BAGHDAD, Iraq - There were no musicians, food was sparse and guests were frisked at the door. But when the 21-year-old bride appeared in her white, full-length dress with her groom by her side, everyone beamed.

Hussein Ali, 23, and his 21-year-old bride Sumaya Jassim stand during their wedding reception in Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City, Monday Dec. 4, 2006. [AP]

"We have suffered so many attacks here, but we still must have weddings, even if they are not like before," said Saad Ibrahim Idan, one of the groom's uncles.

Despite Iraq's terrible violence, young couples such as 23-year-old Hussein Ali and Sumaya Jassim are marrying and trying to live normal lives. In a country where tens of thousands have died and even more have been displaced by nearly four years of war, this requires bravery, ingenuity and compromise.

Ahmed Hashim, 26, owner of a poultry shop in eastern Baghdad, got married last month.

"I postponed my marriage for three years, hoping the situation would improve. But the sectarian fighting has kept getting worse and worse," he said in an interview at his shop. "So I decided to go ahead, knowing what happens to me is decided by God."

Hashim's fiancee, Shurouq Rahim, 22, couldn't risk a trip to a beauty salon. Muslim fundamentalists attack the shops, on grounds that hairdos and makeup violate their interpretation of Islam. So a beautician went to Hashim's house instead.

"This cost us double the normal fees," he said.

The couple also had to forgo a fancy reception at a hotel, settling for a simple affair at the home of the groom's parents. "We didn't even play music because we didn't want to draw the attention of insurgents or militias," Hashim said.

Weddings, funerals and other gatherings are easy targets for suicide bombers.

At least five wedding receptions were attacked during the past year. On Oct. 31, a suicide car bomber hit a wedding party in Baghdad and killed 23 people, including nine children gathered outside the bride's home.

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