BOMBAY TIMES (November 16, 2018)

On Wednesday morning in Lake Como, Italy, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh exchanged vows in a four-hourlong wedding ceremony that was conducted with Konkani-Brahmin rituals. The final venue for the wedding was kept a secret from the guests, too. At sharp 7 am local time, family members and friends of the couple were ushered to the wedding venue by a private yacht. It was a waterfront property located right next to the villa owned by Hollywood star George Clooney.

The ladkiwale were dressed in traditional South Indian attire and keeping them company was Ranveer Singh, also dressed in a traditional white kurta and mundu (dhoti). Deepika wore a red and gold bridal lehenga designed by Sabyasachi Mukherjee. In Konkani weddings, it’s a tradition to have an elaborate bridal walk and Deepika did this long walk from the top of the villa to the wedding venue. Singer Shubha Mudgal performed live at the wedding.

During the wedding ceremony, both Deepika and Ranveer were emotional. Realising the couple’s nervousness, the pandit took it upon himself to alleviate the proceedings. He entertained the bride and groom by cracking jokes and engaging in light-hearted conversation with other family members, too.

The cuisine was an elaborate Mangalorean fare and the food was served on traditional banana leaves. Since Deepika is extremely fond of it, the welcome drink for the wedding was special filter coffee, flown from Bengaluru. A South Indian chef was also brought in from Karnataka especially for the wedding. We hear that the Italian service staff, which was catering to the guests, were dressed in traditional South Indian clothes. They were also fully trained with the names of the Indian dishes on the menu. So much so, that the service staff was also greeting the guests in Hindi and Konkani!