And the photos are really pretty! They are both super smilely and happy looking, which is how I like my wedding photos, instead of stressed and distressed looking.
As was rumored to be the plan, they got married in Italy. Which is also where Rani and Aditya had their small wedding 4 years ago. I wonder why? I understand the general idea between being to go to a non-desi dominated country as the only way to get totally away from the pressure of their fame. So I know why you couldn’t go to Sri Lanka or London or New York. But why Italy instead of Portugal or Brazil or something? It’s a mystery! Unless there is some legal thing I don’t know about.
Anyway, Anushka and Virat and a few family and friends as yet unidentified fly out of India to Italy, along with the family Pandit (who must have been thrilled to get a free trip to Italy!), they got married, and then posted an official announcement and photos on twitter. Check out the cute cute photos:
And supposedly the plan is to have a grand reception when they get back to Bombay. Which is how Preity Zinta did it, and Saif and Kareena, keeping the wedding semi-private but going all out for the reception. Also, coincidentally, my parents! Private wedding, and then big big reception for all the family friends and stuff that you HAD to invite. I fully approve of this plan.
EXCEPT!!!! They are planning to have the reception on December 26th which is SO TACKY. Because of course, that is Salman’s birthday. So everyone is going to have to pick between their wedding and Salman’s party and it will be a whole thing. Unless they were really stuck with Virat’s playing schedule and that was the only day free, and they called up and asked Salman and he volunteered to cancel any big plans and of course show up at their party to celebrate with them. Which, now that I think about it, is probably likely what happened. So I am okay with it all again. Salman can have a little family party, and then go party all night at a wedding reception, because he loves wedding receptions.
dontcallitbollywood 
They look lovely 😊 Also, their story would make a great movie, there’s the Delhi boy turned gentleman by spunky girl. Fame. Separation. Standing up for love. There’s drama for sure. Also he speaks of her with so much respect. I hope they stay happy forever.
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I really can’t wait to see how Anushka handles marriage! She has been so strong through out their relationship with maintaining her own career instead of just trailing after his. And she has a bunch of films signed already for post-marriage. I would love to see her be like Sharmila in that way too, keep working despite marriage and children and not making a big deal about it.
On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 10:09 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I think that’s what was her plan all along to continue working after marriage. Independent production house while working with big names so that nobody is under the illusion that she’ll stop working. It’s great. Especially since he’s going to be very busy the next few years she has no reason to abandon everything n stay at home. I’m so happy for her, honestly. I hope she does her own thing without a care about what industry or people will say.
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Seriously.. Also, does this mean virat might have a film career post retirement?
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I hope not, athlete to actor never seems to work out. I’d also love it if he retires before Anushka and takes care of the kids. Or at least has the less demanding career.
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He’s 29. Technically he only has 3-4 years of international cricket left in him that too if he maintains top form. If he goes on to become the legend that people think he would, his international career would stretch to age 37-39 and if he can manage that he’d be too big a legend to not move onto a big coaching gig or cricket board management/selection. Usually, former cricketers get into commentating which is a full time career. So him staying at home with the kids is not really going to happen.
Anushka is also 29 which is a surprising age for a “heroine” to get married. She can actually set a great precedent where she stays very active in films till age 35-36, has a kid around the time Virat’s international career is folding, goes back to acting full time, has another kid before 40 or in her early 40s, and then they can both be Bollywood and cricket A-listers with young kids and careers transitioning. She can technically continue to make smaller films under her own banner or she and Virat can buy an IPL team together.
At any rate, I don’t want either of them to put their careers on the backburner for the kids. They aren’t people who won’t have nannies and they shouldn’t pretend like they’re regular people who have financial restrains when it comes to child rearing.
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It’s the first time since Sharmila and Tiger’s wedding that the Indian Cricket Captain is marrying one of the reigning queens of Bollywood.I find Anushka’s Bollywood guests interesting -Shahrukh,Aamir,Aaditya and Manish.The most powerful people in Bollywood.Guess you’re right about Adi and Rani being “The” power couple of Bollywood.Since the wedding video is not out yet we’ll have to be satisfied with the Manyavar wedding ad.
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Are the guests confirmed? If that list is accurate, that must have been a tight turn around for people, to get from Adira’s party all the way to Italy for the wedding!
