Generally, there are four main stages of Balinese wedding ceremony. Please note that these stages may vary depending on special circumstances and what regions the wedding is held. It may use different term. Each region has its own tradition however basically they are all the same. Did I mention about Balinese wedding packages for tourists? Please do not even think to compare these four stages to those packages as they are only wedding ceremony packages which are intended for commercial purposes only. No soul and no spiritual atmosphere at all, from my point of view.

1. Mesuaka. Literally, it means a hospitality visit. This is the first stage of procession that should be done when Balinese people do the wedding ceremony. At this stage, the family member of groom come to the bride’s house to do an introductory meeting and also the chance for both families getting to know each other. Please note, only close and direct family member are involved at this stage.

2. Ngidih. This second stage is when family member of the groom come to meet the bride’s family member again to officially tell them about the wedding ceremony. A formal meeting is held at this stage in which both families will ask both the bride and the groom love each other. Do they really want to be bond in the marriage and a lot of other rhetorical questions. This stage is also the chance for the senior family member to give advice to both bide and groom, mainly about life, how to establish a long lasting marriage and bla bla bla.

3. Nganten. At this stage, a small ritual is performed in the bride’s house again called bya kaon, literally meaning the purification ceremony so both bride and groom are considered spiritually clean and are ready for the wedding ceremony.

4. Mepejati. This stage is also known as Mepamit. It is derived from the word pamit meaning say good bye. Indeed, it is the chance for the bride to say good bye to both her families and also say good bye to her ancestor in the house temple. All family member and villagers are usually involved at this stage.

Those four stages take place at the bride’s house. In addition, several rituals are also performed at the groom’s house. The most obvious and commercial one is known as resepsi/pawiwahan in which so many invitees are present at the groom house to congratulate them.

Popularity: 52% [?]