Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kami datang lebih awal ke upacara pernikahan besok pagi. - We will arrive early at the wedding ceremony tomorrow morning.

In your sentence, kami is used, so the speaker is talking about their own group, excluding the listener. If they wanted to include the listener (e.g. “You and I will come early”), they would use kita instead.

The verb is datang (present form), but the meaning is future. How can this refer to the future without changing the verb?

In Indonesian, verbs do not change form for tense (present, past, future). Time is usually understood from:

Time words: besok pagi (tomorrow morning), kemarin, sekarang, etc.
Optional markers like akan (will).

So:

Kami datang lebih awal besok pagi.
→ Clearly future because of besok pagi.

Even though datang looks “present” to an English speaker, in Indonesian it is a neutral form and works for present, past, or future, depending on context.

Can I say Kami akan datang lebih awal...? Does adding akan change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Kami akan datang lebih awal ke upacara pernikahan besok pagi.

Akan is a future marker (“will”), so the nuance is slightly more explicit or deliberate:

Kami datang lebih awal... = We’re coming early (plan is clear from context).
Kami akan datang lebih awal... = We will come early (a bit more clearly “future plan” or “promise”).

Both are correct and natural. In everyday speech, akan is often dropped when time is obvious from besok, nanti, etc.

What exactly does lebih awal mean here? How is it different from just awal or from lebih cepat?

awal = early (as an adjective: “early”, “initial”)
lebih = more / -er (comparative)
lebih awal = earlier / more early

In this sentence, lebih awal functions like an adverb phrase: “earlier (than usual / than others / than expected).”

Comparisons:

kami datang awal
→ Grammatically possible but sounds a bit off; you’d more naturally specify:
Kami datang di waktu yang awal (we came at an early time) or just use lebih awal.
lebih cepat = faster / more quickly (focus on speed of movement or action)
lebih awal = earlier in time (focus on time, not speed)

Here, lebih awal is about what time they arrive, not how fast they travel.

Does lebih awal always need something to compare to? It feels like English “earlier than what?”

In Indonesian, lebih awal often leaves the comparison implicit. Native speakers understand it from context:

earlier than other guests
earlier than the scheduled time
earlier than we usually would

So a simple sentence like:

Kami datang lebih awal ke upacara pernikahan.

is perfectly natural, even though it doesn’t state “than usual” or “than others.” The listener will infer the reference point from the situation. You only need to say it explicitly if it might be unclear, e.g.:

Kami datang lebih awal daripada tamu yang lain.
→ We came earlier than the other guests.

Why do we use ke before upacara pernikahan?

[ANSWERER]
Ke is a preposition meaning “to” (indicating direction toward a place or event).

datang ke ... = come to ...
pergi ke ... = go to ...

So:

datang ke upacara pernikahan
= come to the wedding ceremony.

Whenever you show movement toward something, you usually use ke before the destination (place, building, event, etc.):

ke sekolah (to school)
ke rumah nenek (to grandma’s house)
ke pesta ulang tahun (to the birthday party)

What is the difference between upacara pernikahan and pesta pernikahan?

Both relate to a wedding, but they focus on different parts:

upacara pernikahan
- upacara = ceremony
- The formal wedding ceremony itself (vows, religious or legal part).
pesta pernikahan
- pesta = party
- The wedding reception/party (eating, music, celebration) rather than the formal ritual.

So:

Kami datang lebih awal ke upacara pernikahan...
= We’re coming early to the ceremony.

If you wanted to say you’re coming early to the party/reception, you’d say:

Kami datang lebih awal ke pesta pernikahan...

Could I say ke pernikahan instead of ke upacara pernikahan?

Yes, you can say:

Kami datang lebih awal ke pernikahan besok pagi.

Pernikahan by itself often means “the wedding (event)” in general. Listeners will usually understand you mean both ceremony and celebration, unless context narrows it.

Differences in nuance:

ke upacara pernikahan → emphasizes the formal ceremony.
ke pesta pernikahan → emphasizes the celebration/party.
ke pernikahan → more general; “to the wedding.”

Can I drop kami and just say Datang lebih awal ke upacara pernikahan besok pagi?

Yes, you can drop kami in conversational Indonesian, especially if it’s clear who “we” is from context:

Datang lebih awal ke upacara pernikahan besok pagi, ya.
→ (Let’s/We should) come earlier to the wedding ceremony tomorrow morning, okay.

Without a subject, it can sound like:

an instruction, suggestion, or reminder
a note on a schedule
a short message between people who already know who is involved

However, for clear, complete sentences (especially in writing or formal contexts), including kami is preferred.

Is it possible to say pernikahan upacara instead of upacara pernikahan?

No. The natural and grammatical order is:

upacara pernikahan (literally “ceremony of marriage”)

Indonesian usually puts the main noun first and the “of X” part after it:

rumah makan = eating house (restaurant)
hari ulang tahun = day of birth (birthday)
upacara pernikahan = ceremony of marriage (wedding ceremony)

Pernikahan upacara would sound wrong to native speakers.

Can I move besok pagi to another position, like the beginning or the middle of the sentence?

Yes. Besok pagi (tomorrow morning) is a time expression and is quite flexible in position. All of these are grammatical:

Kami datang lebih awal ke upacara pernikahan besok pagi.
Besok pagi kami datang lebih awal ke upacara pernikahan.
Kami besok pagi datang lebih awal ke upacara pernikahan. (less common, but possible)

Most natural in everyday speech are 1 and 2.
Putting time at the very beginning (2) is very common when you want to emphasize when:

Besok pagi kami datang lebih awal...

Is there a difference between besok pagi and pagi besok?

Both can be used, and both mean “tomorrow morning,” but:

besok pagi is more common and neutral.
pagi besok is also understood, but sounds a bit less natural in many contexts.

If you want the most natural phrasing, use besok pagi:

Kami datang lebih awal ke upacara pernikahan besok pagi.

Is datang the same as “go”? Could I say pergi ke upacara pernikahan instead?

Datang and pergi are different, like “come” and “go”:

datang = come (toward the place of reference)
pergi = go (leave the current place and head somewhere)

Your sentence focuses on arriving at the ceremony:

Kami datang lebih awal ke upacara pernikahan...
= We will come / arrive early at the wedding ceremony.

If you say:

Kami pergi lebih awal ke upacara pernikahan...

it sounds like “We leave earlier to go to the wedding ceremony.” That emphasizes the leaving time, not the arrival time. It’s possible, but the nuance is different.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral in tone?

The sentence is neutral and can fit both informal and semi-formal situations:

Kami is standard and polite.
Vocabulary (datang, lebih awal, upacara pernikahan) is neutral and not slangy.

It would be natural:

in conversation with friends or family
in a polite text message
in semi-formal writing

To be very formal, you might just adjust the context or add more politeness markers, but the core sentence itself is fine as is.