Village Wedding

Since living in Indonesia, I've enjoyed attending a few weddings in the city of Bandung in West Java, but this last April I had the privilege to attend a village wedding in Kediri in East Java where I've been working.  There was quite a difference in traditions, but the fun and joy in celebration was still a constant!

Day 1 - The first event was a bit more formal than the
rest as it was the signing of the official wedding
documents (Right).  From left to right: Man/Official
running the ceremony, sister of the bride, bride, father
of the bride, groom, uncle of the groom.  Pictured
above is part of the bride price paid by the groom and
his family for the bride.

Another adventure on Gang Mangga!  After the first wedding
ceremony (at the top) at the bride's parents' house, we returned to the groom's parents' house.  There men of the community gathered for a meal, prayer, and speaker.

The night of Day 1 included a Wayang Kulit show
starting in the evening around 10 or 11pm and
finishing early the next morning at 3 or 4 am.  Wayang
Kulit has a deep part in Indonesian culture (see my
previous blog post here)

Day 2 brought the more traditional Javanese wedding
ceremony!  The groom and his accompanying party
came to the bride's parents' house once again (Right).
The guests were seated, then the bride washed the
groom's feet with a mixture of meaningful ointments
and items (bowl pictured above).

(Right) The father of the bride leads the couple "down the aisle" with a
cloth wrapped around them.  (Above) The bride and groom center
(notice the groom's new outfit), parents of the bride left, and uncle and
aunt of the groom right.  Apparently it is not common for the groom's
parents to be in attendance.

 For a better look at the wedding scene check out this video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJR7xVhTjds&feature=youtu.be

The third and final day was like the wedding reception, or you
could say - "Party Time!"  People gathered at the groom's parents'
house for a live band performance and more food!  The couple
(left) came together for the first time. (Above) Me sitting with the father of the groom and one of his nephews.  A fun and enjoyable experience!