Although most of Bollywood didn’t venture into Bengaluru, Vivek Oberoi’s wedding with Priyanka Alva maintained its entire entertainment quotient. The day began on Friday afternoon, with a haldi ceremony at Chancery Pavillion. Most present at the event were dunked into the pool.
The ceremony started at the Alva residence, where the Oberois and the baraat reached at about 5.30 pm. Designer Tarun Tahiliani had created the red-gold outfits for the couple and everyone was heard raving about how gorgeous the two looked in shaadi ke jode (wedding attire).
Vivek While the drive from Windsor Manor hotel, where the groom’s family were put up, was covered in minutes, the journey from the entrance to the mandap took considerable time as Vivek rode a decorated ghodi (horse) as per tradition. Of course, Vivek was teased aplenty by the bride’s side before he got on the mare. Even the ghodi was made to sway and trot before he was allowed to get off.
Oberoi had to give up his shoes to his sisters-in-law before he was let into the mandap to take his seat next to his waiting bride.
Apart from the Swarovski crystals from Czechoslovakia and flowers from Italy, the mandap also had huge LCD screens put up to broadcast the entire ceremony. The wedding rites were performed as per both the Punjabi and the Karnataka traditions, and by the time the ceremony ended, it was 2 am.
When Oberoi asked for his shoes, his sisters-in-law apparently demanded Rs 25 lakh. “But it was all in good humour. Eventually, after some teasing and cajoling, the Oberois paid a couple of lakhs, so Vivek could get his shoes back,” revealed a source.
The food lawn was no less ostentatious and the buffet spread was no less extravagant, even though the families opted to stick to vegetarian food only. “The Alva and Oberoi families had decided to keep the food vegetarian. Besides, there was a separate spread for Karnataka specialties,” said our source, adding that the dessert spread was equally grand “with a nine-feet chocolate fountain” on the menu.
Nearly 200 policemen were deployed for security and about 4,000 guests attended the wedding to congratulate the daughter of Karnataka’s late political leader Jeevaraj Alva and Oberoi.
Sangeeta Bijlani and Sushmita Sen, who attended the wedding with daughter Renee, made up for the B-town quotient. Southside stars like Chiranjeevi, Sudeep and director Mani Ratnam were also present. However, the political presence was a lot more visible as Siddaramaiah, Venkaiah Naidu, RV Deshpande, DB Chandregouda, Narendra Babu, Roshan Beig and Mayor S Nataraj arrived with their multi-car security convoys