Malaysia Professional Photographer

Kuala Lumpur – Jakarta -Bogor (pt 1)

THIS assignment was another milestone for me in my photography career. For the first time I got the opportunity to shoot a very special wedding outside Malaysia, and to be more specific, to shoot in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Syed Shaddad is an old friend, dating back from the early secondary school years, around 1995, which makes it standing at 14 years till 2009. It is not the oldest friendship in the world, but nonetheless it is a good experience to have know such a insane-but-in-a-good-way kind of person, especially those hostel years!! Only the hostel-lite knows what hostel life is all about and what we’ve gone through. And he’s getting married to his one and only loved one, Edna Maryana of Jakarta.

OK, so back to the wedding, what I can say about their wedding is that this is not a very traditional Javanese tradition kind of wedding, although there are some ancient tradition being practiced that day. The day starts with an early bath which is called mandi bunga in Bahasa Melayu, whereas the parents and relatives took turns to shower the bride and groom with a pale of mixed flowers and clear water. This act is said to throw away all the bad luck that they had in the past and to prevent it in the future as well. It is some kind of a blessing to the couple as well. The attire that the bride and groom had to wear is specifically for this discipline. Yellow very much dominates the color scheme.

After the morning mandi bunga session, some light refreshment were served to the guests to close the session. Then everybody goes back to their respective place to prepare for the afternoon solemnization session. Much to my surprise (since this is the first time I covered an international wedding), the solemnization tradition doesn’t differ too much from the one we have back in Malaysia. Only the exception was that the bride and groom were covered by a piece of cloth to symbolizes unity i.e. marriage. For me personally, although this is symbol gives a strong impression about their meaning, the overall scene (the cloth covering their heads) does not look quite photogenic to say the least. You can see it by yourself in the pictures below. But anyway, this is how it’s done in Jakarta and we all respect (and love) them very much, hehe..

A visibly emotional father of Edna took the responsibility of the wali himself as opposed to the majority of people today who usually passes it to the kadi as a wali hakim. After quite a lengthy speech, the couple were officially declared married by a witness of about 30 people consists of relatives and friends from both sides. It was an eventful evening where people exchange jokes, experience and conversation between 2 countries. Not to forget to the Qari whom he recited some verses of the Quran which is in my opinion the best I heard so far.

I like when Edna mum’s said that this kind of unity may bring both countries closer together and unite under a common understanding, be it political, cultural or economical. Well I guess that Indonesian women and Malaysian men make great partnership!! I’m sure my friends couldn’t agree more with this!! Hahaha…

So we conclude the first day with this entry, and the reception the next day promised to be an explosive reading with a LOT of events did turns out unexpectedly.Well you have to wait for it I’m afraid. So, for the moment, enjoy the pictures below. Have a nice day maite!