Bogor palace to host wedding bash for SBY's soon

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

The Bogor place is gearing up for the wedding reception of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's first-born son Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono on July 9.

A huge stage has been erected behind the palace and lighting rigged up within the Bogor Botanical Gardens (see photo).

"We have two generators just in case the electricity goes off during the reception," Priatna an employee of the city's power firm PT PLN Prima Pakuan Bogor told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

President Susilo will host the wedding reception of Agus, who will tie the knot with TV presenter Annisa Larasati Pohan. Agus is an Army member with the rank of First Lieutenant.

Thousands of guests, mostly high-ranking officials, are expected to attend next Saturday.

About 50 bamboo posts adorned with colorful lights have been set up in the gardens, directing guests from the garden's management office to the Lady Olivia Marimane Raffles Monument to Teysmann Park to the Treub-Laboratory building.

During the ceremony, some 1,000 high-ranking state officials will park their cars in the garden's parking areas.

Only cars with VVIP stickers will be allowed to enter the palace, while other guests may park their cars in the nearby Army engineer's headquarters and the compound of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture. Non-VVIP guests will be transported to the event in chartered buses.

Hundreds of visitors to the gardens have been observed on Jl. Kenari, the closest site to the palace, delighting in the wedding preparations.