Getting Married in Bali

Getting married in Bali always feels excited. Bali is a Hindu Island, many celebrations and religious tradition of Hindu can be seen here almost every day. In Bali, wedding is one of the sacred rituals in Bali besides the temple ceremony. Getting married in Bali for a Balinese will always be a sacred with many offerings to offer on both the groom and the bride side. The Bali wedding will lead by a Hindu Priest. When the celebration and the praying procession are finished, it will be more like a party to invite many families and friends to come home to groom side.

What is the Bali Weddings?

Like we said above, getting married in Bali or wedding is one of sacred rituals in Bali. The common of wedding of get married in Bali called Memadik. Memadik is a legal procession of getting married in Bali. In this case, with both parents from the bride and the groom has known each other after the engagement relationship. Before the wedding begins, they will consult to a priest about the good day according to Hindu rituals Calender. Balinese is very suspicious on having a sacred ceremony, a talk to a priest is a must to do. Memadik ceremony most of the time held on groom side. This means most of cost will be on Man side. That is old side, nowadays most of them do split to a half.

Here we will give you little explanation on Memadik procession:

1. Determining Good Day.

As we said above, the relationship between the bride and groom’s engagement is known to their parents. The prospective bridegroom’s family will come to propose or in Balinese is called memadik or ngindih. Both families will choose the right time to marry their two sons and daughters. Balinese are very religious, believe in a good day to carry out a marriage. Where a good day has been agreed upon, it becomes a day for prospective brides to be picked up and taken to the prospective bridegroom’s house.

2. Mengkeb procession or the bride must stay home.

One of the uniqueness that is still believed by the Balinese is Mengkeb. In undergoing this ritual, prospective brides are forbidden to leave the room from the afternoon until the prospective bridegroom’s family arrives. Even one village in Bali will send envoys from prospective men to guard or stay up late to keep the prospective bride from leaving the house.

3. Pickup of Bride Candidates

According to tradition in Bali, wedding celebrations will be held at the residence of the male. That is why prospective brides are picked up after Mengkeb done overnight or several days. Before being picked up to be taken, prospective brides will use traditional Balinese clothing. In one village in Bali, the bride will use special clothing colors as a symbol of married life.

4. Special offering for the bride at the door of the groom or called Mesegehan

Before entering the groom’s house, prospective brides will be faced with special offerings called segehan. This offering means that the bride will be ready to fend off all feelings of being single and will be ready to undergo family relationships in a new home.

5. Mekala-kalaan.

Mekala-kalaan is one of a series of processions that must be done in Hindu marriage in Bali. This is a reflection of family life that the bride and groom will live. This procession is usually done in the morning or before sunrise. The following are the stages of the Mekala-kalaan ceremony:

Walk around an offering called Kala Sepetan

The mala-kala ceremony aims to purify and cleanse the bride and groom. The bridegroom should bear tegen-tegenan. Tegenan is an offering containing various kinds of fruit and various cakes hung on sugar cane. Tegenan that will be carried by the bridegroom is a symbol of a family head that will support his family. The bride brought a basket of trade. This trading basket contains several items that you will find on the market. Then both of them rotate three times around the special offerings, namely the sanggah pesaksi, kemulan, penegteg and offering called kala sepetan itself.

Buying and selling process

The trade basket carried by the prospective bride will then be bought by the prospective bridegroom. The activity is an analogy from a household life that must complement, give and fill, to reach the desired goal.

Stabbed a Tikeh Dadakan.

Tikeh dadakan is a woven mats made from young Pandan leaves. This Tikeh Dadakan will be held by the prospective bride. While the prospective groom holds a Keris. Keris is a weapon symbol in Bali. The Keris will be unsheathed and ready to stab in the direction of the Tikeh Dadakan. According to the beliefs of Hindus, the Tikeh Dadakan appearance held by the prospective bride symbolizes the power of Sang Hyang Prakerti (yoni power), and the Keris belonging to the aspiring bridegroom is symbol of the power from Sang Hyang Purusa (linga power).

Break the Thread

Before deciding on the thread, the bride and groom will be guided by their parents together to plant various kinds of spices such as turmeric, taro, which still has stem leaves. All of this will be planted behind or beside the family temple as a form of perpetuating the family’s descendants. After that, decide on the thread that stretches on the dadap wood called papegatan wood, which analogizes that the bride and groom are ready to take off adolescence to start a family life

6. Mewidhi Widana Ceremony

The implementation of this procession will take place in the family temple of men who are led directly by the priest and will be accompanied by parents of the two brides. The bride and groom prayed to convey the presence of a new family to the ancestors to continue their offspring.

7. Mejauman Ceremony (Ma Pejati)

In Balinese customary rules, married women will follow their husbands. In honor of the family ancestors of the women, a ceremony will be held to beg for leave to the ancestors of the bride called the ceremonial ceremony. The arrival of the bride to undergo the ceremony was accompanied by the groom’s family. The groom’s family will bring various kinds of cakes and rice known in Bali as “Tipat Bantal”

All of those are the procession of the weddings in Bali. Most of villages in Bali will likely do all of those procession for getting married in Bali

Can foreigners getting married in Bali?

Foreigners are very welcome to have their wedding in Bali. Many beautiful places provide you to have your best moment. Getting married in Bali with the Hindu ritual may also be done by foreigners. The procession of Memadik like above cannot do all of them. The main procession has to be accompanied by a priest. This wedding like we said is a scared ritual for Hindu in Bali. So, we advise you to have someone who knows the procession.

What is the cost to do Hindu Wedding in Bali?

Getting married in Bali for Balinese is a big life celebration. It will take more than a day including the preparation of offerings and meals for community of Banjar. It will spend more than 30 million IDR. Based on several people that I have met, more cost goes for meals. If the foreigners want to have some of those processions will be more likely less than that. Note that cost is beside the pre wedding photographs

How to find Bali Wedding Planner?

We are glad that this time we are able to accompany foreigners to do a best moment of Bali wedding. Bali Travel Expert will assist you in honor to provide your Bali wedding. Getting married in Bali becomes not so difficult like what people thoughts. The wedding that we provide is a major wedding procession without the meals like Balinese will do. It will be only offerings. Cost will be different. In order to have best couple photos of Bali Pre Wedding photos, we also can arrange it to you with our number one wedding photographer in Bali. Contact us on whatsapp chat +62 82247 037847 or email on info@balitravelexpert.com