Someone joked on Twitter that he had seen more pictures and videos of Sonam Kapoor’s wedding than his own. Social media and mobile phones have been busy with folks passing around latest pictures and videos of the glamorous Bollywood wedding. Bollywood actress, Sonam Kapoor’s marriage to businessman Anand Ahuja was eagerly followed by millions of Indians. Celebrity weddings are always a media hit and Bollywood weddings with their extravagant costumes and multi-day events draw immense attention. The Indian Fashion industry has cause to rejoice as the world takes notice of its potential.
Sonam’s white mehendi lehenga was created by designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla and apparently took them 18 months of work with handwork by teams of artists. For the wedding itself, Sonam wore a very traditional and beautiful red lehenga-choli by designer Anuradha Vakil. At the evening reception Sonam wore a more hip and modern grey chevron print lehenga by Anamika Khanna and the folks were pretty divided on whether it was a good choice or not. But from the various videos and pictures it was obvious that the couple was happy and all their guests were having a grand time.
picture credits: Times of India
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While Sonam chose to hold her wedding in home town Mumbai, actress Anushka Sharma and cricket captain Virat Kohli’s high profile wedding was in Tuscany. Anushka worked exclusively with the undisputed king of bridal wear in India – Sabyasachi. For her engagement, designer Sabyasachi created a Burgundy velvet saree hand-embroidered with pearls and zardosi. For her mehendi, Anushka went for a boho look full of bright colours, hand-printed in silk by Calcutta block printers and with intricate hand-embroidery. For the wedding ceremony, as Sabyasachi detailed, Anushka wore a pale pink lehenga with Renaissance embroidery in vintage English colours embellished with silver-gold metal thread, pearls and beads. The wedding lehenga was traditional in style but the soft colors added a sophisticated look. The designer, said he was delighted when Anushka decided to go completely traditional and pay homage to the rich Indian heritage with the red Benarasi saree at her Delhi reception. For her Mumbai reception, Anushka chose a gold lehenga that certainly looked regal.
picture credits: Joseph Radhik and Sabyasachi
Sabyasachi has been one of several Indian designers working hard to revive traditional Indian artisans and their handwork. A worthwhile endeavor indeed, the lure of handwork and real people creating beautiful clothes with their hands is one that was dying in the machine age. It brings jobs and respect to many people in the industry. The only issue being that the masses certainly cannot afford the luxury of such clothes, which brings us back to our fascination with these celebrity weddings. It’s fun to see the gorgeous, expensive clothes and dream. Beautiful clothes on beautiful people in happy settings, a magnetic irresistible combination.
picture credits: Joseph Radhik and Sabyasachi
But in the end what is even more fascinating is that we realize that despite their celebrity tags, these people are just normal human beings with the same emotions as all of us, sharing their joy with each other as we do too. The only difference being is that with all the media attention, celebrities don’t have an easy time but they take it in stride, this penalty that comes with fame and fortune. So whether we follow such weddings to get inspired for colors and trends or simply from curiosity, the hype that a Bollywood wedding generates is huge and our fascination with them as human as we are. Besides, in a world where the headlines are often tragic or sad, these happy events are a refreshing breath with their focus on love and hope. These are moments when humanity unites in celebrating love.
Some may say this is all a much ado about nothing but a Bollywood wedding is always the lavish extravaganza that we have all come to expect. The rumor mill has been abuzz that perhaps the next Bollywood mega wedding may be that of Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh.