Singaporebrides | Real Weddings
July 2021
Fareeha and Hafiz’s Intimate COVID-19 Wedding at Warehouse 16 and The Lakehouse@Orto
Despite the global pandemic, Fareeha and Hafiz were determined to tie the knot in 2021.
Although Fareeha and Hafiz were from the same secondary school, they only got to know each other graduating but soon lost contact with each other. As fate would have it, they reconnected a few years later and found love. Fareeha and Hafiz originally planned for a wedding in 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to postpone their wedding to March this year. Read about the challenges they had to go through to make their dream wedding come true amidst a global pandemic!
How did the two of you meet?
Fareeha: Although we were both from Loyang Secondary School, we did not meet while we were in school. Back then, he was unaware of my presence in school while I always knew that he was around. We connected over Facebook in 2014 and we spoke mostly about our memories from school. However, our conversation did not last long and we parted ways.
Then, later in 2018, Hafiz contacted me via Facebook again on my mother’s birthday. He wanted to send some well-wishes to my mother through me. He made plenty of effort to keep the conversation going as the days went by and arranged for casual dates for us to get to know each other. I decided to open up my heart to try again, and we just hit it off from there. A year later, we took our relationship to the next level and got engaged! It was definitely a big surprise to everyone around us. We did not expect our journey together to take flight at such a fast rate, but it was the best decision that we’ve made thus far.
What drew you to each other?
Fareeha: As clichéd as it may sound, we complete each other. The saying “opposites attract” seems to apply to us as my strengths are his weaknesses, and his strengths are my weaknesses. With these, we are driven to push each other to be the better version of ourselves than yesterday.
What is it about your partner that you love the most?
Fareeha: His positivity. I’m someone who takes things too seriously and sometimes, it gets to me how things are not going as planned. Having him by my side to shine a positive light and to always see that every problem has its solution is definitely reassuring. Having another version of me as my partner will be a disaster.
Hafiz: It is hard for me to choose what I love the most about Fareeha. But, one thing’s for sure, I really admire her discipline towards her goals in life. She is very dedicated and perseveres to achieve what she wants in her life. During her journey in working hard towards her goals, she also never fails to help others along the way.
What was the proposal like?
Fareeha: Well, there wasn’t a proper proposal like how I had imagined my dream proposal to be, like those in dramas. As our relationship grew each day, we discussed about whether we should take our relationship to the next level. He did ask, after one of our dates, “Want to get married?”, and I replied casually, “Okay, let’s go.” It was definitely the most chill thing I’ve ever done in my life! For me, if I had wanted to bail out, I would have done so from the first day, so I was quite sure of my decision.
One day, Hafiz and my parents came to help me at an event. After the event, we went for lunch and Hafiz asked my father for my hand in marriage. Both of us were shaking like crazy as my father is quite strict, so we didn’t know what to expect. Surprisingly, my parents respected our decision and just gave us some advice.
Hafiz: We didn’t expect our relationship to go at this fast rate. I didn’t even buy a ring for the proposal. We only bought the ring a few weeks before our engagement. I just followed my gut feeling that Fareeha will accept me for who I am and will be willing to be my wife.
Tell us about your wedding. Where was your wedding venue and why did you choose it as the place to wed?
Fareeha & Hafiz: Our initial plan was to hold a wedding under the void deck for both sides of the family as we come from big families, and we would have liked to do it in a traditional way. We thought that 10/10/2020 was a beautiful date to get married, and we had it all planned. However, God knows best, and we decided to postpone our wedding due to the new COVID-19 measures. We chose to wed at Warehouse16 and Orto as both places gave off a rustic feel. The most important thing for us at that point of time was to find a venue that we could communicate our concerns to and be able to accommodate the number of guests we had while taking into consideration the other COVID-19 measures that were imposed.
What was your wedding planning journey like? How did COVID-19 affect your wedding planning?
Fareeha and Hafiz: It was smooth sailing at first as we started planning since we got engaged in 2019. We had it all planned out nicely and had a well-organised timeline. When the pandemic hit Singapore and when the COVID-19 regulations for both solemnisations and wedding receptions were announced, we got really stressed out. We were supposed to get married in October 2020, but we waited until after the Circuit Breaker to decide whether to proceed or postpone the wedding. After we made the decision to postpone the wedding to March this year, we had to re-look our guest list due to the limit in the number of guests we could invite to the wedding, and decided to prioritise our close family members first before our friends. It was definitely tough and stressful at that point in time.
What were some of the compromises you had to make for a wedding during this unusual time?
Hafiz: For me, I have to convince my father that there were certain traditional wedding practices that we had to forgo due to the COVID-19 measures. As I come from a big family, my father would have loved to invite everyone that he knows. Unfortunately, this was not possible. On my side, I didn’t get to invite most of my friends and the only friends I could invite to the wedding were my groomsmen. Despite these difficult decisions, I’m glad that everyone was understanding and sent their well-wishes to both of us.
