Love Needs No Language - An Interracial Marriage in Japan

I was invited to attend a wedding in Japan a couple of weeks ago. The bride was Masako, one of my best friends whom I  known from New Zealand, where we pursued our tertiary education.

Masako moved to Singapore about three years ago, when she found a job at an American multinational corporation, Apple Inc. At that time, she was already married to Sahid, an Indian chef whom she met in Malaysia and fell in love with. They were both working at a five star resort hotel in Langkawi and got to know each other through a mutual friend.

Despite obvious cultural differences, Masako and Sahid felt that they are meant for each other as they have gone through many challenges together and have supported each other through numerous difficulties. When they first arrived in Singapore, I vividly recall that Sahid faced a huge challenge finding a job as a head chef in a hotel, the kind of working environment he is familiar with. Eventually, he found a position in a new local Indian restaurant and worked almost everyday of the week at extremely long hours. Although Masako and Sahid had very little time together, they are committed to each other and worked hard to keep their marriage strong. After about 2 years with the restaurant, Sahid found a new job as the head chef of Indian cuisine at Google Singapore, where he received more stable working hours as well as recognition as an outstanding chef. 

Knowing the history between Masako and Sahid, I am really happy to finally got the opportunity to attend their wedding celebration in Japan. The couple has postponed this celebration as they needed time to settle down in an environment (in this case, Singapore) which both of them can feel comfortable in, which is, I believe, one of the challenges facing couples from vastly different cultural backgrounds.

Without further ado, here are some of the photos taken at the couples' beautiful wedding reception at Disney Land's Sunroute Plaza Tokyo Hotel:

A touching thank you note from the couple placed right at our seats

Exquisite fine dining arrangement

Bridal march in - Masako looked stunning in the fusion style wedding gown I designed for her.

The highlight of the gown is the double layer bow at the back. Created to resemble the Japanese Obi Belt

Cake cutting ceremony

Group picture with Stanley, Kai, Sahid, Masako, Me and Bernard

The couple with their nephew

Really delighted to see Masako looking so beautiful in the gown specially created for her!

The couple taking a group picture with all the guests seated at our table

Sahid and Masako looking regal in the traditional Indian costumes for second march-in

Wedding video and montage specially done by Linda, Masako's Manager at Apple Inc.

Bernard and I taking a picture with the couple

Masako's Manager, Linda, delivering a speech with the message, "Love Needs No Language"

Masako's childhood friend delivering a heart-felt speech which brought tears to the audience

Masako's friends performing the song, "A Whole New World", at the wedding

Masako's wedding speech in Japanese

The couple offering flowers to Masako's parents to express their gratitude

The groom delivering his wedding speech

The couple's family thanking the guests for attending the wedding

Masako looking ravishing in her second sari, which she wore at the post wedding party

A few more group photos before we said goodbye!

And not forgetting the pictures of the delicious four-course meal we have that day!

Appetizer

Second dish - fish and prawns

Main course - Lobster (for guests like me who don't take beef)

Main course - steak (beef)

Dessert - strawberry shortcake and chocolate mousse cake

I believe you can tell from the photos how much fun we had at Masako and Sahid's wedding reception! Thank you for inviting us to your almost fairytale-like wedding and we sincerely wish that both of you will have a wonderful life together!