Congratulations to the Newlyweds: Farhana & Farhan!

Hi everyone! As some of you may know, Farhana, one of our writers here at the Awesome Project, is now married! If you've been following our blog, you'd have seen our previous posts about Far's engagement, bachelorette party, and the wedding hijab trial run. Believe it or not, she is finally married! I still can't believe it, I mean c'mon one of my best friends is MARRIED. We are all extremely happy for her and Farhan of course! Anyway, I know you're all dying to see the pictures. Obviously the marriage ceremony and both wedding receptions were BEAUTIFUL to say the least! Don't worry, I won't disappoint; this will be a picture-heavy post. But be warned, this will be one of those mega posts that are super long!

Ok let's begin with the henna night. In our culture, it is tradition for the bride to have her hands and feet covered in henna before she gets married. Unlike in many other cultures, we usually don't have a big ceremony for putting on the henna on the bride. The henna night, which was on the 29th of August, was very simple and only involved her family and her closest friends. We arrived at her place at around 8pm and before long, we were served good, good home-cooked food :) When the henna artist arrived, she immediately got started on Far's hands. Far had picked out her design from Google Images :P haha Oh Google, what shall we do without you?

Our Lovely Dinner - Yummy!

Far chose a simple, yet beautiful floral design. The henna artist, Miss Parminder, brought along some photos so that we could choose our henna designs. We too got our hands decorated with henna, but of course our designs were simpler than the bride's!

 

While Far was getting her henna done, the rest of us girls were just talking, giggling and of course, fickle-mindedly choosing our henna designs. It was a fun night of catching up (we hadn't seen each other in a while because we've been so busy!). After all, Eid was on the 19th of August, so we were just about to relax from the business of Eid celebrations.

Choosing our designs!

Time for Far's feet. Love the intricate design!




Look at how beautiful the finished designs are!


Then, it was our turn! Since there were 6 of us (7 including her niece), it took a while before everyone got their henna done. Here are all of our designs!

 Haneesa came late so she missed the group shot, but here are photos of her getting hers done!

Before we move on to the solemnization and wedding receptions, here's a sneak peek of Far's wedding dress!

Beautiful right? Love all the beads and details!

Next up is the solemnization of the marriage (akad nikah). This is when the actual vows are exchanged and they marry. The exchange is between Farhana's father and Farhan, the groom. Her dad basically says "I give my daughter to you.." and Farhan says, "I accept your daughter...". It was sweet and simple. Far was breathtakingly beautiful. Well, why don't you see the event unfold through pictures!

Far getting her make-up done :)

Us girls giving Far moral support!

The Maid of Honour with the Bride

Dress for Akad Nikah

Getting started on the hijab

The bride flashing her lovely smile

Almost done

The 'Hantaran' - for Farhan

The bride with her girls right before the akad nikah began

Look at how beautiful she looks! Gorgeous!

While waiting for the groom to arrive

Where the akad nikah took place

The guests

Beautiful bridesmaids

The 'Hantaran' for Far, signifying that the groom and his entourage has arrived

The groom has arrived!

The bride about to take her place upon the groom's arrival

Farhan sitting across Farhana's dad

Don't you just love the details on her veil and dress?

The mother of the bride :)

Right after the vows were exchanged. Farhan handing over the 'mas kahwin' (mahar in Arabic)

Exchanging rings

Look at how happy she is :):) She's officially married!

Farhan putting on the ring

The newlyweds smile for the camera!

Lina holding the door gifts

The wedding ring, up close

Cheeky photo of the newlyweds ;) 

So what did you think of the solemnization of marriage? Wasn't it simply beautiful? Ah, these photos bring back such fond memories! Fortunately it wasn't as emotional as I expected it to be! Ok, moving on to Far's wedding reception. In Malay culture, we usually have two wedding receptions - one for the bride's family and friends, and one for the groom's family and friends. Of course many couples also choose to have one single reception. The main reason we do this is because usually the bride and the groom are from different parts of the country; therefore, it is difficult for friends and family to travel long distance just to attend the reception. Also, our Islamic culture highly recommends that we invite as many people as we possibly can so that everyone knows the couple have become husband and wife. The bride's reception is usually first, because the akad nikah is usually at the bride's home, or at a mosque near there. The reception was held on 1st September at One World Hotel. I had never seen a wedding more beautiful. The ballroom looked like a setting in a fairy tale! Are you ready for the photos? Here we go!

Rehearsals! This was at 1.30pm or so on the day of the reception!

The bridesmaids fooling around

First look at the ballroom

The decor at the main table where the bride & groom have their dinner

It's always important to smile!

Love the setting of the table! Look at those colours

Rehearsing the procession yet again

This is for the bride and groom's grand entrance of course

the best man, the groom, the bride, and the maid of honour

Always fun when we're all around!

Waiting for the bride & groom to get ready!

The bride getting her make-up done before the reception

The 'pelamin' where the couple will sit as King and Queen for the day

Doesn't this just scream fairy tale??

