The right place and the right time—all to culminate in a slow burn romance. That was certainly the case for Youtube partnerships manager Amanda Abdi and investor Timothy Cheah, who were first introduced with the help of their mutual friends. But it wasn’t until the two went off to study in the same institution in the University of Southern California that things actually progressed further. In lieu of an instant spark, Abdi offers: “I think our relationship really taught me that consistency and gradually getting to know someone and having mutual goals, is honestly more of a fairytale than what people might think.”
Now, almost ten years together with Cheah, Abdi fondly looks back at her wedding that took place in Tuscany last year. Assured in COMO as a Singaporean hospitality group and the level of service they were able to provide, the couple hosted an intimate wedding ceremony at COMO Castello del Nero with a curated guestlist of 91 people.
“For the wedding, I had an event organiser but I was basically the designer,” says Abdi, who took charge of vendor selection, budgeting and decor for her big day. By applying her experience of running events at work to her own wedding, Abdi was well in her wheelhouse. “I knew that the garden of the property was already very beautiful and I didn’t want to take away from that. I wanted to complement it so I kept it minimalistic with plenty of hydrangeas, which happens to be one of my favourite flowers.”
When it came down to the dress, Abdi decided on a custom look from Dolce&Gabbana. Alongside help and input from her mother, they began the process from sketches to reworking the dress to suit Abdi’s preferences. “I wanted something with a corset and something a bit sexier.” The highlight of the dress had to be the Catholic-like veil; dramatic and plied with lace. “I think Dolce&Gabbana definitely does their veils just beautifully, because if you open it up, it’s like a whole circle with like lace on the edges. It was honestly everything I dreamed of.” But what was important to Abdi was something easy for the bride to move around in after the actual ceremony was over. Hence they came up with a piece with an overskirt that could be taken off at different times of the day.
A day filled with love, hydrangeas and copious amounts of vino—below, Abdi takes us through her intimate wedding at COMO Castello del Nero.
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On the way to our welcome dinner to kick-off the start of our wedding weekend. I chose a beaded gown from one of Oscar de la Renta's final collections from spring 2015.
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Our wedding theme leaned more towards a modern aesthetic with a pastel colour palette, and the mirrored tables at our reception directly reflected our choice of a mirror aisle for the ceremony.
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My custom two-piece lace wedding dress with a detachable chiffon overskirt made at the Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda.
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The sketches of my wedding dress and afterparty mini from the amazing design team at Dolce&Gabbana shot with my wedding day accessories.
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Moments before I walked down the aisle, I put on a family heirloom—a set of oval diamond earrings and necklace that complimented my engagement ring from Tim.
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The full look at COMO Castello del Nero with the most amazing Renaissance frescoes in the backdrop of my parents' suite.
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The absolutely breathtaking backdrop of our wedding ceremony and venue that housed all of our 90+ guests. We really tried to integrate every design element to complement the venue’s natural beauty.
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I absolutely love hydrangeas and wanted the mirrored aisle to reflect the beautiful Tuscan landscape.
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Tim and his groomsmen before the ceremony at the venue’s gardens.
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A moment to remember with my stepdad by my side. My veil was the epitome of delicate Italian chiffon and lace, and was probably my favourite part of the wedding look.
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One of my favourite moments was at our ceremony where we said our heartfelt vows surrounded by our favourite people in the world.
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After our vows, we shared a special moment before heading to our cocktail hour to celebrate with friends and family.
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A stunning view of the panoramic terrace where we held our wedding dinner. We tried to use warm lighting to enhance the natural beauty of the estate.
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The starter of our four-course menu was a modern twist on a classic panzanella salad (a Tuscan-style tomato and bread salad).
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Fireworks to end our wedding reception.
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Time for the afterparty!
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