Singaporebrides | Real Weddings

November 2021

Siti and Husaini’s Elegant and Ethereal Clifford Pier Solemnisation

Siti and Husaini exchanged their vows in an ethereal Clifford Pier solemnisation styled with elegant florals in gold, cream, and blue.

Close friends Siti and Husaini discovered they had similar values and goals in life. When the timing felt right, the couple decided to act on their attraction and move from being close friends to partners. After having to postpone their wedding celebrations and change their plans multiple times due to COVID-19 restrictions, Siti and Husaini walked down the aisle in an elegant and ethereal Clifford Pier wedding styled in a classic palette of gold, cream, and blue, where they designed their own beautiful wax-sealed invitations and stationery.

How did you first meet each other?

Husaini: We bumped into each other a few times in school but did not actually interact or notice each other since we were occupied with school and other ad-hoc co-curricular events. The first time we actually noticed each other was when we were selected to be the project directors of a Freshmen Orientation Camp in the National University of Singapore. It was purely platonic then as we had an objective to accomplish but we eventually ended up becoming close friends.

That was when we started inviting each other to external events like career-facilitating talks. By then, we had both started work and were in the same stage of life. We were definitely attracted to each other but how we ended up together was the result of a “Why not?” situation. The timing felt right and we were both looking for something more serious than just a fling. We had similar values, placed importance on similar things in life, and generally had similar goals in life. Us being together made sense and thank God that it did.

What do you love most about your partner?

Husaini: I love how affectionate she is. How passionate she can get over the littlest things. How random things can move her emotions so much. How much she loves her parents. How kind she is to others. How patient she generally is. I realised that I might have painted a picture of someone who seems to be very emotional, and she can be at times (as we all can) but I also love how together she is. How disciplined and thorough she is with her work. How driven and focussed she is. But I don’t love her because she’s the most or best or exhibits any quality the strongest. I love her because of all that put together and at the heart of it, I love her; the person she is.

Siti: Husaini gives off a very steady and stable vibe, which were qualities that attracted me to him. Is he as steady and stable as expected? Pretty much, but he is also extremely goofy and can be himbotic at times. His himbotic antics really make me laugh. Behind that big physique, he is actually a goof and a soft-hearted man at heart. And he takes care of me really well.

Did COVID-19 affect your wedding plans?

Siti: There were constant to and fros with our wedding, as with other couples whose wedding plans have been affected by the pandemic since 2020. It was definitely not easy to adapt to the restrictions and accept that weddings now would not be the same as before. Our parents took it harder, as they were used to big buffet-style traditional Malay weddings with 500-1,000 guests. But they understood that we all have a part to play in Singapore’s efforts against COVID-19 and adapted to the restrictions.

Technology also played a big part in our wedding planning. That meant having video conferences with our dressmaker in Jakarta, and getting-to-know Zoom sessions with our venue decorator and photographers. People usually say marriage is about teamwork. That is true but to add to that, it took a very willing, patient, and understanding village of vendors who were able to adjust to different plans (and last-minute decisions!) that made things fall into place and our solemnisation ceremony one to remember.

Husaini: We started planning for the wedding right in the middle of the original Phase 2. It was difficult to make any reasonable bookings because most vendors were not keen to commit with the uncertain numbers, or venues offering inflexible deals which, as consumers, was something we were concerned with. However, we were fortunate to eventually reach an agreement with our dream wedding venue, Clifford Pier.

We also managed to find caterers more easily as time passed and restrictions got lifted. We came into the home stretch with things looking promising and right on cue, the Government announced the relaxing of the regulations for weddings. In the days leading up to the moment the relaxed rules were supposed to kick in, we quickly changed all our plans to accommodate the expected increased number of guests, changing the seating arrangements, and “upgrading” the food packages since we were all anticipating that receptions would be allowed.

We even met the venue coordinator the day before everything was supposed to get better, confirming seating layouts and all other forms of programmes and logistics issues. However, cometh the hour, the rules got tightened owing to the spike in cases. All our last-minute work had to be cancelled, and undoing as well as replanning everything again was quite the hassle.

What was your wedding theme and how did you create it?

Siti: SingaporeBrides was our starting point to help us prepare for the wedding, because it is like a one-stop website to help clueless couples like us. The user interface of the website was organised intuitively so it was easy to navigate around and search for things. 