The guests awaiting the arrival of the bride & groom

Before the bride & groom make their grand entrance

The bridesmaids (minus the maid of honour) managed to squeeze in a pose before the procession

The grand entrance - look at Far's dress and hijab! So so stunning!

The bride is camera-ready, as always!

The procession

Bridesmaids trying not to trip! if you haven't guessed yet, the theme colour was green!

Bridesmaids on duty

The bride and groom are seated, while the best man and maid of honour help them get comfortable

Looking like a true King and Queen

The maid of honour taking a break from her duties to have dinner. She will resume when they cut the cake!

Delicious starter - creamy mushroom soup

Tanvir looking sharp

Cute couple. The next to wed perhaps? ;)

When is she not smiling for the camera?

The groom's parents in green

The main course - grilled chicken with creamy mashed potatoes and sauteed veggies. To die for!

Aww love this photo of us - thanks nina!

Did you know Syu (on the right) flew back from Melbourne just for the wedding? What a friend!

Far's parents giving a speech. Very entertaining and touching :)

Dessert - brownie mmm

All the courses have been served - time to cut the cake!

Feeding each other cake. So sweet!

I told you she's always camera-ready

The lovely Lina!

Some of the bridesmaids with friends and family

Can't get enough of the beautiful setting

Bridesmaids - some of us lost our bouquets though

Who doesn't love this part? Tossing the bouquets up in the air

Can you tell we were having a blast?

Bridesmaids at the pelamin

Bridesmaids and the bride!

What's a wedding without posed photos right?

I love you girls so, so much!

The bride & groom with Far's niece and nephew, and the bridesmaids

Love this photo :))

Bridesmaids getting ready to toss their bouquets again

What an amazing way to end the night!

So that's the end of Far's wedding reception. Wasn't it a fairy tale wedding? We're all so so happy everything turned out so well! The night could not have gone better :) Everything was just extremely beautiful!

How are you readers doing? Told you this is going to be a long post! Hahah! Are you ready for Farhan's wedding reception? Farhan and his family are from Johor Bahru (JB) so that's exactly where the wedding was held. While Far's reception was a sit-down reception where the guests were served their meals, Farhan's was a buffet reception where pretty much everyone was invited. At first, we weren't sure whether we could make it to Farhan's reception because it was 4-hours' drive away, but since I personally had nothing to do (as in, I've completed my studies and have yet to start work), I figured this would be the best time to attend a wedding that wasn't in town. Besides, I figured it'd be fun to go on a roadtrip! We decided not to tell Far that we were coming - we pretended like we couldn't go so that we could just show up and surprise her instead! The reception was from 11am to 4pm, 8th September at Dewan Bankuet Sangkar Kristal. Needless to say, we got lost trying to find the wedding venue even with the help of the GPS. Haha, we weren't lost for too long though, thanks to the nice uncle who gave us directions! Take a look at the gorgeous, more traditional maroon-themed reception!

The bride & groom's dining table

Look how they carved the watermelon! Amazing right?

Pelamin! So beautiful :)

Hungry faces after the long journey

Good food! Nasi Arab cooked with beef, served with veggie and tandoori chicken

Look at the juicy chicken..mmmm

Tanvir trying to contain his excitement before the bride and groom make their entrance

Nasi serai with ayam goreng berempah, sambal sotong, beef curry and veggie. Drool-worthy!

They were both shocked but beyond ecstatic to see us! Surpriseeeee!

They both look so perfect together :) Love what both of them are wearing! Super traditional :)

Best photo of the day!  Look at all the details on the dress!  Photo courtesy of Tanvir.

The bride & groom being 'interviewed' about the time they first met

Look at how cute Hailey is!

Lina looking fabulous in Rainbownista's kaftan blouse

All of us with the bride and groom!

Yummm look at all the kuehs and fruits!

We were up for seconds! The food was simply too good!

With the help of a tripod and the self-timer, we were able to conquer the pelamin to take photos!

Loving all the colours in this photo

A sweet, formal photo with the bride and groom

A more casual photo. Didn't realise I was the only one without the peace sign haha

The 'Nina pose'. Here we are striking a pose made famous by Nina! Just for you babe ;)

Farhan and Tanvir :)

All the girls

The bride looking oh-so stunning!

The lovely couple are all smiles!

And finally, a sweet photo of the newlyweds before the wedding ended

That photo marks the end of Far & Farhan's wedding ceremony and a beginning of their new life as a married couple. We had so much fun at all the ceremonies and we're honoured to be part of all of them! We wish the best for you both and we love you so very much! We pray you'll be together til Jannah, inshaAllah :) Well dear readers, I hope you've enjoyed this post and all the spectacular photos! A special thanks goes to Tanvir for taking most of these photos, and Nina too for the photos you shared with us :) Please spare us your thoughts in the comments section! Congratulations again Far & Farhan! Love you both!!

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