The wedding party for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s daughter Kahiyang Ayu in Surakarta, Central Java on Wednesday turned into a political extravaganza with some of the biggest names in the country’s politics showing up to join the celebration.

Among the VVIP guests at Kahiyang and Muhammad Bobby Nasution’s wedding were former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife, Kristiani “Ani” Herawati, as well as their sons, Agus Harimurti and Edhie Baskoro, who also came with their respective wives. They also attended the ijab qobul ceremony.

Asked to comment about Kahiyang’s wedding, Yudhoyono said the people should continue to practice traditional wedding ceremonies to preserve the country’s cultural heritage. “Pak Jokowi and his family can be an example.”

A number of high-profile politicians also attended the reception, including former president and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) matron Megawati Soekarnoputri, People’s Consultative Assemble (MPR) speaker Zulkifli Hasan and House of Representatives speaker Setya Novanto, who has been at the center of a high-profile e-ID corruption case.

Also attending the wedding party were newly-inaugurated Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and his deputy Sandiaga Uno. Jokowi fired Anies from his position as culture and education minister in 2016.

Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto, who was Jokowi’s rival during the 2014 presidential election, did not attend because “he is currently outside Indonesia,” said State Secretary Pratikno.

Jokowi’s ministers and several political party leaders including Sohibul Iman, the chairman of the opposition Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), were also seen at the wedding and at the ijab qobul.

The guests joined the First Family, along with a thousand guests, to celebrate the nuptials between Jokowi’s only daughter, Kahiyang Ayu, and Bobby.

The two tied the knot at the Graha Saba Buana Hall, which was once owned by Jokowi’s family, in a traditional Javanese wedding ceremony.

Right after the ijab qobul (the Islamic ceremony of holy matrimony), the newlyweds proceeded with the Panggih ceremony that symbolizes the meeting between the bride and the groom after looking for each other for a long time.

Of all the Javanese ceremonies, nothing made Jokowi look more like a king than the parade of kereta kencana (royal chariots) that carried the bride and the groom, along with their respective families, to the hall.

The convoy of four horse-drawn carriages picked up the First Family and the bride from Jokowi’s residence which is close the hall.

The horses, that drew the other four carriages, had to travel further because the groom and his family stayed at a hotel that was 5 kilometers from the hall.

Thousands of people lined up on the side of the road and waved at the passing parade.

Kahiyang and Bobby responded with smiles.

“It’s amazing! Such a complete traditional wedding procession doesn’t occur every day. The parade reminds me of the Javanese royal wedding quite a long time ago,” Sri Hestiningsih, 24, a resident, said.

Another resident, Marliani Cipta, 34, said she respected Jokowi’s family’s willingness to burden themselves with such a complex traditional procession. “[Jokowi] is really a ningrat [aristocratic Javanese person].”

The First Family invited 8,000 guests. In comparison, the Yogyakarta royal wedding between the daughter of Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, Hayu, and Notonegoro, in 2013, was attended by about 4,500.

Earlier on Tuesday, Jokowi dismissed criticisms that Kahiyang and Bobby’s wedding was extravagant.

“It is simple: the whole procession was held in our own building using our own catering service. The wedding organizer even comes from my family,” he said, pointing to Gibran standing next to him.

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