Way before the pandemic changed the face and scale of weddings, a lot of couples had already taken different routes to tie the knot. Be it opting for intimate ceremonies instead of a big-fat event, minimal guest list than inviting dur ke rishtedaar, keeping the looks simple and elegant than loud and ostentatious, or preferring heirlooms over the designer and expensive wears, weddings have become more about being sustainable and honouring the traditions but with a modern and personalised touch.
We, as girls, all have memories of wearing our mother's sarees and suits to play ghar ghar during childhood. And it is a dream come true moment when we can incorporate a piece of heirloom on the most special day of life. For the unversed, let us first describe what the heirloom is! As defined on Google, an heirloom is 'a valuable object that has belonged to a family for several generations'. Therefore, it can be anything that has been in the family for years and is passed on to the next generations. Including an heirloom in your bridal look or any wedding ceremony gives an emotional and personalised touch to the most special day of your life. It can also be seen as honouring the family values and embracing the traditions.
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Let's see how celeb brides included family heirlooms on their wedding and made it a trend:
The effervescent Bengali beauty, Sharmila Tagore became sapnon ki rani of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, who was a pioneering figure in India's rich cricketing heritage, and on December 27, 1969, the couple had tied the knot. For the nikaah, Sharmila Tagore had worn her mother-in-law, Sajida Sultan - Begum of Bhopal's wedding outfit. In August 2019, Ritu Kumar had posted a picture of Sajida Sultan and describing the wedding outfit, which was passed on to Sharmila Tagore, she had written:
"Sajida Sultan was the begum of Iftikhar Ali Khan, 8th Nawab of Pataudi and, in her own right, the 12th (and last, titular) Nawab Begum of Bhopal. Her three-piece ensemble in gold tissue has intricate gota work and zardozi details on the border and neckline. This antique couture masterpiece has been passed down the generations in the family."
Born into the prominent political family of Nehru-Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi is the daughter of Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, granddaughter of Feroze Gandhi and Indira Gandhi, and sister of Rahul Gandhi. Priyanka got married to a businessman, Robert Vadra at the Gandhi home in Delhi on February 18, 1997, after dating him for six years. Priyanka opted for the same saree for her own wedding that her grandmother, Indira Gandhi wore as a bride. Revealing the same, a 1997 India Today report had stated:
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"Priyanka will be wearing the same pale pink sari that Indira wore at her wedding, and the same priest that married her grandmother will grace this occasion too."
Another India Today report also stated that the heirloom is seen as 'a symbol of simplicity and tradition'. It was worn by Indira Gandhi at her wedding in 1942, then by Sonia Gandhi in 1968 and was passed on to Priyanka as her bridal outfit for her marriage in 1997.
It was on April 12, 2010, when Indian tennis sensation and former World No. 1 doubles player, Sania Mirza and Pakistani cricketer and former captain, Shoaib Malik had said 'Qubool Hai' in a private wedding ceremony, blurring the geographical lines between the two nations. For the nikaah, Sania had picked her mother, Nasima Mirza's wedding saree, which she had worn as a bride decades ago. Sania had taken the decision to wear her mother's wedding saree at her own nikaah when she was a teenager. Nasima's beautiful, heavily embellished red saree was a perfect pick by Sania for her own nikaah.
Also Read: When Samantha Akkineni Had Repeated Her Sabyasachi Wedding Saree For Ashritha Daggubati's Marriage
Daughter of actress, Aparna Sen and one of the most critically acclaimed actresses in the Indian film industry, Konkona Sensharma focused on being a method actor and proved her finesse as an actor. For her wedding with Ranvir Shorey in September 2010, Konkona had worn her grandmother's jewellery which perfectly matched with her minimal bridal look. At the India International Jewellery Week in 2010, Konkona had revealed:
"When I get married, I would wear the same jewellery that my grandmother had worn for her marriage. I would wear kundan set that is inherited from my grandma."
However, Konkona and Ranvir were granted divorce in 2020.
March 13, 2011, is the day when Gul Panag had tied the knot with her pilot beau, Rishi Attari, and other than her 'biker doli', it was wedding outfits that made heads turn. For her sangeet, Gul reused her mother-in-law's wedding outfit and for her marriage, the former Miss India revamped her mother's bridal ensemble. Gul Panag had once posted pictures from her sangeet and wedding with the caption:
"9 years. But actually many more. Wearing my mother's wedding lehenga- which she wore again at @sherbirpanag & @keeratkular wedding (same wedding) 3 months ago. Picture 1. I did not get any 'wari or daaj' made. Wore Mother in law's wedding outfit for our sangeet. Picture 2. (Also featuring HIM and @koel.purie doing a Bhangra meets squat dance off as @shrradha_sidhwani and Dad watch) All recycled and reused. #flashbackfriday #anniversary."
At Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan's wedding in October 2012, it was her sweet gesture of wearing the Pataudi family's heirloom for her nikaah that made our hearts flutter in awe! For her nikaah, Kareena Kapoor had opted for her mother-in-law, Sharmila Tagore's bridal sharara which she had worn at her wedding with Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi in 1962. The wedding outfit comprised of a tissue rust-orange kurta, a matching dupatta embroidered heavily in gold, and sharara with a contrasting, mint-green border.
In an interview with the Vogue, Ritu Kumar had revealed how the traditional ensemble has been in the Pataudi family for three generations and was originally crafted for the marriage of the Begum Sajida Sultan of Bhopal in 1939. Ritu had said:
"Kareena's antique heirloom was a Bhopali joda, which originally belonged to Sharmila Tagore's mother-in-law Begum of Bhopal, who belonged to the royal family of Bhopal. The joda had to be revived and restyled in a way that it would fit into the aesthetics of today without losing its intrinsic quality. It took six months to conceive and recreate the odhni and the outfit. The outfit was a divided sharara with a long tail, which needed two people to hold from the back while walking. The tail was made shorter so that Kareena was comfortable and could walk with ease."
Also Read: 7 Bollywood Divas Who Flaunted Their Wedding Jewellery With Utmost Grace Post Their Wedding
The 'real life' princess, Soha Ali Khan Pataudi had tied the knot with the love of her life, Kunal Kemmu in 2015 and despite her Nawabi lineage, she opted for a low-key wedding ceremony at her Mumbai residence. For the wedding, Soha sparked a bridal trend with her ivory and orange Sabyasachi lehenga and her look was enhanced with a choker, passa, maang teeka and earrings. Honouring the traditions and her lineage, Soha chose to wear her amma, Sharmila Tagore's exquisite jewellery, which even her sister-in-law, Kareena Kapoor Khan had worn, reportedly.
As Sonam Kapoor is referred to as the fashionista of B-town, all eyes were on what the actress would wear for her wedding functions. And there's no doubt about the fact that she nailed all her bridal looks. Sonam had tied the knot with Anand Ahuja in an 'everyday phenomenal' themed wedding in May 2018. For the wedding ceremonies, Sonam opted for heirloom and accentuated her looks with her mother, Sunita Kapoor's jewellery collection. When Sonam's make-up artist and hairstylist, Namrata Soni was asked, in an interview with Pinkvilla, if the actress wore anything from her jewellery designer mom, Sunita's collection, she had said:
"Everything was her mother's. Every single piece of jewellery that she wore was her mother's. Her mother is one of the most amazing jewellery designers and every single piece was better than the other. I honestly don't know which one I loved more."
Revealing how excited Sonam Kapoor was to wear a traditional headpiece on her wedding day, Namrata Soni had stated:
"It's a vintage headpiece and I don't think anyone has ever done that. Sonam is the only one who would set that trend and now this trend is going to go crazy. The reason that the traditional headpiece looks modern is that she kept it simple. She was so excited about the headgear, I cannot even tell you. The minute she showed it to me I was speechless because it was so stunning. She honestly looked like a total and complete Maharani and I don't think anyone can look like that. I mean the ability to carry off something like that and make it look effortless is so difficult."
While the nation was swooning over Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja's wedding glimpses, a social media pop up from Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi's respective profiles had taken us all by surprise. Announcing their wedding, Neha and Angad had surprised everyone by posting a picture from their Anand Karaj ceremony. Angad sealed the deal with Neha by giving her his family ring, which has been passed on from generations. A source had revealed to a media portal back then:
"This is a family legacy that is now passed on to Neha and Angad. His parents have been married for the past 40 years and now they want to see the happiness and togetherness forever for the newly-weds. The ring signifies those sentiments."
Also Read: 10 Bollywood Celeb Couples' First Appearance Post-Wedding As Husband And Wife Is An Overdose Of Love
It was in December 2018, when Priyanka Chopra became a bride and in a sweet gesture for her hubby, Nick Jonas' mother, Denise Miller-Jonas, she made her veil with a piece of her mother-in-law's wedding dress. Priyanka had walked down the aisle in a custom Ralph Lauren gown with floral and scroll motifs and lace-effect tulle appliqués with scalloped sleeves and a high-neck collar. Her bridal look for the white wedding was accentuated with a 75 feet long tulle veil.
