My Cousin's Wedding – A Day to Remember

Thursday, 2022-10-27

Last Saturday, I went to one of my cousin's weddings, and this is the second wedding I have attended this year. At my age now, I attend mostly either friends' son/daughter's weddings, friends' parents' funerals, or sometimes even friends' funerals.

On my mother's side, I have 14 uncles and aunts. Yes, your read it correctly; 14 of them. My grandfather (mother's side) married twice. From his first marriage, he had 7 children, and my grandma passed from childbirth. He remarried, and he had another 7 children, very productive. Some of the uncles and aunts from the second marriage are almost the same age as me, and there are two uncles even younger, but I still have to address them as uncles.

I have lost track of all my cousins. I never know who the son or daughter of which uncle/aunty and the only time to meet up again is during an important event such as a wedding or funeral. The wedding I attended last Saturday was for the youngest son of 4 siblings from one of my aunties. He is a young doctor who just graduated, and the bride is also a doctor.

The Invitation and The Venue

The wedding was held in a ballroom at a sports club in East Jakarta, about 28 km from where we live in West Jakarta. The ballroom was quite big and could easily fit 1000+ people.

The invitation – I now have at least 5 cousins, all doctors by profession.

The reception desk.

There was a separate designated VIP area for family members with 8 round tables that could sit 8 people each and 2 buffet tables.

The seating and buffet-style food area for family members.

With around 300 guests, the ballroom looked empty and spacious. I suspected half of the guests if not more were closely related to the bride and groom.

The bride and groom and their parents will walk thru this aisle.

Buffet and dessert table.

The main stage where the bride and groom and their parents will be seated.

The corner stage for the singer and the band. The singer and the keyboard player were either praying or falling asleep.😆

We arrived at the venue on time, at 19:00. We met all 7 of my uncles and aunts, and some live out of town. Those who were from out of town were accommodated at a hotel nearby. They all come with their children and grandchildren. It was a big family reunion. I don't particularly like reunions because I can never remember the names or from which family my cousins are. There are just too many of them and the age difference, most of them are younger than my children.

Walking Down The Aisle

The ceremony did not start until around 19:30 when the parents of the bride and the groom started to walk the aisle.

The parents of the groom, my aunty, and her husband.

The parents of the bride.

Following the parents, the bridesmaids and the groomsmen walked the aisle and after that, the groom showed up and walked the aisle alone. We had to wait another 10 minutes before the groom went back and walked down the aisle together with the bride. I still could not figure out why the 10 minutes wait for the bride to show up. Maybe it was planned to build suspense and make it more dramatic.

The bride finally showed up after being fetched by the groom and they walked the aisle.

The Wedding Cake

By now it must have been past 20:00, and we had not had our dinner yet. My stomach started to growl and the cake looked so tempting by the minute.

The bride and the groom together with their parents posing by the wedding cake.

The bride and the groom present a slice of the wedding cake to both parents.

The Champagne

Most weddings in Indonesia do not serve alcoholic beverages for the guests. You can however BYOB (bring your own booze), and you will be the most popular person. Some weddings I attended served alcohol only on special tables and for close relatives and friends.

I'm sure that was not champagne but some kind of wine.

A toast to the bride & groom.

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We didn't start eating until around 20:30, and by then everyone was starving. The food was not good despite my hunger. By then the VIP area was swarming with little kids running around and everyone was fighting for a seat. As soon as you get up to get a drink or something, your seat will be taken.

The Family Picture

The family picture session started at around 21:30. The main stage was not big enough to accommodate all of us together so it was decided to divide it into 4 separate sessions.

One of the 4 sessions that had already taken the whole stage.

By the time we finished the family photo session, it was already around 22:00 and we decided to go home. My sister who lives in Bali also came to the wedding and stayed in a provided hotel. I had to come back and pick her up the next day on Sunday and she would be staying with us one more night before going back to Bali on the following Monday. So, that was my Saturday activity, and I hope you all had a great weekend.

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Thank you for reading and for your support.

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A baby boomer who's trying to embrace and adapt to the new digital world. Worked for over 30 years in the IT industry before retiring and now run an online vegetable delivery and hydroponics equipment business. Enjoy traveling, cooking, writing, playing pool, and all IT-related stuff. You're always welcome to leave a comment or feedback, and an upvote or reblog is also greatly appreciated.