Fareeha: As I’m the first one to get married in my family, both of my parents would have loved to have a grand wedding for me. I had to explain to them how we had to forgo some of our plans that we made. I’m glad that my family was understanding, especially during that time, as they were more concerned about the safety of others. Even on my wedding reception day, they went around ensuring that everyone adhered to the safety measures.
Take us back to your wedding day. What was the day like and how were you feeling?
Hafiz: Two days before our wedding, we went for our own massage sessions. After the massage sessions, I gave Fareeha a call and said “Let’s not worry about what will happen on our wedding day. We are going to smile, be happy and enjoy the day.” It is not that I do not care about the wedding, but I have faith in everyone who were responsible for making sure things went smoothly during the wedding, especially my family members and groomsmen. It was the best decision we made for our wedding day as we literally did not care about what went wrong on that day! We focussed on walking down the aisle and being happy to create new adventures together.
Fareeha: I was nervous from the first day of planning up until my solemnisation day. When Hafiz told me not to worry about what would happen on our wedding reception day, it made me tremble even more. But, true enough, not worrying about that day was the best decision I’ve made for my wedding day! As you can see from the photos, I was smiling brightly because in my mind, I’ve married the man of my dreams. Nothing can take that happiness away from me.
Did you have a wedding theme? What was it?
Fareeha & Hafiz: Initially, we had a theme in mind which is to have a rustic vintage type of wedding with our own colour theme. However, due to the pandemic, we just went with the flow and we just wanted to get it over and done with. It was too much stress for us at that point of time!
What did your family and friends have to say about your wedding day?
Fareeha & Hafiz: There were mixed feelings. Those who attended our wedding said that it was both a joyful and emotional occasion at the same time. Fareeha’s grandfather, who was looking forward to attending the wedding reception, passed away just a few weeks before the wedding, while Hafiz wished that his late mother could attend and celebrate her only son’s wedding. Both of us lost someone dear to us prior to our wedding day, so our wedding speeches were emotional. Even our wedding vendors were tearing up during our speeches. We just couldn’t stop crying throughout each other’s speeches.
Share with us the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Fareeha & Hafiz: Hafiz’s father actually fed us some food and drinks during our wedding reception as he had always wanted to reminisce about the memories he had of Hafiz when he was younger. It was awkward at first, but definitely memorable. Both of us really loved how intimate our wedding reception was and how we were able to connect with every single guest who attended our wedding. If we could relive our wedding day, we would want to have the same kind of wedding that we had. Nothing more and nothing less.
What is one lesson you’ve learned from your wedding planning that you’d like to share with other couples?
Fareeha & Hafiz: Always list down the things that you need for the wedding planning rather than what you want. We might want to have this and that for our wedding, and when we don’t get it, we tend to compare ourselves with others and that’ll lead to disappointments. Always bear in mind that what we had planned might not happen the way we want it to. Wedding planning is stressful for couples; it is important to give and take, and hear each other out. Ask yourselves whether it is worth it to fight with your chosen partner over just a day of celebration.
Do you have any tips for couples who may be planning their wedding amidst this COVID-19 pandemic?
You should prioritise your happiness over others, as too may opinions might just spoil what you have. You should also always have each other’s back and be strong for each other. Don’t forget to abide by the COVID-19 measures for weddings! Don’t worry too much; you’ll get through it. Once the day is over, you will definitely miss the beautiful day.
The Venue: Warehouse16 and Orto
Cost of Wedding: $16,000
Size of Wedding: 100 pax
The Bride’s Gown: Provided by Inno Events
The Bride’s Shoes: Pazzion
The Groom’s Suit: Provided by Inno Events
The Groom’s Shoes: Dr. Martens
The Wedding Photographer and Videographer: Mavericks Wedding
The Wedding Bands: Orro
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Hana Boutique (Joo Chiat Complex)
The Groomsmen’s Suits: H&M
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Provided by Inno Events
The Caterer: Provided by Inno Events
The Wedding Cake: Nurrscake and Hilwah’s cakes and bakes (Sponsored by cousins for groom)
The Florist: DIY
The Wedding Planner: Inno Events
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: DIY
The Wedding Favours: Olaola.Store
The Solemniser: Ustaz Zaki Mahmod (ROMM)
The Wedding Car: Vellfire
DJ for Groom’s reception: Dzar Ismail from Okletsgo
Gelato Vendor for Bride’s reception: Lolilo_Gelato
Wedding Posters: The_rer07
Bride’s Henna Artist: Hennameprettysg
The Wedding Resource: SingaporeBrides
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