Week 55 Photos #2

OK OK I know there are a few of you interested in Tian and Rianti's wedding. I don't remember what we said about it, but we have been to several weddings and this was by far the largest, most elaborate and most fully Javanese of any of them. This was somewhat unusual because Rianti is Batok - one of the main cultural groups from Sumatra. Unlike the Javanese they have family names which can be traced back many, many generations. There are some Batok families which cannot marry because of family lines. Batok were women were forbidden to marry non-batok, in more modern times it was permitted if the non-batok man could afford to buy the family name and adopt it as his own. As we've gotten to know Rianti, we have learned that her family was not so strict.

I'll start with the bride and groom. This is just their portion of the dais. Their parents were also seated to the left and right of them. You'll have to wait until wwe are home to see all of the wedding photos..

Tian and Rianti.

This is the processional of all of the participants, this is just the front of the line, I then turned and shot those still coming and it equaled those who had passed us.

Then came the first of the five courses. There was a sweet dish, then soto (chicken broth), then a light dish followed by the main dish with nasi (rice), and finally ice cream. Oh, and we were told about 1,000 guests.

This was the third course.

These are the parents of the Groom: Kustejo and Wati. The father of the Bride is a widower and his health was not good enough for him to travel from Sumatra. So Rianti's family was represented by a uncle and his wife.

Here is our Stake President and his wife: Budi and Isti. They are pictured with our driver and his wife: Diah and Bono.

Some of the children were involved. Here are Dandi, Devara, and Didi. They are Didit and Ima's children.

So many in the USA are used to seeing very plane clothing on the news, or even the black cadurs. I wanted to show how colorful the ladies can be. The jilbab head covering that many Muslim women wear in Indonesia is readily described as a local custom and denotes a level of modesty. We have noticed among the younger women, the jilbab becomes somewhat of a fashion statement. They will match the attire of the woman, and many are decorated with jewelery pins, etc.