For President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo, the burdens of state apparently weigh lighter upon his shoulders than his own son.

Jokowi'€™s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who will wed his sweetheart Selvi Ananda Putri on Thursday, teased his famously lanky father when Jokowi found difficulty in carrying his son on his back as a part of a Javanese tradition before the wedding.

'€œBapak is not strong enough [to carry me],'€ the 27-year old Gibran joked as quoted by Sukarta Mayor FX Hadi Rudyatmo after the gendhongan ritual.

It was a part of the siraman (bathing) ceremony, which took place before Gibran and Selvi exchanged their vows in accordance with Islamic rites on Thursday morning. Selvi also underwent the same ceremony with her parents at their home.

On Wednesday evening the First Family held midodareni (the opening of the wedding proceedings) at the private residence of the former mayor of Surakarta and governor of Jakarta.

Gibran, the eldest of Jokowi'€™s two sons and one daughter, had requested privacy during the ijab kabul (wedding vow) ceremony, in which he would tie the knot with long-time girlfriend Selvi on Thursday morning.

The ijab kabul will take place at Graha Saba Buana on Jl. Letjen Suprapto, Surakarta, a hall owned by the Jokowi family.

'€œMas [brother] Gibran has asked for privacy so the ijab kabul ceremony will be attended only by friends and family. The media will only be allowed to take pictures prior to the ceremony,'€ said Anggit Noegroho, the spokesman for the Jokowi family.

'€œGibran does not like the idea of sharing his private life with the public. He would rather share the story of his business ventures and so on,'€ he added.

Gibran also declined additional merriment suggested by his father, including taking a horse-drawn carriage from their residence on Jl. Kutai, Sumber, which is located about 200 meters from the wedding hall.

'€œPak Jokowi suggested that the groom take a carriage owned by the family, but Mas Gibran has declined such things. So the family will walk instead,'€ he said, emphasizing that, '€œPak Jokowi never made decisions [regarding the wedding] without Gibran'€™s approval.'€

Gibran also chose to take charge of the wedding preparations, despite the tradition that the bride'€™s family is the party that hosts the main wedding ceremony, known as mantu.

During the two-month long preparation, Gibran personally supervised every detail, including the menu '€” which is being prepared by his own catering company, Chili Pari '€” and the hall decorations.

Jokowi himself insisted that he would not involve state officials in the ceremony preparations, apart from standard security requirements for the President and his family.

 About 4,000 guests are expected to attend the wedding reception, which will be held in shifts from Thursday afternoon until the evening, at the same venue.

The media-shy Gibran has kept his relationship with Selvi, who won the 2009 Miss Surakarta pageant, private. They met at the pageant in which Gibran served as a jury member. His mother Iriana, at the time wife of the mayor, placed the crown on Selvi'€™s head, and reportedly whispered to Gibran that she would not object if Selvi became her daughter-in-law.

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