62 Couples at Central Java Mass Wedding Receive Business Capital and Honeymoon
Central Java Deputy Governor Taj Yasin Maimoen, widely known as Gus Yasin, praised the cooperation between various parties, which not only helped couples hold their weddings but also provided support for their lives after marriage.
“We can really feel the impact of this collaboration. It covers everything from wedding preparations to a honeymoon after the wedding, and they have also thought about providing capital for the couples after they marry,” Taj Yasin said in a written statement on Wednesday (21 October 2026).
Gus Yasin said the programme reflected concern for people facing financial constraints that made it difficult to marry. He hoped similar collaborations would continue as a way to strengthen family resilience and help people establish households recognised both religiously and under state law.
Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Romo HR Muhammad Syafii said the Nikah Akbar programme was organised in partnership by the Mutiara Al-Fatah Foundation, Rabitah Al-Islamiyah, the Central Java provincial government, Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) and other parties.
The programme, previously known as a mass wedding, eases the administrative process, including access to civil registration documents for children born to the couples. Participants also receive initial business capital to encourage their families’ economic independence.
After being held in Jakarta and Bogor, the programme was staged in Central Java and is planned to continue in Maluku, with a target of 500 couples.
Through the Santri Mantu programme, Syafii said he hoped more people would be able to marry with legal recognition and build harmonious, economically independent families.
The marriage ceremonies at the Great Mosque of Central Java (MAJT) were held at 62 tables, each staffed by a marriage registrar, witnesses and a guardian. Galang, a Santri Mantu participant from Sumenep, said he had married Aprilia, a resident of Semarang. After the ceremony and receiving his marriage card, Galang was unable to hide his emotion.
His happiness was heightened when table number 004, where his ceremony took place, was selected to be witnessed by Taj Yasin. Gus Yasin also led a prayer for the couple. Galang’s marriage vow was accompanied by a dowry of three grams of gold and Rp2,100,000 in cash.
Another participant, Dila, expressed similar happiness. A Semarang resident, she married a man from Demak Regency and said she was proud to have held her ceremony at the Great Mosque of Central Java.
“I hope that the other participants and I will live a sakinah, mawaddah, warahmah life together into old age, and remain enthusiastic about the future,” Dila said.