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."