Zaatari camp, Jordan: Wedding day

A contemplative glance into the mirror as Tariq prepares to have his haircut and a shave at a makeshift barber’s in a prefabricated container in Zaatari. For today the 22-year-old Syrian refugee is to be married. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Lathered in anticipation of the shave, he permits himself a wry smile as the razor blade glides over his face. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

While it may be a momentous day for him, he is simply another customer in the barber shop, one of the 685 tiny businesses which have sprung up in the 120,000-strong desert community. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Getting ready no matter what. Young girls in their best frocks stand in line to get their hair done by one of the mothers. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Final checks. This youngster uses a mirror to ensure her look is just right. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

As with any wedding, food is a key component. Family and friends put resources together to ensure there was enough for family and friends. Here two helpers prepare rice and bulgur wheat. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

That was nice, thanks. This youngster glances round after finishing off his portion of the wedding meal. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

A rural tradition from his region demands that the groom is ‘attacked’ before the wedding ceremony to ensure he is ‘toughened up’ to take on the responsibilities of married life. Here a neighbour grabs Tariq on his return from the barber’s. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

After Tariq’s friends took his mobile phone off him first, the two men piled into a mud puddle by a water distribution point. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Breaking away, Tariq steps out of the pool of mud. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

The next stage of the elaborate ritual has him being ‘attacked’ again, this time with an egg and ketchup by one of the community leaders. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Tariq is then taken to the communal showers by relatives who – again in a ritual demanded by tradition – repeatedly wash him. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

The groom is passive throughout the process and here Tariq closes his eyes as soap lather covers his face. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

His relatives repeatedly pour water over his head as the soap is washed away. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

A youngster peeks around the corner as a smiling Tariq emerges from the shower having been dressed by relatives in a tracksuit. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Laughing as he emerges into the sunlight he wipes the remaining water from his eyes as he is carried aloft through the neighbourhood. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

He is carried around for all his friends and family to celebrate the wedding ceremony with him. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

To cheers he arrives in the trailer where he will be dressed for the actual wedding ceremony. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Among those there to greet him are his 99-year-old great grandmother who also fled from the fighting with the family. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Then begins the serious process of being dressed. Relatives help him into the shirt, jacket and trousers in which he will greet his bride. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Attentive hands from all angles ensure everything is correct. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Tariq looks straight ahead as he allows himself a smile as his hair is combed, gelled and he is sprayed with eau de cologne. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

In full regalia – including sunglasses which his friends insisted he wore - he is once more hoisted aloft and presented to the neighbourhood. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

First it was one now there are three shops in the camp hiring out bridal dresses. Despite the conflict raging just a few miles away the desire to get married remains. Some families try to get their sons married in the hope that the responsibility will prevent them being tempted to head back into Syria to fight. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Dresses can be hired for 40JD (US$56) which includes having make-up done. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Make-up is done in the pre-fab container where the dresses are on display. From there the brides are taken by taxi or minibus to the tent or pre-fab container where the ceremony and celebrations take place. It was only at the last moment that the bride’s family decided she would wear a dress and make-up. They had considered not doing so out of respect for the relatives killed in the conflict. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

The first time Tariq sees his wife in her bridal dress: the proud couple walk past onlookers to the reception which was held in a pre-fab container. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Tariq kisses his emotional mother. His future mother in law is happy with her daughter’s future husband as he was the best friend of her son who was killed in the conflict. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

But soon, despite the memory of her son's death, she is able to share a light-hearted moment. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

The men from Tariq’s family enjoy the food provided. Soon afterwards the women came in to clean the pre-fab container and prepare it to be the bridal suite. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Tariq embraces his 99-year-old great-grandmother. She is by no means the oldest refugee to arrive in the camp. Earlier this year a 105-year-old woman who had never left her village arrived in Zaatari. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Children gather outside the tent where the bride hosts a separate reception with her family. The families come together when she walks to Tariq’s tent signifying the two families are now joined. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Privacy is extremely difficult in the camp, where six family members are allotted to a tent. To ensure the couple have some privacy on their wedding night, the two families went to great lengths to move belongings and people to different locations so that this container was theirs. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)

Finally a moment of privacy. The couple in their wedding suite. (Photo by Jared J. Kohler)