Nebraska couple marries among living, dead in Omaha’s largest cemetery

OMAHA, Neb. – A Nebraska couple chose an unusual venue for their wedding: the largest cemetery in Omaha.

Janyl Jumadinova and Oliver Bonham-Carter exchanged vows Saturday in Forest Lawn Cemetery. They were surrounded by family, friends and more than 100,000 souls buried in the 349-acre cemetery.

The bride, who is from Kyrgyzstan, said her culture holds a firm belief in spirits. Some of the groom’s ancestors are buried in the cemetery, the Omaha World-Herald (http://bit.ly/1nQEe9W ) reported.

“It’s not at all creepy,” Bonham-Carter said. “We have thousands of witnesses — both alive and dead!”

The couple married earlier this year in a small ceremony in Pennsylvania, but they wanted to hold another wedding so friends and family could bear witness. Relatives of the couple travelled more than 6,000 miles from three different continents to attend.

The ceremony took place in an ornate 101-year-old chapel decorated with granite, marble, brass, stained glass and mosaic tiles. It was designed by John McDonald, an Omaha architect who helped construct Joslyn Castle and the Joslyn Art Museum with his son Alan.

McDonald, his wife and son are interred in the walls of his Forest Lawn Cemetery chapel.

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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, http://www.omaha.com