this is it... the final day aka the wedding reception. truthfully, i can't thanked my parents enough for this... it's definitely the wedding of my dream; rich in yogyakarta atmosphere, completed with soldiers and opening traditional dance, got my favorite band 'romantic 4' as the wedding band--you should watch'em on stage every monday nite in pisa cafe menteng, trust me, they're lovely!!--also classic style of our make-up and wedding clothes, flowers and foods, family and friends all around... i couldn't have a better wedding than this, it's so perfect! :)

the wedding vendors:
wedding organizer >> purusatama (they organized the wedding of agus yudhoyono and anisa pohan)
traditional make-up and kanigaran wardrobe >> mrs. tari donolobo from sanggar sri renggo sadono, visit her website here
parents and siblings wardrobe >> busana jawi, bara, and sri djaja (most beautiful batik cloth i've ever seen! also sultan's favorite)
pre-wedding pictures >> kenvin pinardy (his works were awwwweeesome!! view his portfolio here)
decoration >> k'jogja
catering >> gandrung (good price came as good food too)
venue >> balai samudra

...and so the next morning, the "ijab kabul" of akad nikah or wedding solemnization process started...

as moslems, our wedding solemnization called "ijab kabul" of "akad nikah" was the main part of the wedding itself. the father of the bride will officially spoke the ijab words in the bride's name and the groom replied with qobul words. in our faith, it is better if we don't repeat the ijab kabul until 3 times... well, since i'm not my dad and i'm not him also, i can't feel the nervousness speaking those words, but of course they do! and they made me sooo proud at that time for they've made ijab kabul process done in once! i love you sooo much, daddy... :')

as we're officially married, next "panggih" is a process of how the groom and bride met in front of the door house. first we will throw betel leaves tied with a white knot--4 for him, and 3 for me--on each other, then i will wash both his feet with waters and flowers to show my devotion for him as his wife. pssst... i do tickle his feet while i washed'em, teehee!! :D

next the traditional make-up artist will take an egg from inside the water jug, she'll get it touched to our forehead, then breaks it down. in yogyakarta tradition, the groom didn't stepped on the egg, different with surakarta's. the broken egg means that the bride and groom are no longer virgin since they're already became husband and wife.

"tampa kaya" or "kacar kucur" is a process when the groom give the bride a package of uncooked yellow rice, some seeds, and some moneys in a red cloth. the bride will accept in different red cloth, tied it tight, and then ask her mother to keep it. means that the groom must be ready to fulfill his duty as a husband which is to earn a living for his wife, and the bride must be a wise and thoughtful in keeping his husband's earn.

"bubak kawah" is done when the first daughter of the family get married, whereas "tumplak punjen" is done when the last daughter of the family get married. since i was the only daughter of my family, both processions were done. "bubak kawah" done as a man, a member of the family came in to the venue carrying a load filled with 80 cooking utensils hanged in the load. then the female guest on the venue will snatch away those utensils. it was really fun seeing snatching this and that!! "tumplak punjen" done as my mom carrying a bowl filled with uncooked yellow rice, seeds, and moneys in coins and bills and threw it away around the guests. we were laughing watching these 2 processions, never thought it could be so fun!! :D

and in the middle of the day when the males were prepared to do jumat prayers, and so i hoped for tomorrow night's reception will be carried away smoothly and safely...

*the one i've ever dreamed of...

it tooked 3 whole days to complete all the wedding process, since me and him came as javanese in yogyakarta traits, we need to do some traditional rituals before we were pronounced as husband and wife. it was tiring for us, of course... but surely those were the happiest moments in our life, once in a lifetime, and gladly we enjoyed all with unstoppable smile and heart that palpitates fast... :)

held in each of our house, as we're born in moslem family, we gathered our families, friends, neighbours, and colleagues altogether that morning. we all prayed so that all the wedding process could be done entirely safe and complete...

"bleketepe" is a form of coconut leaves assembled together into a criss-cross pattern in rectangular shape. in javanese traditions, if a family is hanging the bleketepe in the frontgate of the house means that the family is about having their daughter married. whereas "tuwuhan" were some earthy products suah as wheat, rice, banana, coconut, etc which were assembled also in the gatefront of the house, means as a hope for the marital process could be done safely and for prosperity of the family. my parents also mixed a jug of water compiled from 7 watersprings for my "siraman" process which comes next, and send a bowl of the water for the groom, called "tirta perwita adi" which will be used for his siraman.

as the duta tirta from my house arrived in his house, he started a process called "pelangkahan". since he's the last child and his brother--the 1st child--hasn't married yet, he needs to ask permission and blessing from his brother for getting married before him, and also giving him some gifts as a hope that he will gladly give the permission and blessing.

"siraman", or the last bathe, was done in order to clean up ourselves physically and mentally. our parents became the first to bathe us, continued by several aunties (for me) and uncles (for him) who already had at least one of their children married, and their counts must be odd.

before "siraman", it is a compulsory for us to asking for apologize and blessing from our parents and the elderly. i want to make this moment special for me and my parents, so at that time i decided to read my 9-verses poem as i found it will be touchful for us. fyi, many of my families said that it is indeed a touchy poem, so you may click here to read it ;)

at night, all of his family came over to my house for "midodareni". "midodareni" in javanese word derived from "widodari" which means a beautiful fairy. there was a javanese folk story telling that when princess nawangsih is about to get married, his mother--a fairy goddess--dewi nawang wulang came over from heaven to beautify her beloved daughter looks one night before her wedding. so it became a faith in javanese people that in midodareni night, fairies will came down from heaven to beautify the bride-to-be looks, so she'll looked much more beautiful than before.

his family brought me "seserahan" or love gifts in odd counts that will be given through my mom, but before that my parents will "tanting" or ask me again, for the last time, whether he was the man i chose to be my husband, and whether i was ready to be married. once i replied, "yes", i will also ask my dad to read "catur wedha" for him, which implies the duties of a husband to his wife and his family.

after my dad reads the "catur wedha", my mom broght him a drink; a glass of water, which he must drink in once and left not even a drop of it. he's not allowed to eat--whereas his family were allowed to--and he also not allowed to see me during this midodareni, it's a patience test from the bride-to-be parents for him to see his sincerity to marry me tomorrow.

as a thank you for the "seserahan", my mom giving "angsul-angsul" or some gifts back for him through his mom. he also be given "kancing gelung" or the fashion and accessories he'll need to wear tomorrow for the wedding solemnization. yes yes yes... once the night became the day, we will be pronounced as husband and wife ^^