'I finally married you': Malaysian man holds ghost wedding with standee of late livestreamer

A Malaysian man held a ghost wedding with a standee of his late fiancee who died before they could marry.

The man, who goes by John Muaythai John on Facebook, posted videos of the ceremony on Sunday (June 28), five days after his livestreamer fiancee, SaKira Saw, died unexpectedly.

In Chinese culture, a ghost marriage is one where either or both parties are deceased. It is a form of bereavement, and is done in the belief that the couple will be married in the spiritual realm.

John and Saw had been planning to get married in November this year, according to a wedding invite on his Facebook.

"I sincerely invite all those who have cared about us and know us, as well as those who originally received our wedding invitation, to take the time to attend and witness this belated but never-changing ceremony," John said.

He added that the love between him and Saw will not end, but "turn into eternal care and blessing" through the ghost wedding.

The event was held in Butterworth, Penang, and featured a large tent with extravagant decorations reminiscent of a traditional wedding.

Along the centre lay a red carpet, which John walked down happily while holding a life-sized standee of Saw in a wedding gown.

Guests were seen clapping while John and the bridal party made their way to the altar.

The ceremony featured performances by attendees and prayers by a group of people who were dressed in attire resembling that of Taoist priests.

The video also featured a clip of John kneeling over the coffin and breaking down.

He is subsequently seen taking photos with attendees and cutting a wedding cake, before paper offerings were burned in an outdoor car park.

"Today, I finally married you," John wrote in his Facebook post, adding that it was the greatest blessing to meet Saw in his lifetime.

"In my next life, I will definitely meet you again," he said.

The funeral for Saw was held on Monday (June 29), a day after the ghost wedding.

@asiaone A Malaysian man honoured his late fiancee by holding a ghost wedding ceremony with her life-sized standee after she died before their planned wedding. #MalaysiaNews #Malaysia #Wedding #Love #Funeral ♬ original sound - AsiaOne

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