Meet my wife
Well, our 16-month engagement is over. Agnes and I got married yesterday morning at Ursuline Chapel in Bandung, Indonesia. Considering all of the chaos leading up to it, the wedding and reception went remarkably smooth.
The sun rising over the mountains outside my hotel room; 22 Feb 2009.
The day started early for Agnes. She awoke at 2:00 AM so she could get to the salon for her 3:00 AM appointment. I woke up at 5:00 AM and met the photo/film crew at my hotel room at 6:00 — and it was a crew. There was the wedding organizer and her two assistants, two photographers, two videographers, and one lighting technician. It was all a little surreal.
From the hotel, my driver took me to Agnes’ parents house escorted by two police motorcycles. In Bandung, the police escort turns an hour drive into 15 minutes.
At Agnes’ house, I met my two stand-in groomsmen (Agnes’ cousins) and they escorted me inside to meet Agnes and her parents. Inside, I gave Agnes her hand bouquet and she pinned my corsage. We took more photos and then performed a Chinese tea ceremony with her parents and grandparents. From there, Agnes and I got into the wedding car and followed our police escort to the chapel.
The wedding went well. I didn’t screw up the vows or any of my other lines like I had feared. And we both only cried a little. Even though we protested, Agnes and I released balloons and doves on the steps of the chapel after the ceremony. Once again, we climbed into the wedding car and followed the police motorcycles to the reception hall.
The reception was held at the Grand Eastern ballroom in Bandung. We estimate that just over 400 people attended. Indonesian wedding receptions are very different from their western counterparts. They’re almost like an awards show. We entered entered the ballroom in a ‘grand procession’ and were seating on a stage with our parents. A professional emcee was hired to lead the whole affair. After a few short speeches, the first of eight courses were served to the guests after the wait staff entered in a parade.
Halfway through our meal, Agnes and I returned to the stage where we cut the cake, had our first dance and a wedding kiss — the cue for the confetti cannons. A few more speeches were delivered, pictures were taken (the Widjaja family barely fit on the huge stage) and then we lined up to shake 400+ hands. The reception started around 1:00 PM and wrapped up around 3:30 PM. Afterwards, Agnes and I headed straight to the photo studio for even more photos. Several hours later we were finally able to return to the hotel for about 30 minutes before we met Agnes’ family for an impromptu family reunion. It wasn’t until 10 PM that we were able to return to the hotel and get some much needed sleep.
Without a doubt, the most stressful ordeal I’ve ever endured — but so absolutely worth it.
5 comments
Congratulations Chris and Agnes! I am so happy for both of you! I can’t wait to see you back in the states.
Wow, sounds like one heck of a wedding! Congrats buddy!
Amazing! Congratulations. Sounds like the longest day in history. I can’t imagine doing anything at 2 a.m. much less going to the beauty salon. But, I guess that might be obvious.
Enjoy the rest of your trip. I’m enjoying the updates. Thanks for them.
I can’t wait to see video and photo’s!! I am so exicted for you two; I dont feel like I can even express it! It could be the pregnancy hormones, but I am just really happy for both of you! Enjoy the rest of your time there, and relax!
Oh my gosh the wedding sounds so exciting! I can hardly wait to see the video and pictures. Congratulations!
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