When two of the country’s most loved Bollywood stars come together, you can expect the ceremony of their union to take over the internet like wildfire.
Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh have been making fans go weak in their knees since 2013. The couple’s love story started with their first movie outing together during shooting Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Since then, the couple has been dating but kept their relationship a secret and hidden from the world. After dating for about six years, DeepVeer took the plunge and tied the knot in 2018 at dual ceremonies held in Italy.
Singh first met Padukone at the Zee Cine Awards in Macau, back in 2012. When quizzed by a fan if he remembered what she was wearing (a silver gown), he quickly responded, “How can one possibly forget the sight?” The duo got better acquainted on the sets of Goliyon ki Rasleela… Ramleela a year later, and sparks flew. The budding romance was kept under wraps at the time, but Singh couldn’t resist spilling the beans. On the movie’s first anniversary “Don’t we look great together?” he raved in an Instagram throwback to the making of the period drama.
The couple decided to get married after Padmaavat, which was set to release in 2018. “We knew it was going to happen, it was just a matter of time. When the film was released, it just felt correct,” Padukone said.
In this blog, we breakdown the complete wedding festivities of the power couple.
The Wedding Venue:
To get started, the pair enlisted the help of wedding planner Vandana Mohan of The Wedding Design Company to plan the two-day extravaganza. From making guests cover their mobile phone cameras with stickers to commissioning patrolling powerboats to chase away paparazzi, no stone was left unturned to keep their wedding a private affair. The venue, Villa del Balbianello in Lake Como, is a magnificent property in Italy with stunning interiors, surrounded by lush green mountains and a serene lake, it was straight out of a fairytale — just like the celebration!
The Mehendi:
First in line for Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh’s wedding celebration was a vibrant alfresco mehndi ceremony on November 13, 2018. As magical as the pictures looked, a day prior, it was raining in Italy. “But on the morning of November 13, when I was getting my mehndi done, the sun came out. Suddenly, it was a clear blue sky,” the bride remembers about how everything fell in place. At the Mehndi ceremony, the handsome groom was seen in a printed cotton angrakha and an embroidered silk bundi while Deepika adorned a pink thread work kurta. She teamed her powder onion pink thread work kurta with a thread work dupatta of a similar colour and the actress added another layer by wearing a red shawl over the dupatta.
While Deepika got some designer Mehndi done, Ranveer too got a little Mehndi design on his hand with #DeepVeer written.
The Sangeet:
Prior to their intimate wedding, the couple also hosted a sangeet party at Casta Diva, a luxury resort on the east side of Lake Como, in the pretty commune of Blevio. It seemed like quite a bash as the playlist included several Punjabi and Bollywood tracks. The evening also saw guests and the couple-to-be shaking their leg to the dhol, along with live vocals by singer Harshdeep Kaur with musicians Sanjoy Das, Bobby Pathak, and Firoz Khan. The ambience at the event was lively and the couple along with their family members danced their hearts out.
The Konkani Wedding:
From their wedding wardrobe to the rituals, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh decidedly honoured both their distinct cultures for their union. The guests made their way on a boat to the venue for the Konkani ceremony on November 14—a fitting nod to Deepika Padukone’s south Indian roots. The nuptials went on for more than five hours, against a backdrop of the gorgeous lake. The venue was decked in thousands of white flowers flown in from Florence.
For the Konkani wedding, Ranveer wore a traditional South Indian attire – an ivory and gold veshti, kurta and angavastram. Along with his traditional attire, he also wore a mundavalya. Deepika was dressed in a silk red and gold saree and was heavily bejewelled. Deepika was a vision in her silk saree. She opted for very light, au naturel make-up and a tiny red bindi. Her make-up was all in shades of browns and nudes. She wore an elaborate mathapatti, jhumkas, a heavy choker and a layered necklace. She looked like a true-blue royal Konkani bride.
The Sindhi Wedding:
A meaningful ode to Singh’s Sindhi background was the Anand Karaj held on November 15, 2018.
