Bollywood’s most adorable and cutest looking couple, Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza are the epitome of true love. After nine years of courtship, Riteish and Genelia had tied the knot on February 3, 2012. They had made their debut together in 2003, with the film, Tujhe Meri Kasam and had soon fallen in love. And, rest, as we all know, is history. Riteish and Genelia's journey from being friends to best friends and to fondly being called Mr and Mrs Deshmukh is indeed mesmerising. However, their wedding story is no less than a fairytale.
For the unversed, Riteish Deshmukh is a Maharashtrian Hindu, his wife, Genelia D’souza is a Mangalorean Catholic. From their pre-wedding bash to their wedding ceremony, their celebration had involved a beautiful amalgamation of traditions of both religions. Riteish and Genelia’s marriage story is a perfect example of inter-faith love marriage, where both the families had given equal respect to each other’s traditions and cultures. Let's take a look at Riteish and Genelia's wedding functions
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Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'souza's sangeet ceremony was a star-studded event attended by the who's who of the Indian film industry. The grand affair was held at the Taj Lands End hotel in Bandra on January 31, 2012. For the ceremony, Genelia had looked elegant in a white lehenga, beautifully embellished with stonework, and Riteish had looked no less than a prince in a royal blue sherwani.
However, the fun part of the event was the skit that Aftab Shivdasani had put up using a cardboard cut-out featuring Riteish. Moreover, the adorable couple, Riteish and Genelia’s performance on a Marathi song, Kombdi Pallali, along with their respective families had stolen the show at the grand affair.
A day before the wedding, Genelia's family had hosted a traditional function called Umbracha Paani at her home. For the unversed, Umbracha Paani is an East Indian ritual, in which women dress in sarees and dance all the way to a well to get water. For the ceremony, Genelia had opted for a pink saree, and had completed her look with a gajra and green bangles. The bride-to-be had danced with her brother and relatives on the streets. She had also ridden a horse, which is a mock tradition that symbolises a bride taking her baraat to get her groom.
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The beautiful bride, Genelia also had a ceremony called Roce/Rose, which is another Konkani ritual performed at weddings. In this ritual, pure coconut milk and oil are applied to the bride/groom after which, they take a hot water bath. This ritual signifies the last bath that a person takes before getting married. Prior to their wedding, both Riteish and Genelia had a haldi ceremony as well.
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Riteish and Genelia had two wedding celebrations to show respect to each other's unique traditions. Their first wedding was Maharashtrian style, which had taken place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, on February 3, 2012. The couple had performed all the rituals associated with a traditional Maharashtrian wedding in the presence of their close ones.
Riteish had arrived at the venue along with his baraat. Dressed in a white sherwani, the groom had ridden on a ghodi to his wedding. Family and friends, who were a part of the baraat procession, had danced to the music of 'lezim' (a folk dance of Maharashtra) and Marathi songs. Moreover, folk dancers had accompanied the baraat, and they had danced energetically to traditional tunes. On the other hand, Genelia had looked beautiful in a red and gold bridal saree, designed by Neeta Lulla. Her look was completed with a nath and a maatha-patti. Genelia had looked no less than a traditional Marathi mulgi at her wedding. The ceremony had progressed in a typical Marathi style.
The Deshmukhs had reciprocated the D’Souza’s appreciation of their culture by enthusiastically indulging in a Christian wedding, that was held at St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Church, in Bandra. At her Christian wedding, Genelia had looked out of the world and was a true vision in her white wedding gown. Holding a bouquet of traditional white roses, she had walked down the aisle with her dad. On the other hand, her groom, Riteish had looked dapper in a bow-tie suit, standing at the altar waiting for his beautiful bride. The couple had exchanged vows, and their wedding was solemnised by the catholic priest.
The couple had looked completely in love and 'made for each other' when they had said “I Do”. Their Christian wedding was infused with cultural elements, including celebratory dances. After the wedding ceremony, there was a small reception, where the newlyweds had cut the traditional multi-tier white wedding cake. Towards the end, friends had lifted the couple on chairs and had carried them around, dancing to the tunes of English melodies.
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Riteish and Genelia's wedding reception was no less than a lavish Bollywood party. Held at the Grand Hyatt, the occasion had witnessed numerous celebrities from the film fraternity. For the event, Genelia had looked gorgeous in a dark peach lehenga and uncut diamond jewellery, while Riteish had chosen a black embellished sherwani.
The grand reception was attended by the who's who of the Bollywood and political world. Prominent names from the film industry including Shah Rukh Khan, Bachchan family, Ambani family, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan, Aamir Khan and Kirron Rao, Juhi Chawla, Rekha, Imran Khan, John Abraham, Akshay Kumar, Sajid Khan and many others had attended Riteish and Genelia's reception party.
Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia Deshmukh are the most sought-after couples of Bollywood. However, Genelia was not just at the peak of her career when she had got married but was also quite young. Genelia’s age at the time of her marriage was 25, whereas Riteish’s age was 34. Well, their wedding vows were very well-curated, and nobody could have guessed that these were coming from such young souls. At the wedding, Riteish had stated his vow as:
“Every time we need to find something that is out of the ordinary.. if you are in a life that you are spending together, and if every day becomes routine, it’s important to break that routine. And, once you break that routine, it will add freshness to your life. And that routine should be a surprise…“Oh are we doing this today?” That ‘Oh’ factor in a relationship, always keeps it going.”
While we were in awe of the adorable couple, it was Riteish's wedding vow that had made us fall in love with them even more. However, Genelia's wedding vow was also impressive. The actress had said:
“We enjoy our time together. Romance and all are big words. Just the fact you enjoy each other, love each other and you 'can' spend 24 hours of a day with each other is important.”
Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza had done complete justice to each other's cultures. While their Maharashtrian wedding had transported the guests into the world of Marathas, their Christian wedding was every bit infused with beautiful catholic traditions.
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