Son of Susilo celebrates in style
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Lamps made the Bogor Palace look dazzling on Saturday evening as it welcomed thousands of guests for the wedding reception of the first son of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, First Lt. Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, and model Annisa Pohan.
The reception was held in the large rear garden of the Palace. A giant tent, which could accommodate about 4,000 guests, was nicely decorated with beautiful orchids, jasmine and other local flowers.
Among the guests were members of Susilo's Cabinet, heads of state institutions, ambassadors and high-ranking military officials.
In a pool outside the tent, a dozen white ducks greeted the guests.
The bride, the groom and their parents looked charming in their green Yogyakarta-style attire, created by high-profile designer Adjie Notonegoro.
For entertainment, famous Indonesian singers such as Dani Dewa, Krisdayanti, Ruth Sahanaya and Titiek Puspa were performing.
The decorator creatively transformed the tent into a what looked like a very beautiful large room, with maroon fabric, flowers and big crystal lamps to go along with a number of other lamps.
There was little information on why the wedding reception was held in the evening, which requires more electricity to light up the venue, something that seemed to go against the president's own campaign to conserve energy.
"We held (the reception) on the terrace (of the Palace) to accommodate security and protocol arrangements without disturbing the daily life of people in Jakarta and Bogor," Susilo said during a press conference before receiving guests.
Four catering service companies served a range of food for the dinner. The guests savored, among other delicacies, Salmon, Korean Barbecue and Singaporean noodles.
Without revealing the amount of money he spent for the all the wedding ceremonies (which began on Thursday), Susilo convinced Indonesians that he and the family would only accept "ordinary gifts"
"We will not accept uncommon presents. I will return them, should there be any," he said, adding that he would be responsible for the expenses of all the festivities.
Susilo dismissed rumors about the cost of the wedding and reception, which were estimated by members of the press to be in the billions of rupiah range.
"The rumors are not true," said the president, who reported his personal wealth of about Rp 4.6 billion to the Anti- Corruption Commission (KPK) last year after being nominated as a presidential candidate.
"Trust me, I will be responsible for everything ... and (I) would never take one rupiah from the state or the people," responded the president, who looked uneasy by the questions.
Susilo cut short the press conference after the questions on the cost.
Agus and Annisa exchanged wedding vows on Friday afternoon at the home of Annisa's family, former deputy governor of Bank Indonesia Aulia Pohan. The couple met more than a year ago in Bandung. Annisa said that she was ready to become the wife of Agus, who is in the military.