Bride and groom hold wedding at cemetery so spirits could attend
When it came time for Janyl Jumadinova and Oliver Bonham-Carter to plan their wedding, they knew the perfect place: Forest Lawn, the largest cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska.
Jumadinova is from Kyrgyzstan, and said that her culture strongly believes in spirits. Bonham-Carter was also drawn to the idea of having his deceased ancestors who are buried at the cemetery close by on his wedding day. "It's not at all creepy," he told The Omaha World-Herald. "We have thousands of witnesses — both alive and dead!"
The couple was married earlier this year in Pennsylvania, but also wanted to have a second, larger wedding with more guests. The Omaha ceremony was held inside of a 101-year-old funeral chapel on the cemetery grounds, and relatives came from all over the world to attend, with some traveling more than 6,000 miles.
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Only one other wedding has ever been held in the chapel, cemetery manager Gregory Easley told The World-Herald. He added that that he didn't think it was strange at all that Jumadinova and Bonham-Carter vowed to be together until death do them part in what might be their final resting place.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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