Indonesian Wedding: “The More the Merrier”

 “The more the merrier” is the usual concept of how to celebrate Indonesian wedding.  It is not the typical solemn ceremony. Indonesians celebrate their wedding with all the members of the family.  Everybody is encouraged to attend, family and friends and even visitors that are directly or not directly invited can come to the wedding. Planning Indonesian wedding takes time since Indonesians believes in superstitions when choosing a wedding date and time. They believe that there is a “fortunate” month in planning the wedding.  Muslim or Javanese calendar is used in determining the wedding date. Since weddings are big event, the couple sends the invitation two weeks in advance. Usually, the couple would send out 1,000 invitations to guest.

Indonesian weddings are considered a social event attended hundreds or sometimes it even reaches thousands of guests. Indonesian weddings would require the presence of each members of the family. A conflict among family members will happen if they could not attend and be at the wedding. Everybody will be recognized in the ceremony. The guests wait in line until the bride and the groom greet them and would get to thank them individually. The couple shakes hands of their guest as a form of gesture for acknowledging their visitors party while traditional music is played in the background. Usually, the reception is where the couple see all the people they invited. Indonesian wedding ceremony is often intended for the couples’ close friends and family.

Each family member from the bride and groom is allowed to have a speech. A unique practice in Indonesian wedding is the couple can request for money instead of a gift to be given to them.  This practice started in mid-90’s when a glorious wedding in Jakarta was held. There were so many people and the gifts were duplicated. This is the reason why couples get to have a good financial start when they wed. The guest usually leaves the reception after staying for half hour. This is because some of the guests also have other weddings to attend to. Wedding are one of the event that is very often held in Indonesia.

  The guest could also relax and enjoy the whole event since they are not required to wear anything that is too formal if the reception is in the afternoon. The guest can wear anything casual which is long sleeved shirt for men and nice casual outfits for ladies. For receptions held in luxurious hotels in the evening, men get to wear suits while the ladies wear something formal. Foreign visitors are also acknowledged and treated as if they are the special guest.

Indonesian weddings are fun and relaxing. The couple as well as the guest gets to mingle with one another while enjoying the food. There will be a lot of food that will be served because of the tradition of having a lot of guest during weddings. An Indonesian wedding does not include alcohol making the atmosphere very peaceful and serene. If the couple is thinking of having fun and enjoying their wedding, an Indonesian wedding will be a good option. more info on this may be found at Bali weddings