Dream dresses for divas

Indians are crazy about couture at shaadis, and when it comes to celebrity weddings the hype gets a notch higher.

December threw up some of the prettiest and richest brides from the Indian film industry as the #DeepVeer (Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh) and #NickYanka (Priyanka Chopra and Nick Joans) wedding weekends broke the Internet with picture-perfect couple shots.

Following close on the heels of these two grand Bollywood weddings, another magnificent wedding celebration from the house of Ambanis gave us major shaadi goals as Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal tied the knot.

Although these stunning A-list brides wore something close to their heart and style sensibilities the common sartorial factor was the stunning bridal outfits from the ateliers of some of India’s top couturiers.

Right from customised outfits to recreated heirlooms — the brides posed in picture-perfect ensembles that broke the Internet and trended for days.

In addition to the bridal party, the starry list saw Bollywood’s top celebrities flaunting outfits. Designers Manish Malhotra and the Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla (AJSK) duo share their experience about creating bespoke outfits for these affluent brides, who picked some of the rarest and finest Indian arts and crafts to complete their respective bridal trousseaus.

Isha and Anand 

AJSK bagged a long-list of bridal ensembles for the Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal wedding in Mumbai. Isha’s 16-paneled lehenga was inspired by the architectural heritage of Mughal jaalis. The outfit was accentuated with beautiful floral designs like roses, lilies and the lotus to create a masterpiece. In her wedding trousseau, Isha incorporated her mother Nita Ambani’s wedding sari, which was reinvented by the duo using zardozi borders.

While Isha was a perfect bride in an ivory and red ensemble, mother Nita wore a beige georgette ghagra, with hand embroidered chikankar, mukaish and marodi work highlighted with crystals, tamba sequins and edged with pink borders. Completing the ensemble was a gold blouse and a bright pink tulle head dupatta.

For the sangeet ceremony at Jodhpur’s Oberoi Udaivilas, the mother-daughter duo chose Manish Malhotra. The designer dressed Isha Ambani in a gold embellished lehenga for her sangeet ceremony and created some special outfits for Nita for the grand wedding. The bespoke outfits for the Ambani women were made in almost two months, he reveals, adding, “For Nitaji and for the grand maha aarti we wanted to start with the festive hues of saffron to celebrate the auspicious occasion and highlight her love for intricate craftsmanship. Isha hand-picked a glamorous gold-sequinned lehenga with contemporary flair to suit the occasion, similar to the embellished pink ensemble which enhanced her jewels beautifully. It was a pleasure to custom-style every member of the family to match the theme of the sangeet, which was a glorious affair! Making these outfits involved a hundred hours of craftsmanship.”

Priyanka and Nick 

Our very own desi girl Priyanka Chopra was a vision in white in her customised Ralph Lauren bridal outfit on her big day, but she didn’t forget to pick something from Manish Malhotra.

Priyanka Chopra picked up matching outfits for herself and her husband, Nick Jonas, for their pre-wedding puja ceremony

The actress picked up matching outfits for herself and her husband for their pre-wedding puja ceremony. While Priyanka wore a traditional kurta with delicate thread embroidery in hues of powder blue and baby pink, singer Nick Jonas wore a matching pink kurta from the designer’s festive line to pose for shutterbugs.

The multi-coloured leheriya inspired outfit for Priyanka’s mehendi ceremony was most colourful, and the world just couldn’t get enough of her million dollar smile as she twirled in this beautiful creation by AJSK.

Speaking about their wedding outfits, the designers say, “We see Priyanka and Nick as the ultimate love story — a love that brings together different worlds and cultures and creates a new universe. Designing their wedding has been about melding tradition and modernity to create a unique celebration, one that rejoices in beauty and romance.”