Queensland bride Priyena Singh and her brother Pranay wowed guests with this special brother-sister dance during the wedding reception.
Priyena Singh and her partner Matthew Winterbottom tied the knot on November 12 last year in front of 100 guests after they met in 2020 on Hinge.
Instead of a traditional first dance, Priyena performed a special four-minute routine with her brother (and best man), Pranay. It took her weeks to choreograph before practising for a week with her sibling. It kicked off a night of partying at the reception at Rainforest Gardens in Mt Cotton.
It came after the Greenslopes couple celebrated their wedding day with two different ceremonies, Hindu and Catholic, to honour each of their family backgrounds.
The wedding of Priyena Singh and Matthew Winterbottom. Picture: Daniel Vistar
How did you meet? Matt and I met on Hinge just before the pandemic in early 2020. We met in person for the first time at Eat Street, which was a great place; all the noise and stimulus helped with the first date nerves. I found it so easy to talk to him even though our stories and backgrounds couldn’t have differed more. We got a few dates in before the pandemic lockdown. We moved in together in 2021, and got engaged a few months later.
The proposal? The proposal was humble, candid and sweet, just like Matt. We walked up to the top of Kangaroo Point on a cold Sunday evening and I had no idea what was coming. We were secluded in a dark spot staring out at the city lights when Matt took the ring out and the whole gesture made me cry.
Ceremony? Coming from different backgrounds, we decided to accommodate both our families and do two ceremonies on the wedding day. We had a Hindu ceremony first, followed by a lunch, and then a Catholic ceremony and reception. The reception started with canapes and then a buffet dinner, followed by dancing.
First dance song? I enjoy dancing more than Matt, so we opted for a choreographed dance performed by myself and my brother, Pranay. It was a great way to get people in the mood for dancing; the dance floor was packed within 30 seconds.
Priyena Singh and her brother Pranay surprising guests with their brother-sister wedding dance. Picture: Daniel Vistar
Honeymoon? We decided to test the strength of our marital vows early by going camping for our honeymoon. We are not campers, and we were exhausted from the wedding so were
completely unprepared. We put up our tent in gale force winds, survived on instant noodles
and canned tuna, boiled water to drink since we didn’t bring our own, and got bitten by
horse flies the entire time.
Theme? A blend of bright, warm colours and a mixture of what was easy for my mum and I to do ourselves. Indian clothes, food and culture is a mixture of colours and, given our backdrop was a gorgeous rainforest environment, I liked the idea of bright colours popping in contrast. All the flowers from the bouquets, boutonnieres and centrepieces were a labour of love from my talented mum and not so talented me.
How and why did you choose your wedding venue? We saw a lot of venues and ended up choosing Rainforest Gardens at Mt Cotton. Both of us wanted an outdoor venue and the scenery there was stunning.
The wedding of Priyena Singh and Matthew Winterbottom. Picture: Daniel Vistar
What was the budget for your wedding? We budgeted around $40,000, and probably exceeded it a little by the end.
What would you spend more or less on? I could have saved money on little things like Indian jewellery that I bought to go with my Lehenga (traditional three-piece outfit), and perhaps fewer dried flowers. I ended up wearing my mum’s golden jewellery from her own wedding which was absolutely perfect.
How did you go about choosing your wedding dress? I went to too many bridal stores and tried on over 20 dresses, but couldn’t find what I was looking for in my budget. Eventually I found a second-hand dress on Facebook Marketplace. Although it was two sizes too big it just felt right for some reason. My mum saved me a small fortune by altering the dress.
What was the most stressful part of wedding planning? I had never imagined my wedding day so it was hard to even know where to begin. For brides who don’t know where to begin, I strongly recommend the Manage my Wedding podcast by Yvette Sitters.
The wedding of Priyena Singh and Matthew Winterbottom at Rainforest Gardens at Mount Cotton. Picture: Daniel Vistar
Any unique details about your wedding? It was the first wedding ceremony that the Catholic priest had ever done out of the church so that was quite special for us.
What was the standout moment of the day? Dancing with my brother was pretty special but also Matt dance-walking towards me after our performance was something I never expected and it made me giggly happy (he dislikes dancing a lot).
Is there a wedding hack you can share which saved you time and money? Shop second hand. There is a lot of great quality stuff that was used for a day and then sold straight after.
The Bride
Priyena Singh, 29
Profession Dentist
Parents Vindhya Prasad and Narendra Singh
Bridesmaids Kelly Winterbottom,
Sandhya Prasad,
Joanna Scott, Danni Chen, Chelsea Tong
Dress Chosen by One Day Sadie
Hair and make-up
Ellie Ross
Engagement ring Stephen Dibbs
Celebrant Pundit Sanat Pandey and Father Francis Belciña
Caterer Private Chefs
of Brisbane
Videographer Daniel Vistar
Entertainment
Mr Entertainment
The Groom
Matthew Winterbottom, 34
Profession Software engineer
ParentsLaura Winterbottom and John Winterbottom
Groomsmen Pranay Singh, Leo Kaegi, Jason Milen, Jop Havinga, Jhon Mercado
Suit MJ Bale Kingston
Cake It was made by a friend. It was a Filipino dessert combination called leche flan and ube, served as cupcakes. We wanted something a bit different that people would remember.
