Celebrity Brides of 2021
levelling up from the low-key celebrations and minimal weddings of 2020, 2021 saw an inclusive mix of grandeur and intimacy as festivities picked up the pace, including many awaited celeb weddings
from dazzling designer wardrobes, to nostalgic family heirlooms, to traditional weaves and jewellery; celebrity brides set trends across the board for all kinds of style
here are the South Asian celebrity brides we loved this year
Katrina Kaif
with over 100m followers across her social platforms, Katrina set the world alight with her wedding festivities to Vicky Kaushal, that took place at the lavish Six Senses Fort Barwara in Rajasthan last month. with what looked like a dreamy Sabyasachi advert, Katrina wore a mixture of new season and timeless pieces from Sabyasachi’s extensive collection
let’s talk our favourite look first, the floral saree of dreams, that took over 1800 hours to make (every second was worth it!) conceptualised and created by Sabyasachi, the vintage-inspired saree with a trailing veil has the traditional white wedding gown silhouette. the blouse and saree are embellished with hand-cut English flowers, and embroidered by 40 artisans
Sabyasachi paired the saree with a statement uncut diamond choker, detailed with opals and pale Russian emeralds, with matching earrings from Sabyasachi Heritage Jewellery collection. Katrina also carried a traditional bouquet in her hands to tie together the indo-western look
this level of detail into this one outfit makes this one of Sabyasachi’s most unique pieces that would not be for sale as part of his upcoming collections. we can only guesstimate a price based on the depth of the craftsmanship taken to create this, ballpark figure of £15,000 / $20,200 / Rs 1.500.000 - with the heritage jewellery pieces costing an additional £5,000 / $6,800 / Rs 500.000 - which is small change for Katrina who amassed £2m / $2.75m / Rs 200c in income through 2021
our second favourite look, the mehndi lehenga of dreams..
when Sabyasachi debuted this lehenga on this instagram, many brides instantly knew they would want this as their mehndi look - Katrina was probably no different, and snapped up the £10,000 / $13,500 / Rs 1.000.000 lehenga
featuring his classic plunge design with short sleeves, mid-open back and bustier ties, the blouse fit flawlessly and was finished with embellished cuffs to match the skirt border
the heavy silk panelled skirt features a multitude of alternating colours making it one of Sabyasachi’s most eye-catching designs - that too with a heavy embellished border that sparkles in the light, a matching floral border on the dupatta AND a sequin net floral design in a mustard to bring an extra pop of colour to the look
can you tell we’re absolutely obsessed?!
the final two looks of the Katrina-Vicky wedding, the bridal look, but we’d like to take a moment for the haldi look too..
Katrina looked radiant in the simple white lehenga set, and that’s not just because of the haldi - the £5,000 / $7,000 / Rs 499.000 lehenga is one we can totally imagine her wearing for years to come (if those tough haldi stains came out of course)
the main event bridal lehenga is a work of art; the classic Sabyasachi number featured his signature full short sleeve blouse design and all over embroidered skirt with antique gold beadwork, finished with two heavy panelled borders and two statement dupattas with vintage silk thread hem
Katrina’s look was finished with a second statement choker necklace, gold and pearl bangles and antique gold kalire, all by Sabyasachi also, costing a cool £2,500 / $3,400 / Rs 249.000
which brings Katrina’s wedding outfits total to a cool £50,000 / $67,500 / Rs 5.000.000 (roughly) excluding Vicky’s matching counterpart outfits, which were all Sabyasachi also..
Anushka Ranjan
the actress married her long-time boyfriend, fellow actor Aditya Seal in november in a star-studded affair, and was the talk of the headlines wearing something non-traditional for her pheras..
Anushka’s lavender lehenga was custom made by her friend Mohini’s by Mohini Chabria which i’m sure she got mates rates for, but a rough price for everyone else would be in the region of £2,000 / $3,200 / Rs 210.000 - which compared to other designer bridal outfits is quite the bargain, and is definitely a lehenga she can wear again
for her reception, Ranjan kept the tradition of a bride wearing Red and opted for a Manish Malhotra classic sequinned saree, a wardrobe staple for most bollywood actresses. this particular saree was custom made, but a similar style in any colour you could dream of would set you back £1,500 / $2,100 / Rs 145.000
for the mehndi, Anushka and Aditya hosted separate functions but both wore Anita Dongre. Anushka’s lehenga was a light look in a fun yellow and green colour combination and costed £1,700 / $2,400 / Rs 175.000 - which for the level of detail and the future wearability of the outfit is a great designer price
Ankita Lokhande Jain
televisions top earning star Ankita married Vicky Jain in a lavish large-scale wedding. the pair clicked instantly after being introduced by mutual friend Sushant Singh Rajput, and married in mid-December shortly after the Katrina-Vicky nuptials
for her bridal look, Ankita went for a full Manish Malhotra look from his new 2021 Nooraniyat bridal collection, and she looked absolutely stunning, captured by the best in the game The Wedding Story, and jewellery from Raniwala 1881. we’ve had the opportunity to see the new Manish collection in person, and it’s just as stunning as it looks on Ankita - the gold complements all asian skin tones so well, and gives a natural glow to Ankita’s flawless face - we’re in love!
