Six weeks have passed since the incredible April 29th, 2017 — was saved on my calendar as my wedding day. My husband, my family, & I didn’t use any Javanese calculation in deciding the date. We planned it based on several considerations, including how far do we were ready to get married and most importantly, the venue’s availability.

How We Met Each Other

Both my husband & I didn’t post any picture of us on social media until a few days before our wedding day. Thus, several friends texted me in person when they knew I was about to marry my husband.

“How did you know each other?”

“This is a sudden news! I never heard any news of you dating anyone recently.”

We both graduated from Informatics Engineering ITB, he was part of the year 2010 and I was of 2011. We didn’t know each other during our 4y study in Bandung nor our 2y study in Europe within the same time period (he was in Sweden, I was in Portugal)….until last September 2016. A friend of mine (who was accidentally his officemate) offered me a project. The project had a tight deadline so the intensity of our meeting was as tight as the deadline. I remembered meeting my husband at a coffee shop for the first time and what we talked about was EUROPE. I unstoppably talked about Portugal and Iceland while he reminisced about his good time in Sweden.

The project ended in early November only to make us realize that we didn’t have any reason nor occasion to meet. Yet, our meeting(s) continued: from a birthday treat till a 3h trip to Situ Cisanti by motorcycle on a rainy day. The rest of our story was… well, you have known it already.

Meet the Stakeholders

Second most important thing after we decided to tie the knot was meeting our biggest stakeholders: parents and families. My in-laws lived in Bandung therefore it was easier for me to meet them first. Before that, my husband introduced himself to my father and asked for his permission through phone call. My first visit to my in-laws was unforgettable because I barely understood their conversation in Sundanese language (FYI, I am a Javanese). After I returned home, my husband asked my in-laws about their first impression and they said, “she was really calm.” Then, my husband laughed hard.

He came to my house in Solo a week after. He had been looking super nervous since few days before while I had been joking on his nervousness, haha. My father (as I had known him since) was a very straightforward person, so his very first question was: how serious are you with my daughter? He asked that with a serious face and laughed afterwards. I guess you could guess what was my husband’s answer back then.

The Wedding Prep

I had been dreaming of a super simple wedding with the akad (sacred vows ceremony) at my favorite mosque, Masjid Mangkunegaran, and a mini celebration at my house with close friends and families. In fact, my dreams were all meant to be dreams. Indonesia, or at least the environment I lived in, was a sociable one. We couldn’t count how many colleagues did our parents have and how many were ours those should have been invited.

We booked the venue and decided on the date before our engagement day. Well, my mom was very excited that she decided the venue soon after my husband’s visit to Solo. My only request was to hold the wedding with a Javanese attire. FYI, the most famous Solonese attire is the black dress (as seen on me & my husband). Luckily, the venue my mom chose was an antique Javanese hall that used to belong to a Solonese prince.

I had no idea what should have been prepared for a wedding. My best friends helped me a lot with all the to-dos. Amongst 5, I was the last one to get married. My husband & I didn’t use any Wedding Organizer. At last, we couldn’t thank our big family enough for being such awesome committees before and during the D-Day, especially Mommy & Tante Opah for their awesome works. Matur nuwun, para pakdhe, budhe, om, tante, kakak, adik, & sepupu.

Our biggest concern was the photographer vendor. Since my friend’s wedding in 2014, I had been eyeing the Photoworks for its storytelling photographs. Prior to that, their color tones matched well with my preferences (if you have seen my Instagram account, you’ll know it). After a few days of observations, my husband agreed upon my preference. And lucky us, the Photoworks said YES! Matur nuwun Mas Fauzi, Mas Gepy, Mas Tora, and teams.

Finally, the D-Day

D-1 was the most nervous time of my life. I meant like, I was going to marry a man in a few hours! The day after, I was about to wake up next to a man till zillion days afterwards. How surreal that possibly be. I was no joking; I had wedding jitters. Yet, my mom forbade me from going out of the house. WHY OH WHY. On the other side, my husband was more nervous than me. I guessed so and he confirmed that he couldn’t fall asleep the night before and worried if he might have forgotten his vows.

Prior to our wedding day, we hadn’t met for 10 days. When I saw him at the altar with that white suit, I realized I missed him so much. When I heard him saying the vows, I kept my tears from falling but he couldn’t. The hall was filled with overflowing emotions. In our Islamic faith, we believed that the angels came when the sacred vows were said.

…

My husband and I are truly blessed for everything happened in our life. We do believe that Allah arranges us meeting our soulmate right at the right time, moment, and place. We know it is hard to believe especially since the question “when will you get married” has always been popped up from society when you are single. But then, Allah has the control to make things happen in an unexpected way.

Of course our marriage life isn’t about all the happy days and silly laughs together. We realize there will be more challenges onwards but we know we face those challenges together.

I’ll write about my thoughts on living my new role as a wife on my next post. Sst…moving on from my single life to a married one has been quite a challenge for me. You know how impulsive I am, right?

Kisses from my long-haul flight from Singapore to Zurich, June 2017. G’night!