Singaporebrides | Real Weddings

June 2018

Syazana and Izat’s Intimate Wedding at Assyakirin Mosque

By Tansey Tang

Share this article on:
Facebook 311

Secondary school sweethearts Syazana and Izat tied the knot in an intimate solemnisation at Assyakirin Mosque after dating for a decade.

Nur Syazana Hishamuddin, 23, Assistant Editor and Freelance Makeup Artist, was rehearsing a secondary school dance performance when Muhammad Sharizat, 25, Operations Executive, first saw her. They connected on social media and were together for a decade before celebrating their commitment on 14 and 15 October 2017 in an intimate solemnisation at Assyakirin Mosque and three beautiful wedding receptions, surrounded by family and friends.

How did you meet each other?

Syazana: It was during secondary school in 2007. I was in the Modern Dance Club at the time, and my group and I were practising for the performance. Izat was one of the student councillors organising the event. I didn’t notice him at all, but he said he saw me during the rehearsal and (according to him) immediately looked me up that day on Friendster (it was the pre-Facebook era, haha!) and we just started talking from there. A month later we considered each other boyfriend and girlfriend. Looking back at it now, I feel like I should have played a little more hard to get, but if not for that simple decision, I wouldn’t have discovered what an amazing man he was to become!

Izat: I was thinking about how I could talk to her as she was busy with her friends. I found her on social media by luck and sent her a message. She replied and we just hit it off.

What drew you to each other? What’s one of the things you love most about your partner?

Syazana: I can hardly remember what he was like in the beginning, because it was such a long time ago and we were just kids then, but the one thing that has been consistent through the years is how responsible he is. He’s a true family man, and I can see it through the way he cares for his parents, and in turn the way he cares for me. He’s a genuinely sweet guy.

We’ve really grown together as people and despite being very different individuals, we share the same likes, beliefs, and goals—which I think is so important when choosing a life partner.

Izat: I love how we can talk about basically anything with each other. We can talk for hours, so that drew me closer to her, wanting to get to know her more, and eventually falling for her even more. Just naming one thing I love most about my wife is difficult! But if I have to name one then it would be how driven she is in always wanting to succeed in life and always encouraging me to do my best in everything I do, at work and as a person. Her words of encouragement keep me going when life gets a bit tough.

What was the proposal like?

Izat: There wasn’t a real proposal as for years we had kept talking about marriage and how our wedding would be. When I finished my National Service and had been working for a few years, we both knew that the next step was to get married so we just set a date and the wedding plan was set in motion!

Syazana: We both already knew a few years into the relationship that we wanted to marry each other eventually, so the moment we felt we were ready, I told my parents.

Soon after, Izat and his parents came over to meet my family and officially asked for my hand. Both our parents met for the first time on that day, and discussed the details for the wedding.

What did you want for your wedding?

Syazana: We both wanted a very simple, fuss-free reception that allowed us to mingle with our friends and family—which is not very common in Malay weddings since there’s usually very little opportunity for interaction between the wedding couple and the guests.

This was a bit of a challenge since we had to factor in the requirements for each family (Izat’s side of the family, my mother’s side of the family and my father’s) so we decided that our project to take on would be the reception for his side of the family, to which we also invited our friends and colleagues.

Izat had mentioned that he attended a wedding at Assyakirin Mosque some years back, and it sounded like the perfect place. I went to see it for myself and fell in love with the venue immediately—the function hall was air-conditioned (one of our main requirements since we were holding the wedding during midday!) and spacious, yet intimate. We were very lucky to secure a booking just five months before the wedding day!

Izat: I have always wanted a small wedding with the people I cared about, close friends and families. A wedding where I get to mingle with the guests and remember everyone that came through the door and I couldn’t be happier when it all came true. Planning our own wedding was really tough—from the décor to the catering, it was a nightmare as we needed to find the time to go and buy the items ourselves. But it was worth every single second on the day of the wedding.

How did the wedding preparations go?