On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 10:14 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I don’t think any celebrities were invited to Italy. Or if they were, they clearly didn’t go. SRK was at the Lux awards just the night before. I guess besides avoiding the media, destination weddings also mean you can avoid the celebrity circus too. Nobody would want to go anyway. They have busy lives and flying all the way out there for that wouldn’t be high on anyone’s list. Even at the Mumbai weddings, celebs usually make quick appearances and leave. Most don’t stay and hang around all through the event unless they are actually close.
I’m guessing the whole industry will be invited on the 26th. Will be interesting to see who attends.
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Industry and Cricket. Get ready to see Sachin dancing with SRK (hopefully).
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Also, Aditya Chopra never attends public functions so I guess Rani will attend by herself. I expect SRK and Aamir will be there too unless they are out of town. Dec. 26th is quite an odd date since it’s Christmas holidays for many kids. A lot of celeb parents might be out of town on family vacations. I guess it depends on how early Anushka notified them. If they already had plans by the time they got the invite, they might not be able to make it.
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Does Cricket take a break over the holidays too? They are both such workaholics (it sounds like)that I wonder if they picked the Christmas dates for the same reason a normal person might. It’s easy to take time off work then. Anushka probably already wasn’t scheduled to film and Virat (maybe) wasn’t scheduled to play. So they can do wedding, parties, honeymoon, and back to work with minimal time off.
For Shahrukh at least, it might be easier, I assume his kids will be home from school for Christmas rather than him traveling to or with them, and he won’t be filming because of that. The same might be true for some other families, because they kids are home from school they aren’t shooting the way they normally would be and are in town.
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The team is literally in the middle of a series right now! And they lost catastrophically without Virat. Dhoni saved their izzat just a bit otherwise it would have been a legendary defeat.
Winter is peak cricket season.
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Tut-tut Virat! Taking a day off just to get married!
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Well it was kinda mean of him, being the captain, to not invite the team and to have his wedding clash with a home tour. This is the same dude that complained of a burnout after a low-key season. I borderline despise Virat TBH.
Plus, he wouldn’t have scheduled it during IPL either because that’s a big cash cow. That’s what irks me about our cricketers. They miss internationals for private events but not the domestic league.
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This is the first celebrity Indian wedding I’ve been excited about…these two seem like the real deal.
Those pictures are gorgeous and so sweet. I’m betting her wedding outfit was Sabyasachi. The pastel print is from his recent seasons, I think.
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Way happier about this than Preity and Mr. “Good-Enough”.
On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 10:32 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I just read that both bride and groom coordinated outfits were by Sabyaschi, for all the ceremonies, mehendi, sangeet,engagement, and wedding.
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That is the best, I think, when you are looking for heavy traditional Indian wedding clothes.
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I love Anushka’s look at mehendi ceremony.
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I’m pretty sure she really is “a modern woman” and will manage marriage and career with aplomb. Remember for all the cultural pressure for a woman to stay home to be a mom, these are people with lots and lots of help. You can spend a lot of quality time with a kid if you never have to: shop, cook, wash dishes, wash clothes, park the car, take the car in for repairs, pay bills, make appointments….should I go on???’u
They do seem to be a great couple!!
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I am really interested in the way she squeezed this wedding in between massive professional commitments, I am seeing that she has only about 2-3 weeks of honeymoon and then is rushing right back to start work on her Varun film. And same for Virat of course, he’s got matches and stuff constantly. It seems like they will be a very much parallel lives kind of couple at least for a while. That’s what Kareena and Saif did for years, they would have these fabulous glamorous vacations, and then in between they would both be working a ton in different directions.
On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 10:36 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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And that is how the modern marriage of two professionals works.
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I hope nothing changes for them. We need a celebrity example of it.
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I don’t understand why they choose Italy for the wedding either, especially if it was supposed to be in Milan. I mean, there are plenty of beautiful places in Italy, so why Milan? And it’s so cold now there. But I guess it’s because wedding in Italy sounds glamourus.
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Oh right, I forgot we have an on the ground corespondent! I don’t suppose they invited you?
Also, can you confirm that Italy would be a good place to go if they wanted to be anonymous?
On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 11:34 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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There are many Indian emigrants in Italy, but beside this yes, I think it’s very good place for them to be anonymous.
I have read now that they have married in Tuscany, and I’m not surprised because all famous people marry in Tuscany. Much better than in Milan. But still bad weather and cold.
