KUALA LUMPUR: October 10 was certainly a day for celebrated unions, marked not only by the high-profile nuptials of singer Bella Astillah and politician Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, but also by the wedding of XPDC guitarist Arif Izo and his partner, Siti Nahirah Maulad Sulaiman.
The 29-year-old musician—whose full name is Muhamad Arif Mohd Zulkifly and who is the son of legendary XPDC guitarist Izo—tied the knot with the former Malaysia Hari Ini (MHI) journalist at the Cyber Glass Hall in Putrajaya.
As reported by Harian Metro, Arif was deeply grateful that the ceremony went off without a hitch, despite battling a severe fever and feeling physically drained on the big day.
"I felt extremely exhausted and my body was so weak," Arif admitted.
"But fever or no fever, I still had to push through with the ceremony; what else could I do? Thankfully, everything went off smoothly just as planned. The event was lively with the presence of many guests. Actually, our wedding planning took less than a year."
Sharing how their romance first blossomed, the rocker revealed that the pair crossed paths on Dec 15 last year during the Konsert Fenomena Samurai Search-XPDC in Sarawak, where Nahirah was covering the event for the television programme Wanita Hari Ini.
Explaining the choice of their wedding date, Arif noted that the alignment of numbers and timing made it a perfect fit.
"We purposely chose this date because the numbers are lovely," he added.
"When we checked, it fell on a Saturday, which naturally made things easier for everyone and simple to remember."
News of the joyful occasion was also highlighted by popular TV3 presenter Fedtri Yahya, who emceed the celebration and shared photos on Threads.
Meanwhile, administrators and fans on the official XPDC Facebook page flooded the platform with warm congratulations and well-wishes for the newlyweds.
Despite stepping into married life, Arif has little time to rest.
The guitarist is currently immersed in intensive rehearsals for the upcoming XPDC Reunion Concert, set to rock the Mega Star Arena in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 17.
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