Mass Wedding in Timor: Timor Leste

There was a wedding post-earthquake in Bantul, Yogyakarta, and now 17 couples 'dived off the edge' and were married during the lull in the violence that now tears the country apart.

Held at the old Dili church of Motael, tied the knot in a place that is now used as a refugee camp of sorts. Motael Church is a beautiful relic of Portuguese colonial times. The mass ceremony was simple and the couples' newly married status was heralded by a three-woman choir backed by an organ. Presiding at the nuptials was Father Antonio Alves, a colourful local priest and long time Australian resident who explained that mass weddings and other such occasions were common in East Timor.

Good on 'em I say and good luck for the future. When Candika and I were married it was a simple ceremony also but in a Bhuddist Vihara presided over by friends and many monks. However, at that time (during the Soeharto regime) marriages sanctified in a Bhuddist Vihara were in fact not legal. That is, Candika and I were not really married. Huh?. We only found this out after doing some business at a government department and subsequently we had to be remarried two months later, but&344; in a registry office of types and the nuptials given by a Catatan Sipil - a Civil servant of some merit. At least I can openly say that I've been married twice to the same lovely lady but with no divorce in between!.