Wedding preparations are in full swing as one passes by Anil Kapoor’s Mumbai home, which is lit-up like a starry sky during the night. While Bollywood fans await to experience the wedding of the year, The Quint gives you a sneak-peek into the grand Kapoor and Ahuja wedding! Don’t miss a word…
The Invite
The invite includes three separate cards for three separate functions - mehendi, the wedding and a party - to be held over two days. The elegant invites are clearly inspired by nature and have been designed with shades of green with three different designs of foliage printed on them. Sonam and Anand reportedly opted for personalised e-cards with their guests’ names embossed on it because they wanted to take the green route by going paperless. Their wedding invitation card categorically mentions, ‘Your presence on our special day is the only gift we desire.’
The Mehendi Ceremony
Sonam Kapoor’s mehendi ceremony will take place on May 7, 2018, at Sonam’s sprawling pad, situated in Sunteck Signature Island at Bandra Kurla Complex.
The 7,000-square-foot duplex apartment comes with a deck, endorsing beautiful sea views; a double height entrance lobby, a signature concierge service, an indoor temperature-controlled swimming pool, health club and state-of-the-art gym, mini theatre, and multipurpose hall.
While the home is spacious enough for the mehendi, "the ceremony will be conducted in a ballroom-like banquet area of the building,” revealed a close source. And we believe the after party with the close ones, will move up home. Designed by architects, Talati and Panthaky Associated, the premium Signature Island complex in BKC is home to the who’s who of the business, banking and Bollywood industries including, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit, Uday Kotak, Satya Narayan Bansal and more.
The dress code for the event is Indian Festive - Shades of White.
Let’s Shake A Leg!
By the last week of April, we already knew that Farah Khan is choreographing for the sangeet night, where not just the bride-to-be's cousins but even Karan Johar will be shaking a leg. Also, daddy dearest, Anil Kapoor seems to be kicked about his performance for the big night.
Anil will not just be doing a solo performance to his popular song ‘My Name is Lakhan...’ from ‘Ram Lakhan’; but the evergreen actor will also shake a leg with his close friends, Satish Kaushik and Anupam Kher to his hit songs including ‘Gallan Goodiyan...’ from ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ and more.A source
It is no secret that Sonam's cousin, Janhvi Kapoor will be dancing to a medley of mommy Sridevi's chartbusters- Mere Haathon Mein, Kisi Ke Haath Na Aayegi Yeh Ladki, among others. On the other hand, Bollywood’s “unsuitable boy”, Karan Johar will be performing to Sonam's hit number Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. Buzz has it that Sonam's cousins and extended family will perform on her hit songs like Swag se Karengey sab ka Swagat..., the Veere Di Wedding title track, Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai... from the Fawad Khan co-starrer Khoobsurat and Dheere Dheere... from her music video with Hrithik Roshan, among others, besides other popular wedding songs.
The Wedding
The nuptials will take place the following morning, on 8 May, at Sonam’s maternal aunt, Kavita Singh’s heritage bungalow, Rockdale in Bandstand, Bandra. The guests are expected to dress in “Indian traditional”. One of India’s top art collectors, Kavita’s 2-storeyed bungalow has several bougainvillea bushes in the open space and we're sure the place will look like a dream once the exteriors are aptly decorated.
The fashion doyenne’s wedding will be as per Sikh tradition as mentioned on the wedding card which mentions the ‘Anand Karaj’ ceremony. The wedding will take place from 11am to 12.30pm, followed by lunch. Sonam and Anand will exchange garlands at the temple in the bungalow.
What Is the Groom Wearing?
The Ahujas have reportedly given designer Raghavendra Rathore the charge of the grooms’ wardrobe. In addition, the Kapoor men have also approached Raghavendra to dress them for the wedding and pre-wedding functions. In fact, Anil Kapoor has been quite fond of Raghavendra Rathore’s style sensibilities and has donned the designers' achkans and suits at several other family events.
We know that the dress code for the mehendi function and wedding ceremony is Indian traditional and of course, Raghavendra Rathore seems like an apt choice. Raghavendra Rathore's association with the Kapoors goes back to 2014 film Khubsoorat, when Fawad Khan wore the designers’ bespoke outfits with utmost panache.
What Is the Bride Wearing?
Knowing her image as a fashionista, Sonam’s wedding is going to be no less than a fashion parade.
“Sonam plans to wear Anamika’s (Khanna) outfit for at least one of the occasions. The designer is creating something beautiful for her muse.”A source close to the actor told us.
Adds the source, “Sonam is a huge fan of Ralph and Russo. For the reception, she might opt for them or Elie Saab. She’s also looking at some designs by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla.”
