Singaporebrides | Real Weddings
March 2018
Hanan and Adzfar’s Dazzling Raffles Town Club Wedding
Hanan and Adzfar made fashion-forward entrances to their beautiful, iridescent Raffles Town Club wedding!
Hanan Helme Al-Johary, 25, Entrepreneur, and Adzfar Alami, 30, Lawyer, first met when he became her tutor. In an elaborate surprise proposal at the airport, Adzfar moved Hanan to tears when he showed her all the sentimental memoribila he had kept over their five-year relationship. The couple tied the knot on 21 January 2017, in a dazzling Raffles Town Club wedding with two celebrations for their families.
How did the two of you meet?
Adzfar: I met Hanan through a mutual contact from a job attachment I did back in 2011 as part of my undergraduate requirement, as I was also a freelance personal tutor and Hanan was (apparently) looking for a tutor. At our first meeting, I thought to myself that this girl looked really young and I couldn’t believe that she was already 19 years old. I swear she looked 12! We only had a few lessons as her final exams were just around the corner, but we still kept in touch and eventually, started dating.
Hanan: Well, that basically sums it up. I would just like to highlight that Adzfar was late for our very first meeting, and he almost lost his chance, but he made up for it eventually with some cupcakes and Frappuccino. The poor boy didn’t know I hate coffee, but the cupcakes were more than enough.
What drew you to each other and what’s something you love about your partner?
Adzfar: Definitely her attention to detail, she always says and does the right thing at the right time. It’s not an easy skill to master, and I’m ever grateful to Hanan for this.
Hanan: His humility.
What was the proposal like?
Adzfar: I think I can answer this for the both of us, since Hanan didn’t have to do anything! It was a meticulously planned (it was!) proposal that had to be timed just perfectly. Hanan had always complained that I was not sentimental but what she didn’t know was that over the five years we were dating, I kept Polaroids, ticket stubs, event invitations, small Post-its she wrote me, etc. in a box under my bed and had prepared a scrapbook of sorts with a note of what each item meant to me or what we did that day.
I bought two identical white paper bags and filled one of them with all these items and passed it to her best friend (who happened to be an ex-colleague of mine) to hold on to, while I kept the other identical white paper bag. At the same time, Hanan was overseas for a modelling competition, and I was due to fly up with her parents to meet up with her once the competition was over. I brought one of the white paper bags, hidden in my luggage, overseas with me.
What were the identical paper bags for?
Adzfar: The plan was to keep Hanan’s most prized possessions (her heels, of course) in this white paper bag on the way back to Singapore, and “accidentally” leave the paper bag on the airplane once we disembarked. What Hanan didn’t know was that the duffel bag which I was carrying was stuffed full with crushed newspapers, which I emptied quietly when Hanan knocked out on the plane, and replaced with her precious heels. I then hid the white paper bag under the plane seat.
I also got her best friend to help prepare a banner that read “Hanan, Will You Marry Me?” (Her best friend had suggested that we just write, “Will You Marry Me”, but I was afraid that this might be construed as an open invitation!) Her best friend had also passed the airline staff the white paper bag with the scrapbook and other items I had prepared. The plan was to pretend I had left all her shoes on the plane, rush to the airline counter to ask them to hold the plane to retrieve them, and then to have the airline staff produce the white paper bag and hand it to us at the counter. Hanan would then look through the bag and find out that it’s full of the items I had saved over the five years, and her friends would appear from behind us and hold the banner up while I get down on one knee and propose with the ring that I had hidden in my pocket.
Hanan: It happened EXACTLY as Adzfar just described it, but he left out how I cried so much my makeup ran, and I looked like crap in the pictures we took after (which have “mysteriously” disappeared).
Can you describe what you wanted for your wedding and how you created it?
Adzfar: I wanted a table, the marriage contract, a slice of cake, and a wife at the end of it.
Hanan: Ignore him! We wanted to have “lights” as our main theme and each and every item to be centered around this theme. The stage would have white lights as the background, our clothes would be white or cream, and the ballroom would be filled with candles. We conceptualised the layout and the design, but had a wedding planner take care of the execution (and she pretty much delivered what we wanted, save for the candles which were apparently unsafe, but I guess you can’t have it all!).
The Wedding Guide on SingaporeBrides was a lifesaver, as we were clueless about where to begin and we were planning to have the wedding in around three months from the time Adzfar proposed. Once we had conceptualised what we wanted, we used the Wedding Planning To-Do List to make sure we had everything covered as getting married is one of those things that (a) you would never have done before and (b) would never do again!
What was your wedding day like?
It was a long affair, as we had two ceremonies at the same venue on the same day. The lunch was for Adzfar’s side of the family, while the dinner was for Hanan’s side of the family. But our wedding planner well, planned it very well, and everything was well executed. The ballroom was filled with our friends and family and we managed to get many pictures with most of our guests.
What was the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Adzfar: My speech! It was hilarious!
Hanan: You mean it was sweet and meaningful… Anyway, I think I can speak for the both of us (yes, I can) that the most memorable moment was when everyone queued (some for almost 45 minutes) to come up on stage to take a picture with us, and being surrounded by our loved ones really made it special.
The Size of the Wedding: 900 guests for a buffet lunch reception // 400 guests for dinner
The Cost of the Wedding: S$100,000 for venue, food, and performances
The Venues: Al-Ansar Mosque // Raffles Town Club Ballroom
The Wedding Day Photographer: Fokus
The Gown: Evening gown custom-made by Fiziwoo, Kuala Lumpur // Afternoon outfits by Fatimah Mohsin and Lulu Alhadad
The Bride’s Shoes: Louboutin
The Suit: Evening suit by Benjamin Barker // Afternoon suits by Fatimah Mohsin and Lulu Alhadad
The Groom’s Shoes: Carmina
The Engagement Ring: Mauboussin for Hanan // Cartier for Adzfar
The Wedding Bands: Maboussin for Hanan // Bvlgari for Adzfar
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Zalia
The Groomsmen’s Suits: Benjamin Barker
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Aizat, Malaysia
The Caterer: Makmur Restaurant // Fluff Bakery
The Wedding Cake: Fluff Bakery
The Florist: The Flower Godmother
The Wedding Planner: Sentimentals
The Pre-Wedding Photographer: Rommentiq Events, Photography and Videography
The Videographer: Visual Surplus
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Soiree Bliss
The Wedding Favours: Quofic
The Solemniser: Registry of Muslim Marriages
Credits: Images by Fokus
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