Indonesian Weddings

Indonesian weddings can be very large and exciting events. While some of them are simple gatherings at the families' homes, some of them are elaborate events with hundreds or even thousands of guests. At these celebrations the couple's parents invite everyone that the family is even remotely acquainted with. Friends, business associates, colleagues, etc.- many of whom the bride and groom may not even know themselves. A lot of planning goes into an Indonesian wedding, and it's not uncommon for the families to send out over 1,000 invitations.

Needless to say, an Indonesian wedding can be a social event, and the bride and groom will even greet each individual guest to thank them for their kindness. Guests must wait in a long line for their chance to be greeted by the bride and groom. After each guest is greeted, the reception will begin. Most guests are only invited to the reception, while the wedding ceremonies are intended for the closest friends and relatives of the couple. Indonesian wedding ceremonies can last for many days, and the majority of the guests only stay at the reception for a half hour or so. Some of them may even have other weddings to attend later that same day!

The History of Bandung

Bandung, Indonesia is currently the hub of West Java and is regarded as a place where the earliest Java Man, or the Australoputhecus, have lived. The banks and the Great Lake of Bandung are said to have been the exact place where the Java Man resided. That was proven with the discovery of artifacts in Dago. Some these artifacts were brought to the Geological Museum to be preserved for future references.

Apart from the Java Man, who lived for years in the shores of Bandung, there were also the Sundanese. Sundanese people are native groups that were mostly comprised of Muslims. These people lived in fertile areas and soon developed a unique oral theater called the Wayang Golek that makes use of puppets. The puppet theater was used to display the creativity of the people. Music was also a specialty of the Sundanese, which shows the diversity and the musical skills of these groups. A group of Europeans visited the city and discovered the richness of the land. So, in 1786 a road connecting Bandung, Cianjur, Bogor, and Jakarta, was built. And in 1809, Louis Napoleon ordered the Governor General to intensify the defense of the city from the English. The Great Post Road (Groote Postweg) that was built was too far from Bandung's capital. So, the Governor General instructed to have the capital of the city relocated. The relocation became a success and because of the deep root of traditions by the people, a Grand Mosque (Mesjid Agung) was built.

Traditional Javanese Wedding Ceremony - Javanese Wedding Ideas

The nation of Indonesia is a land of many cultures. There are thought to be more than three hundred languages and cultures that make up the lives of the two hundred million people living there.

Indonesia herself is made up of more than 13,677 separate islands. Because of the wide variety of cultures, this has made an impact on ceremonies of marriage that are performed there. Every Indonesian wedding has a particular ceremony that is based on the family's cultural beliefs. The ceremony of marriage is not just a joining of two people, but a bond between the two families as well.