The Real Weddings the team covered in Clifford Pier also reaffirmed my venue choice! Clifford Pier is a beautiful place on its own, bathed in natural light with its high ceilings and arches. We wanted a theme that did not overwhelm its beauty as we wished for our guests to enjoy the venue as much as we loved it. We opted for a light palette such cream, gold, and baby blue to create a minimalistic but classy feel. Our deconstructed arches by the entrance added a bit of colour to our decoration and I thought it was a great complement and job well done by our decorator.

Husaini: The general theme or feel we were going for was light and airy, a little bit like summer. The colour scheme we went for helped achieve this. The gold, cream, and baby blue helped give an airy, light feel and we complemented this with an arch made of leaves and florals. Our venue provided us with a unique backdrop of the Marina Bay and we did not want to block that view. The venue also had a lot of natural light flowing in from all sides and we opted not to crowd the openings with any decoration to maximise the natural light coming in. We also did not need to do much with regard to the rest of the venue because the very high ceiling and arches added to the airy and light feeling we were going for.

What was your wedding day like?

Husaini: To sum it up, it was hectic but over in the blink of an eye. The preparation for it was something else. We did not engage a wedding planner so we had to cover all the bases ourselves. In the hours leading up to it, there was a lot of running around and making sure that things were moving according to plan. Being introverts ourselves, while we enjoyed the planning for the wedding and the whole idea of getting married, we were quite understandably nervous due to the fact that there was a crowd literally watching our every move.

After all the activity blew over and the ceremony started, the whole thing became enjoyable. We sat on the dais waiting for the guests to come up and take pictures with us. It was basically a quick catch-up session as we had not seen a lot of them recently due to the various restrictions in place.

Before we knew it, the ceremony was over and we proceeded with the photoshoots with the outfits we customised for reception. There were times during the entire thing when I had to tell myself to just pause. Pause and take it all in because things went by really quickly and I did not want it to be something locked away in our memories; I wanted to be there in the moment to experience everything in its wholesomeness.

And for a pair of highly introverted people, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We were knocked out by 8.30p.m. and were awakened briefly at around 6a.m. by the sound of thunder, only to crash right back to sleep until 11a.m. But looking back, even having all our social energy used up to such an extent, we thoroughly enjoyed it all.

What was the most memorable moment of your wedding?

Siti: It was to see every preparation and everyone coming together! It had been a while since I last saw my relatives and close friends and colleagues so it was heartening to see them again (albeit for a short while) to celebrate our wedding.

Husaini: I am quite a shy guy. I absolutely dreaded walking down the aisle because I did not like the idea of having all eyes on me as I walked. What if, God forbid, I tripped? I was not looking forward to that. Then something quite amusing happened. As is our custom, the bride should already be on the dais waiting for the groom to come in and recite his vows. Because of this, we were both waiting in the lobby for the emcees to call us in.

As the emcee called my wife, I expected her to elegantly stride down the aisle with her mum next to her, as all brides usually do. Instead, she quite literally power-walked down the aisle, with her steely gaze fixated on the dais with her mum in tow, trying to keep up. I laughed to myself and in that moment of amusement, I realised that she was just as nervous and anxious as I was. It hit me all at once then that from then on, we were in this together, nerves and all. So with a little bit more ease, I then walked down the aisle with my mum next to me, consciously walking slowly. It turns out it was a little too slow, or at least it felt like forever, but at the end of it, a sigh of relief was heaved for the fact that the daunting walk was over and that from then on, we really were in this together.

The Size of the Wedding: 150 guests
The Venue: The Clifford Pier, Fullerton Bay Hotel
The Wedding Day Photographer: Colossal Weddings
The Gown: Myrna Myura, Jakarta for the Javanese kebaya; Brides by Anggun for the blue dress; Self-customised for the white solemnisation dress
The Bride’s Shoes: VAIA Bride, Jakarta
The Suit: Myrna Myura, Jakarta for the Javanese beskap; Brides by Anggun for the blue suit, Self-customised for the white solemnisation suit
The Groom’s Shoes: Pedro
The Engagement Ring: Lee Hwa Jewellery
The Wedding Bands: Lee Hwa Jewellery for the groom; Draco Diamonds for the bride
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Zalora
The Groomsmen’s Suits: G2000
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Cleo Chang Makeup
The Stylists: Rosette Designs & Co and Jentayu Gallery Weddings
The Florist: Royalblooms
The Pre-Wedding Photographer: Aurative.Photo
The Videographer: Miamorements
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Self-designed
The Wedding Favours: Fullerton Bay Hotel
The Solemniser: Ustaz Ahmad Khushairi


Credits: Images by Colossal Weddings.


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Siti and Husaini’s Elegant and Ethereal Clifford Pier Solemnisation