We strongly felt that, Sonam would wear Anamika Khanna for the D-day, Abu Sandeep for the mehendi and an Ellie Saab or Ralph and Russo for the party cum sangeet evening. As far as the bride’s crew, or her Veeres are were concerned, we were gunning for Sonam’s BFF Jacqueline Fernandez to opt for a Manish Malhotra design, and for Swara to choose Manish or Abu-Sandeep designer wear.
While, Sonam Kapoor eventually wore an Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla outfit for the Mehendi, she chose a funky Anamika Khanna attire for the reception and instead wore an Anuradha Vakil lehenga for the wedding.
The little birdie revealed, “Sonam and her friends are extremely close to all these three designers. Manish has been a family friend to the Kapoor sisters, whereas Jacqueline and he go a long way. As for Abu and Sandeep, they designed clothes for ‘Veere Di Wedding’, so it all falls in place.”
Decor Diaries
As they say, no Indian wedding is ever complete without elaborate wedding decorations. It is none other than Sandeep Khosla, popularly known as Sandy from Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla designs, who will look into the decor for all the functions. Last year, they designed sets and decor for infrastructure czar G.V. Krishna Reddy’s grandson, Keshav Reddy and Veena Tera, who got married at a 3-day dazzling extravaganza in Hyderabad.
Sandy is outstanding with wedding decor. He is best at preparation, planning and coordinating flower decoration in order to mirror the traditional styles and customs needed for a wedding ceremony and he will do a great job!Shares a socialite from Delhi
Over the years, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla have come to be known for their highly sublime clothes and surreal interiors, but the only time we’ve heard about their involvement for shaadi decor was at Ash-Abhi’s home wedding. Known as the Maharajas of Indian fashion, Abu-Sandeep have always maintained that, they don’t make garments but heirlooms for their clients like the Bachchans and Mittals, Nita Ambani and Parmeshwar Godrej. And needless to say, they are quite selective about who they meet or associate with. Hearsay, they personally meet a prospective bridal client only if her wedding lehenga budget exceeds Rs 10 lakhs! (Which is sure in case of Sonam).
On the contrary, it came as a beautiful surprise, when we saw none other than Anika Dhawan Gupta (Rani Pink Love) do up the decor at the grand Kapoor and Ahuja wedding. Anika is a Delhi based wedding decor specialist, popularly known as the ‘Wedding Decor Courtier.’ We shall wait for another wedding to see Sandy dearest create another decor set-up sometime soon!
The Party
The celebrations will end with a bang, with a grand reception on the night of 8 May at The Leela, a five-star hotel in Andheri. Sonam and Anand’s family members will be seen performing here while the guests let their hair down. The Leela belongs to Sonam's close friend, Samyukta Nair's family, and that's the reason it has been finalised for Sonam's sangeet ceremony. Samyukta and Sonam’s close friendship reflects their mothers’ - Madhu Nair and Sunita Kapoor’s - old bond that dates back to three decades. The party will begin at 8pm and is expected to go on till the wee hours. The dress code for the party is Indian or Western formals.
The grand celebratory soiree will be held at the 12,000 sq ft grand ballroom situated in the hotel premise, that can host up to 1,000 people. However, sources say that the number of guests in attendance is likely to be a lot smaller.
While it is unclear how many guests will be at the Kapoor-Ahuja reception, reports suggest that several of the couple’s friends and family who will be flying down to Mumbai for the reception will take up residence in one of the 391 deluxe rooms that the property has to offer, since it is near the airport.
Wedding Photos Courtesy
While ‘Virushka’ chose Joseph Radhik to capture their beautiful wedding moments in Tuscany, the Kapoors and Ahujas are likely to opt for Anand Rathi of Reels and Frames as their official photographers. Known to cover magnanimous occasions, Rathi’s clientele ranges from the Birlas to the Wadias, to the Mahindras. In fact, it was Anand Rathi’s team that covered the grand Jatia and Mehta wedding that took place in Bahrain last year. Since the company has shared a non-disclosure agreement, Reels and Frames refrained from commenting but they definitely seemed extremely pumped to capture the wedding.
Mika Singh to Perform Live
Live performances are a common feature at weddings these days. And at Sonam di wedding party held on 8 May at the The Leela Hotel, a small stage is set up just for the one and only Mika Singh. According to insiders, the king of Bollywood bhangra, Mika will be performing live and making everyone from the bride and groom to the baraat is and the guests, dance to his tunes. Apparently, Mika is believed to be the highest earner in this regard.
A popular wedding planner shares, “He charges nearly 40 lakh for 90 minutes,” and that is just his fee. His other demands include nearly 15 air tickets, three rooms in a five-star hotel and another five in a three-or four-star hotel. We are sure Mika will make the Ahuja’s feel at home and balle balle his way through the Kapoors!”
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