Patel with Hrithik Roshan In conversation with Katrina Kaif Anil Kapoor

Former President of India, Pratibha Patil,

with the family

The star-studded wedding

DESTINATION:

MUMBAI

The Bride: POORNA PATEL, ENTREPRENEUR

The Groom: NAMIT SONI, BUSINESSMAN

Salman Khan at the reception

Patel and Soni share a spontaneous moment

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.W THE FUNCTIONSHeld at Grand Hyatt Mumbai, the mehendi hosted 1,500 guests. They were entertained by popular Punjabi singer-songwriter Guru Randha-wa, Viraj and Abhishek (a collective formed by Delhi-based producers Vi-raj Mohan and Abhishek Bhatia), DJ

When the daughter of one of the coun-try’s most dynamic politicians—Con-gressman Praful Patel—got married to her long-time beau in July this year, the stars were bound to descend. With powerful businessmen, Bollywood celebrities and high-profi le political leaders in attendance, the wedding held at the NSCI Dome and Grand Hyatt Mumbai over three days was, as expected, a glitzy affair.

OF LOVE, CELEBRITIES AND MORE… “It was magical; like a dream come true. Everything was just perfect, with our close family and friends. The wedding has defi nitely left me with some of the most cherished memories for a lifetime,” says Poorna Patel, af-ter returning from her honeymoon in Iceland. While the mehendi and wedding ceremony were intimate af-fairs, the sangeet and reception had a bigger guest list, which included celebrities like Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Isha Ambani, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Katrina Kaif. “The Patel and Soni families are very close-knit, and they did everything the tra-ditional way,” says Bhavnesh Sawh-ney of Wedniksha, the company that planned all four functions.

A live orchestra performance

The bride gets her fi nishing touches from Manish Malhotra

The happy couple

Black bookWEDDING PLANNER, TECHNICAL PRODUCTION AND ENTERTAINMENT: Bhavnesh Sawhney of Wedniksha (09821046996)DÉCOR: Vandana Mohan of The Wedding Company (09810167501)MAKE-UP: Mickey Contractor (09820031352); Mallika Bhat (mallika.bhat@gmail.com)CATERER: Blue Sea (09821120653)CHOREOGRAPHER: Naresh Kathak (09811583931)PHOTOGRAPHER AND VIDEOGRAPHER: Reels & Frames (Reelsandframes.in); Ronicka Kandhari (Ronickakandhari.com)

turier Manish Malhotra—who is a very close friend of Patel's—for all functions. “She’s some-one who is modern and bold but, at the same time, she has a traditional aesthetic, which I kept in mind while designing all her outfi ts,” says Malhotra.

The custom-made off-white and pink lehenga Patel wore at the wedding ceremony was the highlight. Monogrammed with the couple’s names and hand-embroidered with beau-tiful shlokas, the lehenga featured hand-sewn crystals, sequins and beads, powder pink fl oral embroidery and zardozi appliques. Match-ing bangles, a pair of golden

kalire and a gorgeous matha patti completed her look for the big day. “It took three-and-a-half months to make this outfi t,” informs Malho-tra. Soni's clothes were coordinated with Patel's. His wedding outfi t was a tone-on-tone ivory sherwani with metallic zardozi fl oral work—just like Patel’s, but a more subtle ver-sion. “The stole was classic and hand-embroidered, infl uenced by the motifs on the sherwani,” adds Malhotra. ■

THE BRIDE'S CHECKLIST

• “Be sure of your choices and preferences so that the decision-

making process is smoother.• The planning should start way in advance so that everything is

executed seamlessly.• The entertainment has to be

well considered, keeping in mind the guests attending

the wedding. • The décor, food and

entertainment should be in sync.”

Ganesh and a family garba. Live food counters and Guja-rati delicacies completed the evening. The sangeet was held the next day at the NSCI Dome with 4,000 guests in attend-ance. Cuisines from all over the world were served as actors Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Jacqueline Fernandez regaled guests with special performanc-es. The musical line-up was im-pressive as well—it included pop-ular singer Sonu Nigam and DJ Aman Nagpal.

This was followed by the main wedding ceremony held the follow-ing day at Grand Hyatt Mumbai. Tra-ditional Gujarati food was served with entertainment by musician Dharini Thakker and a live band. The recep-tion was held that same evening at the NSCI Dome, with world cuisine on the menu and entertainment by Mer-lin D’souza and band, and DJ Sandy. “Every moment was unforgetta-ble—the ceremonies, the celebrations with near and dear ones, the warmth and blessings of the guests and the auspicious atmosphere,” says Patel.

TROUSSEAU BY MANISH MALHOTRAThe couple wore outfi ts by master cou-

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www.vogue.in THE VOGUE WEDDING BOOK 2018 31