Actress Sonam Kapoor on Tuesday tied the knot with long-time beau Anand Ahuja in a traditional Anand Karaj ceremony, which was preceded by two days of mehendi and sangeet revelry, and followed by a grand reception party with close family, friends and Bollywood's glitterati in attendance.
The newly-weds looked radiant as they made their first official media appearance as a couple during the reception at The Leela here.
Sonam was all smiles in her offbeat Anamika Khanna ensemble with a long-sleeved blouse, a chevron striped lehenga in dark grey, cream and gold, and a cape, as she walked along with Anand, who looked handsome in a dark sherwani and sported sneakers.
Their wedding took place as per Sikh rituals in the afternoon at the bride's maternal aunt's residence in Bandra.
The Bollywood 'fashionista' chose a bright red lehenga by designer Anuradha Vakil with heavy jewellery adding to her perfect Punjabi bride look, rounded off with hands adorned by a deep maroon colour of henna, both wrists full of the 'chooda' and 'kaleere'.
Anand, a Delhi-based businessman, looked dapper in a Raghavendra Rathore creation, a beige sherwani.
A post-wedding lunch saw the couple cut a quirky cake, with a topper in the form of a bride dragging the groom by his collar, capturing the fun-loving spirit of the couple.
Sonam, daughter of veteran actor Anil Kapoor, and Anand have been dating for the past two years. Their wedding was announced formally only a week before the D-day, urging the media "to respect the family's need for privacy".
Nevertheless, curious fans of the National Award-winning actress were filled in with inside photographs and video snippets of the pre-wedding, wedding and post-wedding celebrations via social media.
Whether it was Anil, Karan Johar or Shilpa Shetty's dance moves, the designer clothes adorned by the bride's siblings, or some sweet moments shared by Sonam and Anand -- the social media was flooded with all this and more.
The three-day celebrations saw participation from Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Satish Kaushik, Javed Akhtar, Aamir Khan, Ranveer Singh, Rani Mukerji, Shahid Kapoor, Mira Rajput, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna, Kangana Ranaut, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sidharth Malhotra, Rishi Kapoor, Rekha, Swara Bhasker, Katrina Kaif, Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Madhuri Dixit, Kajol and more celebrities from Bollywood.
From the political world, there were names like Amar Singh, Praful Patel and Uddhav Thackeray.
Sonam's sister Rhea and brother Harshvardhan were by her side, ensuring all went well. Her cousins Janhvi, Khushi, Anshula, Shanaya and Arjun were dressed in ethnic designer wear for all the celebrations, while her uncles Boney Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor too soaked in the festive fervour.
Sonam, after debuting in Bollywood with "Saawariya" in 2008, has featured in movies like "Delhi-6", "Aisha", "Raanjhanaa", "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", "Khoobsurat", "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo", "Neerja" and "Pad Man".
From films to fashion shows, from the ceremony of National Film Awards to the red carpet of Cannes Film Festival, she has not just made per presence felt as an actress, but also as a fashionista wearing various experimental ensembles at global platforms.
Before what seems like bringing red back in fashion with her bridal outfit on Tuesday, Sonam chose to go with subtle colours for her pre-wedding ceremonies.
For her mehendi function on Sunday, she chose a peach and grey sharara ensemble by Vakil, and for her grand sangeet celebrations on Monday, she was elegance personified in a heavy ivory lehenga by Abu Janu-Sandeep Khosla.
The actress will soon be back to work commitments as she is due to walk the Cannes Film Festival red carpet on May 14 and May 15 as L'Oreal Paris ambassador.
--IANS
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