Syazana: Since we didn’t have a wedding planner, we did begin our wedding planning journey scratching our heads a bit, not knowing where to start. I looked at SingaporeBrides for décor ideas as I love the styled shoots, but for wedding outfit inspiration I looked to The Modest Bride since they offered more ideas for modest fashion.

After listing out what we needed to book for the wedding, we tried to tick each box one by one and started with the venue. Once we checked that off the list we quickly confirmed our caterer (not too difficult when it’s the family business on your paternal side!), wedding décor, photographer, videographer, designers, and florist, and everything else seemed to just sort itself out. Communication with our vendors was pretty seamless since there were just a handful of them, and many of them were friends of ours. Everything else was DIY.

What was your wedding day like?

Syazana: It was perfect to me, and I would do anything to relive it over and over again! None of it would have been possible without our fabulous bridesmaids and groomsmen, who are such talented people. One of my best friends, Rachel, was the wedding emcee, and two of my closest friends, Anza and Suha, designed and created our wedding outfits while my friend Hadi did one of my bouquets.

Back to the wedding day, we were firm about allocating time during the reception to step off the wedding dais to chat with our guests, and it was one of the best decisions we made. We had the chance to properly thank each and every one for taking their time to attend our special day, and caught up with old friends we hadn’t seen in a while.

Our outdoor photo shoot was very simple and candid but I’m so in love with how the pictures turned out! Our photographer Toni, who is an old school mate of mine from my polytechnic days, did such an amazing job that when the photos came out, our family members couldn’t believe that some of the shots were taken in front of HDB blocks.

Once we were done shooting we had to do a quick change for the evening reception for my father’s side of the family, and the rest of the evening went by very quickly, ending off with our evening shoot on the roof of the nearby multi-storey car park. After that we headed to the hotel to rest up before Day 2!

Izat: It was just like how I imagined it would be, minus a couple of setbacks, but once I saw my wife walking through the door and sitting on the wedding dais waiting for me, I couldn’t think of anything else besides wanting to hug her. The wedding was nice, quiet, and peaceful after the solemnisation, and the reception was nice as we, the bride and groom, went down to mingle with the guests.

What was the most memorable moment of your wedding?

Syazana: For me it was when we had just left the mosque function hall and stopped at the stairwell to take the first few shots of our photo shoot. We just had to look at each other and smile, but in my head I was in disbelief that after so many years, we had finally become husband and wife.

Izat: It was when I finally held my wife’s hand and looked her in the eye and said, “We finally made it.” I will never forget the look on her face.

The Size of the Wedding: 300 guests at Assyakirin Mosque // 2,000 guests at the void deck // 600 guests at Concorde Hotel
The Cost of the Wedding: Assyakirin Mosque reception and outfits borne by the bride and groom, approximately $12,000 // Other receptions borne by parents
The Venues: Assyakirin Mosque for solemnisation and reception // Void deck // Muslim Delights at Concorde Hotel
The Wedding Day Photographers: Toni Cuhadi for Day 1 // Flixshot Visuals for Day 2
The Gown: Fiziwoo for Zalora // AfiqM // Amerylis Suha & Anzahari Taib
The Bride’s Shoes: Kardashian Kollection // Zara
The Suit: Benjamin Barker
The Groom’s Shoes: Benjamin Barker
The Wedding Bands: Meyson for Izat // Joo Chong Pawnshop for Syazana
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Their own
The Groomsmen’s Suits: Their own
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Amerylis Suha for Day 1 // Syazana for Day 2
The Caterer: Jamil Catering
The Florist: Hocus Pocus Events for Day 1 //Hadi Hayat Hazwan for Day 2
The Wedding Stylist: Amerylis Suha and Anzahari Taib
The Videographer: Cutscene
The Wedding Invitations: Bride’s sister
The Wedding Favours: DIY
The Solemniser: Mohd Zamri Bin Isahak
The Henna Artist: Zafirah Asnadi

Credits: Images by Toni Cuhadi, except for last set by Flixshot Visuals

All content from this article, including images, cannot be reproduced without credits or written permission from SingaporeBrides.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram for the latest article and promotion updates!