Isha Ambani, daughter of Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani, got married to a family friend, Anand Piramal, son of Ajay Piramal and Swati Piramal. Businesswoman and philanthropist, Isha made heads turn with her resplendent bridal look, featuring a hand-embroidered lehenga by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla styled with a tulle dupatta and her mother, Nita Ambani's wedding saree draped as the second dupatta. The red bandhani saree of Nita Ambani was incorporated in Isha's bridal look as her second dupatta. Isha's tribute to her mother made her bridal look even more special.
While Rana Daggubati and Miheeka Bajaj's wedding in August 2020 was a labour of love and one helluva party, it was the bride's sartorial picks for the ceremonies that had stolen the limelight. For the Bhaat Nyotana ceremony, Miheeka had looked gorgeous as ever in a red and grey bandhani lehenga, which she had accentuated with stone-cut earrings. Her outfit was extremely special as it was her mother's bridal lehenga and Miheeka had worn it with such panache on her bhaat ceremony. Keeping her look all glam yet minimal, Miheeka had opted for natural-looking makeup, making for a pure royalty! In an interview with the Vogue, describing her emotions on seeing her daughter wearing her bridal lehenga, Mrs Bajaj had said:
"She wore my wedding lehenga. When I first saw her in the outfit, I burst out crying."
Also Read: 9 Bollywood Actresses Whose Wedding Outfit Had One Of The Most Expensive Price Tags
Kajal Aggarwal is also one such bride, whose sartorial line-ups for her wedding ceremonies, have swept us off our feet! Kajal had exchanged wedding vows with her businessman-beau, Gautam Kitchlu on October 30, 2020. Kajal had made a style statement with her bridal lehenga for her Punjabi and Kashmiri wedding. Kajal's opulent Anamika Khanna red lehenga was paired with a contrasting pastel dupatta, a pearl-encrusted kamarbandh and heirloom pieces from her mother and grandmother. Explaining Kajal's outfit, the designer had written:
"Kajal's lehenga is a labour of love. An intricate zardosi embroidered floral pattern that took 20 people almost a month to create." In an interview with the Vogue, Kajal Aggarwal had revealed the details of her look and was quoted as saying, "The Kashmiri resham work was so intricate that it look like I draped a shawl around me. I wore uncut diamond jewellery by Sunita Shekhawat, and some heirloom pieces [matha patti and nath] from my mother and nani. My chooda came from Amritsar, and Mrinalini Chandra personalised my kalire with charms of swans, love locks and more."
Niharika Konidela, who had made her debut in the film industry with Oka Manasu in 2016, is the daughter of actor-producer, Nagendra Babu and niece of famous actors, Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan. Niharika tied the knot with Chaitanya Jonnalagadda in December 2020 and for the pre-wedding ritual, Pellikuthuru, Niharika opted for her mother's 32-year-old saree, which she had worn on her engagement. Sharing the collage, which exuded 'like mother, like daughter' vibes, Niharika had written:
"32 years old."
It was on June 4, 2021, when Yami Gautam and Aditya Dhar had announced their wedding and their pictures had left everyone with an ear-to-ear smile on their face. For the wedding, Yami chose her mother's 33-year-old traditional red saree with intricate gold work and paired it with a blouse that stood out for its floral motifs. Yami accentuated her bridal look with a matching dupatta, regal gold choker set, maang teeka, chooda and kalire. While Yami's wedding saree was her mother's, the matching red dupatta was a gift from her maternal grandmother. Being a pahadi, Yami enhanced her bridal look with a traditional nath, which was gifted to her by her grandmother.
We hail the celebrities for making such an elegant decision to honour their traditions and paying tribute to their loved ones. Wearing an heirloom for their wedding or ceremonies added a personal and emotional touch to their looks and made it a memory to be cherished forever! Nothing can beat or even match up to the heirlooms that have been treasured in a family for generations.
Next Reads:
Mira Kapoor Once Flaunted A Rs 3 Lakh Worth Lehenga Post-Marriage And Repeated Her Wedding Jewellery
Celeb Brides Who Broke Stereotypes And Showed Us A Way Forward By Rewriting Society's Wedding Rules
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