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Jakarta Post

Young couples break with tradition to cut marriage costs

A typical Indonesian wedding can cost billions of rupiah to put together, with hundreds of guests and a series of traditional rituals

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Tue, January 16, 2018

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Young couples break with tradition to cut marriage costs

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typical Indonesian wedding can cost billions of rupiah to put together, with hundreds of guests and a series of traditional rituals.

However, Paulus Lando, 28, an office worker in Kuningan, South Jakarta, and his fiancée plan a modest wedding celebration in April this year.

“We will have a little coffee party with lunch boxes for guests after exchanging vows in the church. Afterward we will have dinner with our core family in a restaurant,” he said.

“We are not interested in the expensive receptions most people have. The money [to hold a reception] would better be allocated to start our new family,” he added.

Paulus and his girlfriend, Caecilia Rania, plan to invite around 200 of their closest family and friends to witness the wedding, and have allocated a budget of around Rp 20 million (US$1,492) to Rp 30 million.

“At first my mother objected to our aspirations for a wedding without a reception because she wanted to maintain our Javanese family tradition,” Rania said. “However, after a lengthy discussion and financial calculations, she agreed to the minimalist plan.”

Rania said her intention to marry was because she wanted an independent life with her new husband away from the bonds of family rules. “It turns out, that in order to do that, we had to compromise with our extended family in the preparation of our wedding,” she said.

One of the compromises they made was to wed in Jakarta, where most of their guests live.

Paulus’ official domicile is Yogyakarta, while Rania is registered as a resident of Bogor, West Java. They have had to transfer their church registry to St. Stefanus Parish in Cilandak, South Jakarta, where they will wed.

The urge to live independently after marriage was also remarked upon by Gembira Putra Agam, 32, a content writer in Tebet, South Jakarta. Gembira prefers to rent a house rather than to live under one roof with his extended family, which is a common practice in Indonesia.

“Renting is the best choice as we cannot afford to buy a house yet and we do not like the long-term commitment of a home mortgage,” he said.

His household budget ranges from Rp 5 million to Rp 12 million per month. To control their expenses, Gembira uses a personal budgeting application called Monefy. While Gembira works in an office, his wife works freelance at home to be able to tend their young son.

Gembira said as a middle-class family in Jakarta, they used many methods to reduce expenditure while enjoying married life.

They like to go on “staycations,” an alternative recreation method in which they rent a hotel room somewhere in Jakarta for a weekend and enjoy the facilities.

“We like to use discount deals promoted in various travel apps. We can have quality family time in a nice hotel and order food from an online hailing service. It is more relaxing than going out of town and so much cheaper than going to the mall,” he said.

Gembira explained that although they had chosen to live independently away from the extended family, interference in their personal matters still occurred every so often.

“My family still believes in the old saying banyak anak banyak rejeki [lots of children, lots of good fortune], but I know more children mean more mouths to feed.”

Gembira is not planning to have another child soon simply to ease the pressure from his extended family. His only son is now four years old and preparing to enter his second year in kindergarten, which has increased the family’s expenses.

“Many people think marriage is the ultimate purpose in life. However I see it as a new phase in life when I partner with my wife in a financial strategy,” he said. (gis)

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