Saudi designer shares details of another dress she made for Rajwa Al Saif's henna party

Honayda Serafi also created the mother-of-the-bride's look, inspired by Saudi culture

Princess Iman, Queen Rania, Al Saif's mother, Azza and Princess Salma. Photo: queenrania/Instagram

The Saudi designer who made Rajwa Al Saif’s custom gown for her pre-wedding henna party has revealed a behind-the-scenes look at another gown she made for the occasion.

Honayda Serafi also created a look for mother-of-the-bride Azza Al Sudairi, inspired by Saudi Arabian culture.

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The rich teal two-piece dress, featuring colourful embroidery, was custom-made for Al Sudairi. Sharing a look at the design process on Instagram, the designer wrote: “The inspiration was drawn from the traditional Saudi art of Al-Qatt Al-Asiri, known as Al-Majanab. Crafted from crepe, the two-piece gown reflects cultural elegance, imbued with geometric patterns, decoration elements, and hand embroidered Asiri inscriptions.

“Distinguished by its silk threads embroideries in different shades of red, blue, and green, the design is inspired by the colors of the nature in the surrounding culture of the Southern region of Saudi Arabia. An enchanting look graced with elegance for the mother of the bride.”

The designer also created the bride-to-be’s look, a white silk two-piece dress, known as Sahabi Thoub, featuring intricate gold beadwork that painted a picture of the Jordanian and Saudi cultures coming together. Created in 3D through a mix of silk, metallic threads and traditional reed strings, the gown contained the famous palm of Saudi Arabia and seven stars, symbolising the seven-pointed star of Jordan.

Speaking to The National earlier this week, Serafi revealed she first got the call from Al Sudairi two-and-a-half months ago, asking if she could design the bride’s look for her pre-wedding henna party, which was hosted by Queen Rania in Amman.

“The first thing she asked me was, ‘Will you be able to deliver in that short time?’ So I told her yes, definitely,” she says. “We have a strong team and we gathered all our forces together to deliver. I was so grateful to have her phone call. From there the journey started, and it was a great and beautiful journey.”

Usually, to create a dress like the one Serafi’s team made for Al Saif would take upwards of 2,000 hours and no less than six months. However, the team were able to pull together and finish in about 750 hours.

“Our team is great, everyone was very dedicated and we really worked hard with love and passion for the occasion and for Rajwa.”

And for Serafi, seeing the bride-to-be in the final finished look ahead of the henna party was a moment she will never forget.

“I was with her as she was getting ready, I had to be there to make sure that everything was perfect,” she says. “She looked phenomenal, she is a princess and she looked like one. Queen Rania was very happy when she saw her and she complimented the dress and how she looked. Her mum was also very happy.”

Al Saif will marry Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein on Thursday, at a ceremony hosted at Amman’s Zahran Palace.