While many people in Jakarta were out on the streets on Sunday night to bring in the new year, hundreds of couples celebrated by getting married in a mass wedding in the capital.
The wedding, which was facilitated by the Jakarta government, involved nearly 450 couples who were gathered in a large tent in the city centre just hours before midnight to pray with their families before signing marriage certificates.
Not only did the city government prepare the venue for the wedding, it also provided funds to pay for the token gold dowries for the couples, which is traditionally given by the groom to the bride on the wedding day. Moreover, government officials were also in attendance on the night to oversee each brief ceremony.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan congratulated those that participated in the event on Sunday night. He also suggested that the event may be made an annual practice under his leadership. “We’re planning to do this every year,” Baswedan said, as quoted by The Independent.
The weddings featured live bands that played a set of traditional and pop music in the background. Many of the couples were seen wearing colour-coordinated clothes and colourful traditional Indonesian outfits, with some brides donning elaborate headdresses and grooms carrying keris (Indonesian traditional daggers).
See also our article on Wedding Venues in Indonesia