Yogyakarta (The Jakarta Post/ANN) - Yogyakarta Palace is to hold a three-day royal wedding party this month for the youngest daughter of Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, GRAj Nurastuti Wijareni, who is going to be marrying Achmad Ubaidillah from Lampung.
"I am ready [for the wedding]. I have prepared myself by taking jamu [herbs] and having [traditional] scrubs for my body," the bride-to-be Nurastuti told reporters during a press gathering at the palace on Friday.
The party, which is scheduled for Oct. 16-19, is expected to be rich in royal Javanese tradition and culture that have been well preserved at the palace, which is also known as the heart of Javanese culture.
Over 200 journalists from local, national and international media are expected to cover the rare event. As of Friday, 167 journalists had registered themselves for the spectacle.
On the first day, Oct. 16, the groom-to-be will be hosted at the verandah of Ndalem Mangkunegaran and await the royal family to collect him in a royal carriage. He will then be transported to the Bangsal Kesatrian hall and rest at the Gedhong Srikaton building.
In the meantime, the bride-to-be will undergo the so-called plangkahan ritual at the western palace
to seek blessings from her elder sister, GRA Nurabra Juwita. The ritual will proceed with ngabekten, or asking for a blessing from the entire royal family.
In the evening, a mass prayer will be held at Panepen Mosque inside the palace complex, where the wedding procession will be held on Oct. 18.
Siraman, or a bathing ritual, will be held on the second day, followed by the Sultan taking a last check on the preparedness of the bride- and groom-to-be for the wedding, accompanied by Queen GKR Hemas.
The highlight of the party will be the wedding procession on Oct. 18, which will be followed by a series of traditional rituals including a panggih ceremony (the meeting of the bride and the groom). Both of them will then be transported in a carriage to the Bangsal Kepatihan hall for the wedding reception.
The whole procession will end with the groom's family saying their farewells to the royal family at the Gedhong Jene building.
Nurastuti, who has been given the royal title and name of GKR Bendara, said she herself had distributed some 2,000 invitations for the wedding, while the reception is expected to attract some 4,000 guests altogether.
Speaking at the same press gathering, Achmad Ubaidillah said that he has known his fiance for four-and-a-half years. He said he never thought of dating a princess before but love just grew between them and they finally decided to get married.
Achmad now has the royal name KPH Yudanegara. It is also said that while dating, the couple avoided talking about family matters to prevent the princess from being burdened. "We prefer to talk about hobbies, our favorite foods and other things," he said.
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