PARAK BURUK, Oct 2 (AFP) -- Linda Wati was just days from her wedding, fussing over guests and food, when the massive quake hit her village on Indonesia's Sumatra island.

But spending her nights outside a home that is now just a teetering shell, the 25-year-old said she had no intention of putting her plans on hold.

"Our wedding will continue as planned on Friday. We're expecting about 40 guests. I consider this a challenge from God," said Wati, a farmer's daughter who has her head covered by a Muslim headscarf.

"We have to demolish the house and rebuild again. I'm not angry with God. I think it's a test of our will."

The marquee and rolls of cloth bunting are up, but many other structures in this village of lush rice fields, rambutan trees and lazing buffaloes have been destroyed.

"We were making final preparations for my wedding when the quake hit Padang," said Wati.

"My cousins were decorating the house and building a platform to host the musicians when the quake happened," she said.

Neighbours made homeless by the quake are now sleeping on the stage that had been set up for the wedding band but Wati said she would have to clear them off for her big day Friday.

With 1,100 dead in the region, a number likely to rise, Wati said she just felt thankful her own family had been spared.

Here, between the quake's epicentre at sea and Sumatra's looming, forested mountains, the majority of homes lie in ruins.

The farmers and small-time labourers living in traditional wooden houses have fared better, while those who had upgraded to concrete and tiles have seen their buildings crumble.

One of the neighbours who had spent the night on Wati's stage, 41-year-old Erfayulis, said she was haunted by the 7.6-magnitude quake, which flattened buildings in nearby Padang and caused panic across western Sumatra.

She said it was time for the outside world to step forward to help people here rebuild their lives.

"My kids can't sleep. We're getting attacked by mosquitoes. And my gut feeling says another big quake will hit Padang," Erfayulis said.

"We're asking for the government and neighbouring countries for aid. Give us materials to rebuild our homes and give us food." (By M. JEGATHESAN/AFP)