pesta pernikahan

part two of the wedding festivities was the big party (pesta). we arrived at the reception hall at about 7am. we were greeted with this large banner wishing the bride and groom a happy life together. 

 the reception center is owned and run by one (or maybe two) of president joko widodo's sons. here is a picture of the indonesian president.

 the stage at the front had lots of flowers again, and was the elaborate backdrop for more pictures.

 a view from the stage. the caterers were setting up when we arrived.

 w eating breakfast in the men's dressing room.

 w getting dressed. 

 he wore a piece of cloth wrapped around him skirt-style. then a cummerbund-type cloth was tied over the top to keep it in place.

 the kris belt is being attached. kris are knives. as you'll see later in the post, b and w were each wearing a kris. 

 the final product.

 b and w dressed up looking very javanese.

 i invited b and w into the women's dressing/grooming room. hearing my invitation, b came in. he looked around, but couldn't see me (and simultaneously wondered when another american woman had been invited to the event). he was about to leave the room, when he realized that i was that other american woman. i had so much makeup on, he didn't recognize me!

 b enjoys this picture. he says my face looks very angular.

 s getting dressed up.

 i needed to wear this green long-sleeve undershirt since i didn't want to be doing any undies showing. (the top i would wear, as you'll see shortly, is a strapless corset with a see-through lace blouse over the top.) i was thankful for the undershirt, but it did make it hotter.

 here i am getting the blonde wig put on my head. w seems surprised!

 another interesting man smoking painting.

 it was a bit strange to be dressed by people. i would say that none of us particularly enjoyed that part of getting dressed up, but it was all part of the gig.

 a good view of my wig.

 look at all of that makeup. this was my first time wearing fake eyelashes, the first time wearing eye liner on the top and bottom of my eyes, and the first time i've worn lipstick since 1999!

 i actually put those earrings on later until i felt sakit wearing them (until they hurt).

 s getting her hair done. they used her own hair to do all of her 'do.

 i like this one.

 me getting my skirt on.

 this shows you how much hairspray is in my hair. i haven't worn hairspray since my junior prom in 1998. 

 the entrance to the reception hall.

 some of the food getting set up. there was tons and tons of food.

 w and b with their kris.

 this was our favorite savory dish--goat sate.

 some pictures of the bride and groom in less formal attire.

 a neat watermelon flower carving. 

 this was our favorite sweet at the party--ice cream with shavings of coconut and pudding chunks. the ice cream is good here. it tastes great and it cools you off.

 our landlord's son, nobel.

 there was a band with singers. they sang some american and indonesian songs.

 after a few hours in our outfits, i started getting really hot. the skirt was so tight you could barely walk (which made my legs very sweaty), and i had so many layers on up top, that i was very sweaty. so we went and changed into our regular wear. i can't even tell you how much cooler i felt. it was so nice.

 here s is eating her favorite dessert--still ice cream but with toppings you could add to it (jam, chocolate, and marshmallows). i think s looks like her big cousin kirsten. 

 we also loved the jus at the party. here i'm drinking jus sirsak (soursop), which is so good. 

 shortly before we left, this man was singing a rolling stones song. and he got really into it. 

 two cute little girls dressed up in traditional javanese attire.

it was a really neat experience to go to the wedding, this party, to get dressed up in traditional clothes/hair. it was a once in a lifetime experience for sure.