Nickyanka wedding: Couple’s twin weddings pictures reflect blend of cultures

Team Udayavani, Dec 5, 2018, 10:39 AM IST

New Delhi: A custom-made Ralph Lauren gown complete with a 75-foot-long veil, Priyanka Chopra’s wedding with Nick Jonas was a fairytale affair that could rival many a royal nuptials.

Just to give perspective, Princess Diana’s wedding gown had a 25-foot-long train, which is said to be longest for a royal wedding, while Priyanka’s friend former actor Meghan Markle, who married Diana’s younger son, Prince Harry, had a 16-foot-long train.

Priyanka and Nick exchanged wedding vows on December 1 at Jodhpur’s majestic Umaid Bhawan Palace in a Catholic ceremony officiated by the groom’s father Kevin Jonas Sr. It was followed by an equally grand wedding as per Hindu traditions on December 2.

The couple shared a number of pictures from their Mehndi and Sangeet festivities but the veil on the final twin ceremonies was lifted by People magazine on Tuesday. The US-based publication had the exclusive access to the wedding ceremony.

“Every girl dreams of being a princess on her wedding day. But I never had a plan about what I wanted it to be,” Priyanka, 36, told the magazine.

Nick, 26, was the one to suggest that the couple had both Christian and Hindu weddings to honour their faiths, she said.

“It melted my heart. Being able to have two big weddings, in India, with our closest family and friends was unbelievably special,” she added.

After the magazine dropped the pictures, the couple shared the photographs with mushy messages for each other. Tagging Nick, Priyanka wrote: “And forever starts now…” While Nick shared the picture from the Hindu wedding and captioned it as: “Happiest day of my life.”

Breaking away from the tradition of walking down the aisle with a male family member, the bride was escorted by her mother Madhu Chopra. The actor’s father Ashok Chopra passed away in 2013.

Priyanka looked resplendent in the white wedding gown. She became the first actor to be dressed by Lauren on her wedding as prior to this he has created bridal gowns only for close family members including his daughter, daughter-in-law and niece.

The actor completed her look with her hair tied neatly in a bun and bold red lip. She carried a bouquet of hyacinths and tuberoses designed by Jenya Flowers (NYC), which created the floral arrangements for the entire wedding party. Nick, who was also escorted by his mother, Denise Jonas, wore Ralph Lauren’s custom Purple Label tuxedo.

The label, in a way, is said to have played cupid because Priyanka and Nick attended the 2017 Met Gala dressed in Ralph Lauren, which took place one week after their unofficial first date. Priyanka and Nick’s wedding parties were also dressed by the high-end designer label. The Indian actor said it was an emotional moment for her and she was a bit “nervous”.

“It was all tears. All tears. I could not hold it in. I think I was nervous and scared. But as soon as the curtains opened, and I saw his face it was just like everything settled and I knew I was making the best decision of my life,” she said. The Jealous hitmaker said it was a perfect wedding for him, a moment for which he had waited all his life.

“The emotions were running high during the ceremonies, I think especially during the Western wedding for me. You know you think your whole life about that moment. Honestly, I could not have imagined it would be as perfect as it was. It was highly emotional,” Nick said.

While the first ceremony was all about subtle whites and pastels, the couple switched to bold red and gold for the traditional Hindu wedding. Priyanka made for a stunning bride in a custom red Sabyasachi lehenga.

Hand crafted organza flowers, french knots in silk floss, delicate Siam – red crystals were embossed on the outfit. Hundred and ten embroiderers from Kolkata created the lehenga in 3,720 hours, the designer wrote on Instagram. Uncut diamonds, emeralds and Japanese cultured pearls in 22k gold were used to put the bride’s jewellery together.

Nick opted for a hand-quilted silk beige sherwani with a hand-embroidered chikan dupatta and a chanderi-tissue safa by Sabyasachi, who was also responsible for the groom’s golden footwear, rose cut kalgi and syndicate diamond necklace. The ceremony was followed by ‘bidaai’ before the couple flew to Delhi for their reception on Monday.

“I love that our wedding was a religious mash-up. We took beautiful traditions that we both grew up with and personalised them in a way that made sense for us. It’s been incredible to find the commonalities between our beliefs and figuring out how to blend them in a respectful and meaningful way,” Priyanka said. The full wedding video of Priyanka and Nick is now streaming on PeopleTV.com.