They should have come in Sicily 😉 Unfortunately the only Indian star who visited our island was Mallika Sherawat.
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Maybe cold is exotic for them? Or maybe Virat doesn’t mind it as much, since he is from Delhi.
On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 11:52 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Cold is exotic plus off season discounts so they can bring the entire family over without worrying about the cost of private security services.
Also, where else could they have had the wedding where they didn’t have to spend a day on a plane?
Down Under wouldn’t have been private for them at all. And South East Asia is crowded with tourists this time of the year. England is always too wet. Can’t have an Indian wedding in France. Tuscany is the right amount of exotic, private, familiar and close.
I wish I can have a wedding in Italy!! Although I’d settle for a wedding in Turkey too 😂
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Wedding in Chicago! It’s all kinds of cold here!
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You do realize I’d be going to Turkey for the food mostly and the scenery. I highly doubt Chicago can offer us those things. Cold is not exactly exotic for me. Cold is 8 hours on a train away from here. And it isn’t far away from the relatives I’d like to bit have to invite to my wedding 😂
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I don’t think anyone can plan their lives around other people’s birthdays and anniversaries. I doubt they even knew when Salman’s birthday was. Anushka doesn’t like him much so I highly doubt any calls to him were made.
She gave an interview to Anupama Chopra after Sultan when Salman had made some weird/creepy raped woman comment. From that interview, quoted:
On being asked about Salman’s rape comment controversy, Ms Sharma completely distanced herself from Salman by stating “I don’t know him at all. I have done one film with him and that’s the amount of interaction I’ve had with him. Salman is intimidating and he is not someone who would go out of his way to make you feel comfortable. He’s going to be himself and he’ll just do his thing. And I’m very shy as a person so I can’t bridge that gap either. We don’t have that kind of a equation where we have conversations.”
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Good to know!
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Haven’t seen all the photos (cos I’m away from home and sing iPad which us old and clapped out) but in those I’ve seen they both look divine and radiant with happiness 🙂
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Salman’s birthday is December 27, and he has the same set of close friends every year who go to his party, so I doubt that entered anyone’s head in the planning. The fact of it being the day after Christmas is likely to have more impact on the attendance. Besides, didn’t Anushka say once (recently, I think) that she doesn’t really have any friends in the film industry?
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This is like the 3rd time I have misidentified Salman’s birthday as the 26th, I don’t know why I keep doing that, maybe because the coverage starts here on the 26th/27th in India?
Anyway, I would assume that the point of the big Bombay reception is to invite “work friends” so no one is insulted, even if you don’t care about them much and wouldn’t have wanted them at the real wedding. So I am expecting everyone that Anushka has worked with at any point to be invited, and most of them to dutifully show up, congratulate the couple, and then leave.
Especially because I saw somewhere else that there will be a Delhi and a Bombay reception, with the assumption being that Delhi is for Virat’s friends and maybe Cricket connections, and Bombay is for Anushka’s work people.
On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 2:27 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I think the press release said the Delhi reception is for their relatives and the Bombay one is for the movie industry and cricketers. I think the wedding truly was very small. It looked like maybe 20 people at most from the videos coming out. So all the extended family and relatives will get a Delhi reception invite.
And you’re right about desi receptions in general. People invite almost everyone they’ve ever come into contact with so nobody feels insulted. The whole industry will get an invite and whoever is in town will definitely do their duty in return and show up and congratulate them. I bet even people she’s never worked with will be invited.
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Here is a short video 🙂
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bckvh4EFLLb/?taken-by=raghav.sharma.14661
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On a different note, I find this business of flying to a place with no desi connections to get married very strange, because you would have great trouble procuring all the required elements of a traditional Hindu wedding. That rose garland, for instance, is completely wrong, and makes it obvious that someone who’s not used to make garlands put one together the best they knew how. Never mind, it’s their wedding. 🙂
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I knew someone in Chicago who had a hard time finding a nice place for her wedding, because none of the really gorgeous historical buildings would allow fires (understandably). I think they ended up at some personality-less hotel just because it would allow for a fire to be burning for the ceremony.
On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 2:30 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Exactly. At the first Indian wedding I went to (several decades ago) in Los Angeles, they had the ceremonial fire in a Hibachi. 🙂 When Hibachis came on the market, they were great for all Hindu religious ceremonies, because there was no other way for people to have a contained fire. At that time there were no Hindu temples, or priests, or any other kind of infrastructure, just a few thousand strong Indian population.
