Police report filed over wedding planner's no-show on the big day

SINGAPORE — After saving up for almost two years for his marriage, Mr Muhammad Haiqal Musa, 27, was looking forward to a grand wedding with his sweetheart Siti Nabilah Othman, 25, on Sunday (Dec 22).

But on the eve of his big day, he found out that his wedding planner had not arranged for a caterer, photographer as well as decorations, despite him and his father having forked out S$13,300 in payments to date.  

“My heart just sank,” he told TODAY. His father, Mr Musa Mahmood, made a police report on the matter late on Saturday night.

That was a silver lining, however, for Mr Haiqal, a senior operations supervisor.

His family and friends rallied together and got the help of a celebrity chef who managed to arrange a banquet for 1,000 guests despite having less than 24 hours to prepare for it.

Mr Haiqal said that he engaged Kpak Bing Bing wedding services in September 2018 as its package price of S$16,600 for food, photographer and decorations, among others, suited his budget.

He knew the wedding planner only as Wayudy.

Mr Haiqal said the first indication of problem came after a delay in the printing of the wedding invitation cards, which were included in the package.

“He (Mr Wayudy) told us that he had problems with the card printing in Johor Baru and wanted us to pass him more money to get it printed in Singapore instead,” said Mr Haiqal.

He was then told the cards would be ready in a week when, in fact, it took a month.

Still, there was no hint of what was to come on Saturday, when Mr Haiqal and Ms Siti Nabilah turned up for their solemnisation ceremony at the void deck of her flat in Compassvale Bow in Sengkang.

But neither the photographer nor Mr Wayudy were there.

“No one told me anything on that day. It was only after the solemnisation ended, my father pulled me aside and told me that the wedding planner has gone missing,” said Mr Haiqal.

“I was angry and disappointed after hearing the news and my family just hugged me,” he added.

Screenshots of the WhatsApp messages purportedly between Mr Wayudy and Mr Musa that Saturday morning were forwarded to TODAY by Mr Haiqal.

In a long text to the father, the wedding planner apologised for the inconvenience he has caused and said he has barely slept as he could not find enough people to work for the ceremony.

Mr Wayudy claimed that Mr Haiqal’s wedding was supposedly his last event before he pulls the plug on the company and that the company’s founder – singer Maiya Rahman – has nothing to do with the matter.

Later, Mr Wayudy added in a message that the money that has been paid to him will be refunded within a month.

Mr Haiqal said that Mr Wayudy has been uncontactable since. TODAY has also not been able to reach him.

Ms Maiya, who was crowned the second runner-up of Suria’s Malay reality singing competition Anugerah in 2007, told TODAY via WhatsApp that she has not managed the company’s business since the start of the year and was not aware of Mr Haiqal’s wedding.

She added that it was her former partner who was liaising with the couple.

“I contacted my partner and was told that he has already cleared the issue with the customer. My partner and I are not working together since we are not on good terms,” she said, adding that she was surprised to learn about what had happened to Mr Haiqal after she was tagged on a Facebook post about the matter.

RALLY THE COMMUNITY IN A DAY

While shaken by the cancellation, Mr Musa rallied the groomsmen and their extended family to look for operators who could save the wedding.

One of his groomsmen put up a Facebook post, which a wedding caterer then saw and reached out to celebrity chef Syed Syah, 35.

“When I heard what happened, I immediately wanted to help,” said Mr Syed, a former head chef at The Landmark restaurant and the 2014 winner of television reality cooking competition King Juara Memasak.

Mr Syed immediately called up his supplier and made an order for ingredients to feed 1,000 people upon hearing the news at noon.

He also reached out to his friends who are wedding decorators, cooks, deejays and photographers and asked for help.

Some of them agreed.

Mr Syed also went to the wedding venue in Sumang Lane in Punggol to meet Mr Haiqal’s father, whom he said was visibly shaken.

“He just broke down and cried. All I could do was to convince him that everything will be okay,” said Mr Syed.

He added that he agreed to help without discussing any payment from the family, as that can be done later. 

“I’m just helping a brother in need. I don’t even know him (Mr Haiqal) but if someone needs help, we should help them without thinking about the money.”

Mr Syed said it made his job easier that Mr Haiqal’s friends and extended family rallied together to prepare ingredients and cook for the guests.

The bride’s sister, Ms Siti Nadiah Othman, 22, said the family was grateful for the help of My Syed and his contacts.

“If it was not for the good Samaritans, this event would have been a disaster.”

Mr Haiqal, who spoke to TODAY on Monday night from his honeymoon in Japan, added: “They planned a wedding in 24 hours and did it better than what I expected. I am very thankful to everyone.”