TARA & JAMES

Tara and James’ wedding moved through three settings in Jakarta: a ceremony at Jakarta Cathedral, a courtyard gathering at Museum Nasional Indonesia, and dinner in the soaring passage connecting the museum’s old and new wings. Each called for a different response.

The cathedral’s Neo-Gothic interior needed little from us. Cinematic lighting brought its architecture into focus, while flowers introduced distinct silhouettes along the aisle: gladiolus poised on brass plates, snowberries gathered in generous masses, and statice pared back to reveal its form.

In the museum courtyard, statues of Nandi, the sacred bull and mount of Lord Shiva, prompted the idea of a grazing field. Rice, ammi, tuberose and wild grasses rose from shallow brass trays. Behind them, a wall of light pulsed to an electric gamelan band, giving the gathering a rhythm of its own.

Dinner took place beneath the high ceiling of the museum’s central passage. A gilded scaffold stood at one end, serving as both stage and billboard for the evening’s performances. Tall umbul-umbul flags marked the other, drawing the eye up through the space.

Between them, polished serpentine counters gave guests somewhere to gather over the family’s favourite dishes. Some were served as tradition prescribed, others reimagined for the evening. The setting was monumental; the hospitality was personal.