They met only twice, but six months after getting to know each other, Singapore Idol Hady Mirza and 21-year-old Nurjannah Nur Wahid were married.

Yesterday, the 34-year-old singer held a wedding reception in Johor for more than 2,000 guests, including his family and friends from Singapore.

Among the guests were Hady's record label boss, Hype Records director and music producer Ken Lim, and radio DJs from local Malay radio stations.

The couple solemnised their marriage in a private ceremony organised by the Malaysian bride's family in their kampung in Pontian, Johor, on March 1.

The venue for yesterday's reception, the ballroom in Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club at the Iskandar Development Region, was apt. Hady's family has a home in the Horizon Hills housing estate, which surrounds the golf course.

His wife was an intern at the country club and it was there that his mother, Madam Mardiana Ahmad, 57, a housewife, first got to know her.

She then introduced Ms Nurjannah, whom she described as "sweet and humble", to her son.

Hady declined to speak to the media yesterday but his mother said Ms Nurjannah was unaware that he was a celebrity when they first met and found out only later that he was a singer.

She also said that on the two occasions that the couple met, they were chaperoned by family members.

After Hady sought his mother's blessings to marry, Madam Mardiana and the rest of the family approached Ms Nurjannah's family on his behalf. Her parents are farmers.

The couple made their entrance in matching gold outfits at about 3pm. His family and friends took turns to have their photos taken with them as they sat on the stage in the ballroom.

Guests were treated to a buffet that included beef rendang and barbecued lamb.

After about an hour, the couple left the ballroom and came back at about 6pm in matching purple outfits.

Hady and many of the Muslim guests then performed the dusk prayers and recited Quranic verses.

The singer, who won the second Singapore Idol reality singing competition in 2006 and regional contest Asian Idol the following year, has taken a step back from the entertainment scene recently to focus on running FRHM Youth, a club in Singapore that conducts religious, motivational and social events for Muslim youth.

He co-founded the group with Singaporean religious figure Ustaz Fahrur Razi Kiayi Kassim last year.

He has released two albums, Hady Mirza (2008) and Sang Penyanyi (2009), and has won multiple awards in the annual Malay awards show Anugerah Planet Muzik, including Most Popular Singapore Song and Most Popular Regional Song in 2012 for his hit, Ku Tetap Kan Menunggu (I Will Always Wait).

His most recent single, Betapa Berat Cintaku (How Heavy My Love Is), was released in mid-2012.

This article was published on April 6 in The Straits Times.

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