Ankita had many, many events to celebrate her wedding - her first event was the mehndi where she wore an ivory and pink lehenga by Siddhatha Bansal, who are known for their incredible work on colourful embroidery.
Ankita’s mehndi outfit is for sale on their website for Rs 163.500 / £1,600 / $2,200 (there’s also many similar ones for £400 less!)
the fun doesn't stop there, each event was truly as lavish as it looks in the pictures - next up is the ring ceremony, where Ankita stunned in a new modern anarkali look we’re looking to bring to our brand..
the Shantnu & Nikhil £1,000 / $1,400 / Rs 100.000 gown features a plunge v neck design with all over sequin and beadwork embellishments, and a new modern cut outs on the waistline, which are a flattering feature to have for all sizes!
moving onto the magical sangeet, the actress made an entrance in a Manish Malhotra classic sequin silver lehenga, which changed colours to the lighting in her floral themed soiree
there was a quick costume change as Ankita took to the stage to perform for her husband, Reza Chirag designed the white sequin long sleeve number (which looks suspiciously similar to the pink ASOS anarkali that went viral in April..) you can watch a glimpse of the bollywood sangeet performance here
Rhea Kapoor
“eyes down, don’t smile, an Indian bride never smiles” - a bend it like beckham quote that could not be more accurate when describing Rhea’s wedding pic releases. daughter of bollywood legend Anil Kapoor, designer Rhea married her longtime boyfriend Karan in an intimate ceremony at their Mumbai mansion in august.
donning an elegant white chanderi saree with gold detailing from designer Anamika Khanna, paired with a half-sleeved blouse and a matching cape, the look struck a perfect balance between traditional and contemporary. for accessories, Rhea chose to flaunt an array of pearl and kundan jewellery pieces designed by her mother Sunita Kapoor. the whole look was gifted to Rhea, but a ballpark price of the saree and cape is an eyewatering £4,000 / $5,400 / Rs 399.000
Malala Yousufzai
not quite the glitz and glam we’re used to for a celebrity south asian wedding, but we are in love with the simplicity of Malala’s nikkah look earlier this year in England. Malala opted for a embellished salwar kameez set from an undisclosed boutique in Birmingham, in a blush pink perfect for the autumn. outfits similar to this would sell for around £100 / $140 / Rs 9999
Jwala Gutta
badminton olympian Jwala married in april to cricketer-turned-actor Vishnu Vishal in a private affair in hyderabad
Jwala opted for a lilac tulle and silk floral paradise lehenga by Rimple & Harpreet for her wedding ceremony, with heritage jewellery by Kishandas, the combination of which looked incredible, and costed a mere £2,000 / $2700 / Rs 199.000
the wedding was a four day affair blending the two cultures with a series of fun events for extended guests to enjoy. for a traditional ceremony Jwala wore a silk printed & embroidered saree by Label Vida, which was a steal at only £400 / $550 / Rs 40.000
for the mehndi ceremony, Seema Gujral created a bespoke look in a yellow floral design with signature blouse beadwork, which for the design and detail is a reasonable £1,000 / $1,350 / Rs 100.000
for the reception the hot pink lehenga featuring a cape style cross front bandeau blouse and linear beadwork was created by Amit Aggarwal, similar lehengas retail for £1,500 / $2,000 / Rs 149.000
Alanna Panday
not a bride just yet, but influencer & the cousin of actress Ananya Panday got engaged to fellow influencer Ivor in 2021, and celebrated with her immediate family at her home in Mumbai. she gave us a mermaid princess aesthetic with her home ceremony look that we are so obsessed with, wearing a custom Manish Malhotra embellished co-ord set, estimated to cost £4,000 / $5,500 / Rs 430.000 - we can’t wait to see what her wedding aesthetic (and outfits) looks like in 2022!
Rumena Begum
uk based influencer Rumena celebrated her nikkah ceremony at boreham house in early 2021 wearing an incredible embellished gown designed by RDC London, who also supplied the jewellery to complete the authentic look
the wedding celebrations continued through December with a floral themed mehndi, where Rumena opted for a purple mirrorwork lehenga inspired by Abhinav Mishra but designed by Samaira Ghani (SG London), who also designed her forest green winter wedding gown
a four metre embroidered shawl was created with the same embroidery details as the princess anarkali dress to have the illusion of a long head piece trail, which was made of a light net
although controversial as an influencer, her outfits looked stunning (and she gave lots of credits to the designers and vendors), we wish her all the best for her married life!