Makeup artist Tien Santoso says prayer a key to lasting marriage
Makeup artist Tien Santoso says prayer a key to lasting marriage
By Christiani S.A. Tumelap
JAKARTA (JP): The most important aspect of a wedding is not
the preparations and parties but prayer, a well-known makeup
artist believes.
Tien Santoso said that reverence and trust in God are the key
to a successful wedding ceremony and lasting marriage.
Praying, she said, can help ease the couple's anxieties so
that both are able to manage the complicated wedding
preparations.
"Stress will only make it difficult for you to take a rest and
sleep. An exhausted and weary bride will look pale and
unattractive and beyond anything that fantastic makeup can do,"
Tien told The Jakarta Post recently.
Tien, who has been a makeup artist for traditional wedding
couples since 1972, believes that fasting is no less important.
Which is why she always asks every couple that comes to her to
pray and fast every Monday and Thursday prior to the wedding day.
Praying and fasting bring a couple closer and can foster a
feeling of togetherness, she said. A wedding, and marriage, will
only work if the man and woman earnestly work it out together.
"Fasting, especially for the bride, can also help the skin's
condition by reducing sweat and clarifying the skin. Clean and
healthy skin will make the bride look happy and pretty even
before I do the makeup," she explained.
A traditional wedding ceremony is usually very complicated and
not all of the people involved really comprehend the meaning of
the rituals, according to Tien. The ceremonies can also be very
expensive.
Tien refused to name her price but Kompas reported last year
that she charged between Rp 5 million (US$2,100) and Rp 8 million
to do the makeup and preparations for the marriage ceremony and
reception. The amount did not cover the wedding outfits.
"Sometimes I suggest that people with limited budgets simplify
their ceremonies unless they really understand the true meaning
of each step in the ceremony. Otherwise, you will be better off
saving the money," she said.
There have been times, she said, when a wedding ceremony gets
more difficult because the parents compel their child to
undertake a traditional wedding ceremony from one region while
their child's partner comes from a different region.
"In that case, the bride and groom are the ones who suffer the
most. Together with the couple, I would pray and fast more
seriously to ask for God's help in searching for the best
solution," she said.
Parents should realize that the happiness of their children is
far more important than expensive traditional ceremonies, she
said.
"And you know what, it was the prayer to God that softened
those people's hearts and eased the way to a blessed wedding. But
there have been times when some parents were so stubborn that
their children ran away and got married without the parents'
blessings," she said.
Tien has been a makeup teacher at an art and design academy of
the Foundation of Indonesian Women College Graduates (Ikatan
Sarjana Wanita Indonesia) since 1976 and at the Jakarta Teachers
Training Institute since 1984.
Born in 1950 in Madiun, East Java, Tien has done all the kinds
of bridal makeup work that can be found in the nation's 27
provinces. Her customers included the children of Vice President
Try Soetrisno, businessman Sudwitkatmono, and foreign minister
Ali Alatas.
In a week, she usually does the makeup for at least 10 brides
from various provinces, mostly from Java. The only type of makeup
she hasn't done is the makeup typical of Irian Jaya.
"I'm really looking forward to helping arrange a traditional
wedding ceremony from Irian Jaya," she said.
Every traditional wedding ceremony has it's own rites and
makeup styles, she said. West Javanese eye makeup, for example,
is noticeable for its natural colors like brown, black, white and
green, while Central Javanese is basically dominated by green and
yellow.
"The eye makeup for Sumatran brides, such as those from
Padang, consists of more bright colors like red, yellow, green
and blue," she added.
However, she said, most people are now blending traditional
styles with up-to-date cosmetics. "It's important for a good
makeup artist to master the traditional wedding's customs and
styles on one hand, and to study modern makeup for comparison and
to enrich their knowledge."
Tien uses both traditional and modern styles. "I still make my
own makeup materials for certain things like paes, a crown-like
painting on the bride's forehead, and lulur (type of traditional
massage) for Javanese brides."