Singaporebrides | Fine Dining
November 2018
Anishka and Brady’s Elegant, Mixed Culture Wedding at Sinfonia Ristorante
Anishka and Brady tied the knot in church and celebrated with an elegant Sinfonia Ristorante wedding reception.
Anishka Pereira, 30, Sales Account Manager in Aviation IT, and Brady Mozhdehi, 47, Associate Director, IMS, Pratt & Whitney, fell in love at work. After braving long distance for most of the their relationship, the couple got engaged during a trip to New Orleans. They celebrated their union with a church wedding and lunch reception at Village Hotel Changi, and again with a dinner reception at Sinfonia Ristorante in Victoria Concert Hall on 30 June 2018.
How did you meet?
Brady: We met when we were both working in the same company in Singapore. I’ll admit that I didn’t notice her much at first because things were always so busy. I got to know Anishka better over time as we worked on a few different items, and found myself drawn to her beautiful smile and quick wit. Collaboration on work projects evolved into hallway conversations, then communication outside of work. We both say that we were good friends before the relationship progressed.
What do you love most about your partner?
Anishka: I love that he always tries. Most of our relationship has been long distance, but I felt even closer to him because he gives it his all in this relationship. He has a busy job and many commitments, and yet I always feel that I’m his priority. I actually don’t give him much credit for that but I plan to do so for the rest of our lives together.
Brady: I love her drive and determination. Anishka is one of the most effective people I’ve ever met at getting things accomplished. Our beautiful wedding is a perfect example of her capabilities. I also really love the way she always makes me feel loved. Long distance relationships are difficult, and Anishka always seems to know what to do to keep things fresh and fun. She’ll surprise me with heartfelt notes and gestures.
What was the proposal like?
Anishka: I had two proposals. For the first one, the ring didn’t fit so I made him do it again. He then did it when we were in New Orleans. It was very intimate and special.
Brady: I had grand ideas for the proposals, but distance was a challenge, and the time passed so quickly that I was boarding a plane to Singapore before I knew it. I also messed up the ring size the first time, which was such a disappointment, because I knew that it would be a few months before I had another chance to propose. The second time was low key, and really nice.
How did you create your wedding?
Anishka: Having been to many banquet weddings, the one thing I didn’t like was how the attention was never always on the bride and groom. We wanted something small and intimate. My inspiration was one of my friends’ wedding. She only had about sixty people at a villa in Phuket and it was absolutely amazing.
Given that Brady was in the US and perhaps could not help out as much, we decided to hire a wedding planner. We chose The Wedding Stylist and our planner, Wenxin, was absolutely amazing at helping us choose our vendors. I can understand that having a planner is a luxury, but it’s money well spent because she gave us many insights and ideas that we didn’t even think of. Also many of our guests commented on how smooth and organised our wedding was and it was all because of Wenxin and her team. All our vendors were great and gave great attention to detail. Some of the vendors were our friends who were just starting their business, so we wanted to support them too. The groomsmen’s suit rental was not a bright spot in our planning, as suit selection was not as advertised, and we had to make a lot of last minute adjustments.
We also wanted to mix as much culture into our wedding as possible. So, for example, even though neither of us is Chinese, we decided to have a gatecrash. Brady is half Iranian, and we also tried to infuse his heritage into the food that was served during dinner. I’m also a huge Harry Potter fan, so our guest book, ring dish and shoe decal had Harry Potter inspired themes. We wanted our family members to feel very special and gave them gifts to show just that. My father, for example, had personalised cufflinks, which had a picture of me as a baby with him. Brady’s dad had the same thing.
Brady: It was very difficult for me to participate in the planning as I would have liked, so we hired a wedding planner, who turned out to be really great at her job! We also made extensive use of Whatsapp for messaging on all details, and Facetime so I could see venues and other details when a decision had to be made outside of one of my trips to Singapore. There was always a list of things to do whenever I’d visit, and we would make final decisions on major things when I was there. The planning was a bit of a challenge at times, but not impossible.
What was your wedding day like?
Anishka: It was a blurry blast. I woke up at about 4am to start makeup! Then came the gatecrash which was so fun, based on the pictures I saw. I then had family prayers before heading to church. The service was very emotional. Father Fernandez gave an excellent sermon and gave us four phrases that would stop any fight: “I was wrong. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I love you.”
After many rounds of pictures and also a wedding party shoot, we then had lunch at Village Hotel Changi. They did an amazing job with the food. However, I had no time to eat any of it as we were busy talking to our guests and taking more photos. Our dinner reception was at Sinfonia Ristorante in Victoria Concert Hall and it was so elegant. It was absolutely beautiful. The food was great and our emcee was fantastic. He kept the guests laughing non-stop. Again, I wish I had more time to actually eat. We then had an after party at a Bollywood club called Phresh. So it was a crazy, tiring day. I actually wish I could go back and do it all again.
I’m also very grateful to everyone who came from around the world. My 90-year-old grandma came from India. Brady’s parents had a long trip from the US. We also had friends and family that joined us from the Netherlands, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Spain, Thailand, India, Malaysia, and New Zealand.
Brady: Our wedding day was incredible! All the planning and hard work resulted in a day that was enjoyed by all. The venues were all set up perfectly, and the vendors all did such a great job for us. Many people told me during the wedding and afterwards that it was the best wedding they’d ever attended, which was great to hear. Of course, the best part about our wedding day was finally marrying my best friend and love of my life in the presence of friends and family.
What was the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Anishka: Saying my vows to Brady in front of God and our family and friends. It just made everything seem so real.
Brady: I’ll never forget the emotion I felt when I saw Anishka walking down the aisle in her beautiful white dress. I was overcome with happiness, and emotion. Anishka also prepared a video montage from some of my US friends who could not attend, which was a huge surprise, and very sweet and special.
The Size of the Wedding: 200 for church and lunch reception // 120 for dinner
receptionThe Cost of the Wedding: $65K
The Venue: Church of the Divine Mercy // Village Hotel Changi // Sinfonia Ristorante
The Wedding Day Photographer: Eng Hong from 39 East Photography
The Gown: Belle and Tulle
The Veil: David’s Bridal
The Belt: Etsy
The Suit: My Singapore Tailor
The Engagement Ring: Brilliant Earth
The Wedding Bands: Blue Nile for groom // Meyson Jewellery for bride
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: ASOS
The Groomsmen’s Suits: My Singapore Tailor
The Flower Girls’ Dresses: Etsy
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Andrea Razali
The Wedding Cake: Susucre
The Cake Topper: Etsy
The Ring Dish: Etsy
The Florist: CC Lee Designs for lunch and dinner // Xanthia Dee Albert for church and flower arch
The Wedding Stylist: Wenxin from The Wedding Stylist
The Wedding Planner: The Wedding Stylist
The Pre-Wedding Photographer: Eng Hong from 39 East Photography
The Videographer: Ashwin from Studio A
The Photobooth: Uniquebooth.sg
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Etsy for invitations // The Wedding Stylist for stationery
The Henna Artist: Mona Vasantlal
The Family and Wedding Party Gifts: Etsy
The Wedding Favours: Weddingfavors.com for lunch // Sgweddingfavors for dinner
The Emcee: Rishi Budhrani
The DJ: DJ Milan
The Bhangra Troupe: Yaar Panj-Aab Bhangra Troupe
The Wedding Car Rental: Weddingcars // Limocars
The Unity Candle: Etsy
The Wedding Resource: SingaporeBrides
Images by 39 East Photography
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