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I find it strange too. But I guess for celebrities it’s the only way to get some privacy without the media hounding them and causing a commotion. I bet everyone has learned from Aishwarya’s wedding which was quite a disaster in terms of media and industry management. Since the engagement was announced, the hype was crazy with daily articles and gossip for months. Lots of angry people over not getting invited. Lots of stories of fallouts. Then the wedding day itself was a nightmare with media camped outside and fans gathered outside making noise and people getting beat up by security guards.
Doing it quickly without notice and away from India is much easier and calmer and people don’t have time for grievances to develop since the reception is held quickly.
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Yes! They want a wedding in a different country, but it must be 100% desi, so they bring everything with them, even the priest. I wonder how many luggages they needed (only Anushka’s lengha, and jewellery must weight a lot, and there was mehendi dress too, and casual clothes). But as you say, it’s their wedding .
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Oh, I don’t know. Salman managed to have a very private wedding for his sister right in India. Now maybe it would be a different story if it was him getting married. 🙂 But even then, I’m sure any big celebrity can hire an entire hotel (as they did for Arpita’s wedding) and keep things private. Recently, the wedding of South stars Chaitanya Akkineni and Samantha was held privately in Goa, with a reception in Hyderabad. Actually I feel like this “private” wedding ceremony is just a new fad, another way to show how exclusive you are. In Indian tradition, it’s the wedding that’s important, and to which you’re supposed to invite everybody. Receptions are a foreign import. 🙂
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When there are weddings of my friends and family, I make sure to attend the actual wedding ceremony of only the people who are very close to me. The rest of the time I attend only the receptions since they are held in the evening. Hindu Wedding ceremonies in South India(mostly Karnataka and Tamil Nadu,not aware of Kerala, Telugu weddings are mostly at night) begin at unearthly hours in the morning. Hence, receptions are more convenient.
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Chaitanya Akkineni has his close-family full of actors,producers etc.So they all could not have flown-down as easily as Anushka & Virat’s non-filmy/non-cricket families to a foreign location.I was living in Mumbai when Abhishek-Aishwarya wed.It was also a private wedding with no media allowed.Still the entire area came to a stand-still & there were live-TV going on showing whats happening,who is arriving,who is wearing what,who seemed sad/happy.It was really like the circus was in town.I guess Anushka,Virat did not want to turn their wedding into a spectacle.
Having said that, each couple,each family has their own preference of how/where they want to get married-Indian or not.For celebrities it is a lot more trickier for obvious reasons.
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There’s also how much they wanted to control their guests. The thing you probably don’t want to have to say directly is “we can keep the media out, but we can’t stop members of the industry from tweeting/instagraming/facebooking the whole thing if we invite them”. And you definitely don’t want to be in the position of asking, say, Karan Johar if he will hand over his cell phone for the next 3 days because you would prefer him not to post photos.
I’m thinking about Salman’s sister’s wedding. I think they had it at the farmhouse outside of the city, so there was a lot of control in terms of crowds and media. But there was a constant barrage of images from inside the event posted by the invited guests. Which obviously the Khans didn’t care about, probably liked the feeling that everyone was enjoying the event and wanting to share their joy. But a more private couple might want to keep the occasion just for the people who were present.
On Fri, Dec 15, 2017 at 11:35 AM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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M
The rose garlands happen at Indian weddings too. I have seen them at some Across the border celebrity weddings too. Not so much don’t know how to make a garland as have one that matches the dress and is light enough.
Well they are North Indians and there is a culture of big fat weddings generally for people there. These two chose to have a destination wedding to round off the experience it seems. The fact that family and friends complied to keep it all under wraps is commendable. Guess that was part of the reason no celebrities were invited. It would have been a breadcrumb trail for the media.
I like the idea that this wedding was about the couple, their love and happiness and a reflection of that in their loved ones. Smiles and memories of such a special day for years to come.
As some of the others said I wish this marriage works out for all the right reasons. We definitely need a celebrity example.
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It’s not about having garlands of roses, but about the way the roses have been put together to form a garland. But as I said, never mind, it’s their wedding. If they’re happy, then fine.
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I really like this couple. Both seem intelligent and passionately dedicated to their respective crafts. A marriage of true equals, who seem to treat each other as equals. And both equally cute/gorgeous.
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