For the Sindhi Wedding, the Bollywood Jodi chose to coordinate in colours of red and gold. Ranveer wore a red kanjeevaram shervani with delicate golden thread work by Sabyasachi. This time, even Ranveer wore a lot of heavy accessories. He had a red and gold safa around his head. Apart from that, he also wore a layered mala of red beads. Along with this, he wore another kundan neckpiece. Ranveer completed his look with a very heavy red stole dupatta. The border of the stole was all zari and embellishments. He looked like a royal groom by all standards.
Deepika brought her Rani Padmavati character to life with her Sindhi wedding attire. She wore a beautiful bright red and gold lehenga. The lehenga had intricate gold embroidery and threadwork. But what caught our eye immediately was Deepika’s bridal dupatta. It was a beautiful shade of red with checkered gold design. This dupatta was gifted to her by Ranveer’s family during the Konkani ceremony and it had Sada Saubhagyavati Bhava written on it in hindi.
In keeping with the Sikh traditions, the ceremony included an ardaas (the final prayer of the ceremony) and four pheras. The wedding was said to have been followed by a grand lunch at the villa, with several cuisines for the guests to relish, including a medley of desserts baked by chefs flown in from Switzerland.
“Everything was perfect. After the Anand Karaj ceremony was over, there was a boat to take Ranveer and me back to the hotel from the venue. The sun was setting… It was the first time after our marriage that we were alone. We listened to our favourite song on full volume and literally rode into the sunset,” remembers the bride when asked about her fondest memory.
Bangalore Reception:
For the Bangalore reception hosted by the bride’s parents at Leela Palace, the newlyweds dressed in royal attire for the big night. Ranveer and Deepika shared the first picture from the reception on their social media. While Ranveer picked a black-golden sherwani by Rohit Bal, Deepika was seen in a shiny golden silk saree which was a gift from her mother, Ujjala Padukone. The saree was styled by Sabyasachi and the bride accessorized her ensemble with a statement emerald studded choker, a mandala medallion and large studs, and layered it with an elegant pearl raani haar. The newly-weds spent their evening celebrating their milestone moment with friends and family.
Post wedding party:
Next in the series of post-wedding parties was held at Grand Hyatt, Mumbai and was attended by family members and friends along with the media. Deepika took a break from wearing Sabyasachi and donned a gorgeous Ivory and Gold Chikankari saree by designer duo Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla with jewellery from Saboo at AJSK. Ranveer twinned with his beautiful wife in an ivory and gold embroidered sherwani with wide-legged trousers by designer Rohit Bal.
Mumbai Reception:
Saving the best for the last, this power couple looked every part the king and queen for their reception at The Grand Hyatt Mumbai. The stunning couple upped the glam quotient in their red and black outfits with Deepika in a bold red custom-made Zuhair Murad gown and Ranveer looking dapper in a black tuxedo, courtesy of Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna. For their portraits before the party, Deepika wore a matching red veil which she later let go off and traded the mile-high heels for comfy white sneakers later that night. Ranveer too swapped his tux jacket for a leopard print one to simply enjoy and dance the night away.
The Wedding Makers:
Location: Villa Del Balbianello (Mehndi, Konkani and Sindhi Wedding), The Leela Palace (Bangalore Reception), Grand Hyatt (Post-Wedding Party, Mumbai Reception and Bollywood Reception)
Wedding Planners: Wedding Design Company (WDC, Delhi)
Food : Foodlink Services
Entertainment: Harshdeep Kaur and band
Deepika Outfits: Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Angadi Galleria (Deepika’s Konkani Wedding and Banglore Reception Saree) and Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla (Mumbai Reception) and Zuhair Murad (Bollywood Reception)
Deepika’s Jewellery: Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla (Mumbai Reception)
Makeup Artist: Sandhya Shekar
Deepika’s Hair: Georgiou Gabriel
Deepika’s Stylist: Shaleena Nathani
Ranveer’s Outfits: Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Rohit Bal (Bangalore and Mumbai Reception) and Manish Arora (Post-Wedding Party), Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna (Bollywood Reception)
Ranveer’s Hair: Darshan Yewalekar
Ranveer’s Stylist: Nitasha Gaurav