained on stage as a huge receiving line of friends and family came to give congratulatory messages and pose for the photographer.

Traditional batik patterns could be seen everywhere.  Generally, the men wore batik shirts and the women wore batik skirts with beautiful Kabaya’s on top.  Prior to the event I needed to go Kabaya shopping.  Thamarin City is a shopping area in Central Jakarta around all the huge malls.  Inside were large maze-like configurations where one could purchase Kabayas of every color and design, among other things.  They ranged in style from very traditional to very modern and in price from simple = reasonable to extremely intricate beadwork = very expensive.

I settled on a simple, modern, black Kabaya with silver trim, while Emma (I was her + 1), chose a beautiful batik skirt with gorgeous purple bead and sequin detail that she got for a steal.

At the reception, there was also a live band, a beautiful flowered archway, and a “photo booth” area where we were given tickets to have a picture with friends taken as another memento of the event.