In pictures: Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Raj Kundra’s wedding celebrations

By Nupur Sarvaiya25 June 2020

From a low-key engagement to bridal couture that was conventional and contemporary, here’s a complete look back at Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Raj Kundra’s wedding

“Everybody sees Shilpa as a sex symbol, a glamorous queen. I realised how homely she actually was. It was love at first sight. From the moment I saw her, I knew I’d love her to be my life partner,” Raj Kundra once revealed in an interview. Today, the Mumbai-based entrepreneur and actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra have been married for over a decade, and share two children, Viaan and Samisha. But the couple’s walk down the primrose path was studded with several movie-worthy hiccups, including Raj’s ultimatum to Shilpa to marry him.

Up ahead, we are throwing it back to Shilpa and Raj’s love story that began in London and glimpses from inside their star-studded wedding celebrations from November 2009 that you might have missed earlier.

The tale of two cities

Professional pursuits led Shilpa Shetty Kundra to get acquainted with the then-UK-based Raj Kundra. The duo met through a mutual friend for work after Shilpa won the reality show Big Brother in 2007. Raj was helping the actor with the promotions of her perfume label S2 at the time. The couple fell in love eventually, but kept the relationship under wraps. About a year later, Raj popped the question to Shilpa. “When Raj proposed to me, it all felt right. And trust me, I am not a conventional thinker. I was okay with the idea of being in a live-in relationship and having a baby out of wedlock, if my parents had permitted me to do it. But I made some conventional choices for the love of my mother and the respect that I have for the institution of marriage,” the actor disclosed. The actor, however, couldn’t finalise the wedding date. “I remember I was shooting for a film called The Man with Sunny Deol. His dates were constantly getting shuffled. Raj gave me an ultimatum to get married or quit the relationship. I had to choose between The Man and my man,” she confessed in an interview. The pair sealed the deal with a formal engagement in October 2009. The bride-to-be chose a rani pink Manish Malhotra sari for the roka.

The mehandi

The wedding celebrations kicked off with a vibrant mehandi ceremony at Shilpa Shetty Kundra’s friend’s farmhouse in Khandala that saw close friends and family in attendance. The bride chose a pink sleeveless kurta for the occasion, while the groom chose a burnt orange bandhgala. The actor went all out with the henna design, which was done by artist Veena Nagda.

The wedding ceremony

On November 22, 2009, the couple tied the knot according to Manglorean customs, in keeping with the bride’s background. For the big day in Mumbai, Shilpa Shetty Kundra turned to her favourite couturier, Tarun Tahiliani, and chose a custom red sari. “She was a modern bride who knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted to dress as a classic Indian bride,” Tarun Tahiliani revealed to us about her thought process. “She wanted to blend the elements of a traditional Maharashtrian and Punjabi bridal ensemble. This led to the studio designing one of its first couture concept saris.” Her custom red creation featured intricate zardozi and aari hand embroidery, accentuated with Swarovski crystals arranged in paisley designs. The star topped off her red sari with equally statement-making jewels: a regal rani haar, a heavy choker and matching earrings, all encrusted with uncut diamonds, along with an uncut diamond belt, matha patti, stacked bangles, and a peacock-shaped arm accessory. The groom complemented in a red brocade sherwani by Shantanu & Nikhil.

The couple enlisted New Delhi-based wedding management company E-Factor Entertainment for the entire line-up. “We did decor, design and complete management for all the events,” disclosed co-founder Manika Garg. “A south Indian temple-styled vedi was custom made for the main ceremony. The setting featured bells suspended from the mandap, sculptures and architectural references borrowed from iconic temples, and was replete with umbrellas and traditional flowers that celebrated Shilpa’s Mangalorean roots,” Garg reveals.

The wedding reception

The couple hosted a lavish wedding reception at Grand Hyatt in Mumbai on November 24 for Shilpa Shetty Kundra’s friends from the film fraternity. The actor relied on another outfit by Tarun Tahiliani. This time around she opted for a strapless gold sari gown, and added some colour through her diamond and ruby encrusted jewellery. Raj Kundra chose a black sherwani. The guest list included names like Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Rani Mukerji, Rekha, and many more.