Knots tied to wrap up the year in West Jakarta

Supenda (left) and Salimah (center) officiate their marriage during a mass wedding event at the West Jakarta Administration office in Kembangan, Jakarta, on Tuesday. The administration held the event to support couples would could not normally afford marriage certificates. (R. Berto Wedhatama)

Hundreds of couples, 727 in all, gathered at eight district offices in West Jakarta to get hitched en masse Tuesday. The event was organized by the municipal administration.

"We're showing our concern for the public," said West Jakarta Mayor Djoko Ramadhan, as quoted by Tempointeraktif.com.

The municipality thought the event would help residents because many couples are living together without registering as a married couple.

"I hope these couples will have happy families now their marriages are legal," he said.

West Jakarta funded the event through the generosity of municipal officials and some local business leaders. (dre)