Say what you will about monarchy, but many people just can’t help but stop and gawk (and go on a deep-dive online) when faced with a royal wedding. Not when the romance sounds like a fairy tale. Not when the couple is so devastatingly beautiful. And not when the gowns and jewels look like you can buy them for the price of (another) small country, and you’re actually thinking maybe you would—if you had that amount of money.
However, even as the wedding ensemble of “commoner” Anisha Rosnah’s to Brunei Prince Abdul Mateen had been dripping with priceless gems, precious metals and luxurious fabrics, the bride’s beauty just could not be eclipsed. Her flawless skin and fine features remained the stars throughout the festivities, thanks to the skills and discerning eye of Filipino makeup artist to the stars Denise Ochoa, who provided makeup services to the bride throughout the royal affair.
“I just wanted to make sure to remember always that her face is really delicate,” said Ochoa of the fashion designer-entrepreneur granddaughter of the sultan’s special adviser in a message to Lifestyle. “Just a little bit of makeup easily changes her look. So I just made sure that it’s not the makeup that is first noticed but her real, natural beauty.”
But, of course, it wasn’t just the couple’s gorgeous visage that set spectators’ hearts fluttering. Royal wedding watchers the world over were abuzz over the elegance and magnificence of Anisha’s looks throughout the 10-day celebration that ushered in her marriage to the former Asia’s most eligible bachelor and her childhood friend.
Center stage
During the Khatam al-Quran event, Anisha wore a custom-made baju kurung (or traditional Bruneian dress) by Malaysian designer Teh Firdaus. The bride glowed with elegance in a filmy white hijab, and shimmery woven tenunan Brunei dress with bejeweled lace cuffs and hem. The diamond ring on her finger took center stage.
At the royal powdering ceremony or Majlis Istiadat Berbedak Pengantin Diraja, family members applied powdered paste onto the couple’s hands to bless their married life with fertility and wealth.
The bride and groom matched in their bright-red traditional wedding attire, with Anisha’s head initially covered in a red veil that was later taken off to reveal an elaborate gold and floral headpiece.
Her elaborate, ornate accessories—like the patterned and pleated woven detail that hugged her midsection, attention-grabbing gold embellishments and a flower-shaped jewel-encrusted brooch—added interesting touches to her solid red long-sleeved gown.
Later, for the Berbedak Mandi ceremony, Anisha wore another Teh Firdaus creation. This time, the understated white gown was overlaid with lace that matched her veil. She also wore a brooch and diamond and pearl statement earrings.
When they exchanged vows in an Islamic ceremony at the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, Mateen and Anisha looked like a dream.
Anisha was glamorous in her crisp long-sleeved princess gown with a metallic diamond pattern reminiscent of her groom’s previous traditional attire which he wore during his solemnization ceremony. (Outside that male-only affair, Anisha was seen wearing a silky patterned baju kurung and a light scalloped hijab.)
In one clip during the ceremony, Mateen could be seen turning to his bride and saying “I love your dress.” (Same, Mateen, same.)
Hand-me-down tiara
Over her heavily embroidered cathedral veil that also wrapped her hair, she wore a hand-me-down—she’s just like us!—diamond-encrusted tiara originally crafted by Singapore luxury jeweler Flower Diamond for the 2023 wedding of Mateen’s sister, Princess Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah.
The lightweight 132-carat tiara, which contains 838 diamonds set in white gold, took eight months to complete—from conception to collection to construction—and is valued at at least 10 million euros.
Her luminous face was further framed by stunning diamond drop earrings, a diamond cuff and a diamond riviere with a massive oval cut diamond pendant surrounded by smaller diamonds around an inner perimeter of tiny pink diamonds.
If her glittering bouquet made of gems and precious metals looks familiar, it’s because her sister-in-law and previous brides of the Bruneian royal family also used diamond bouquets for their own weddings.
For the reception, the new husband and wife made a lovingly stunning pair in his dashing black-and-gold ceremonial uniform and her exquisite, fully embroidered and sequined mermaid gown. Anisha wore a matching floor-length tulle veil with 3D flower details under another heart-stopping diamond tiara, and swapped her accessories for a different set of matching statement diamond pieces.
