Indian cricketers marrying Bollywood stars is not something we haven’t witnessed previously. ‘Motichoor Chaknachoor’ actor Athiya Shetty married her long-time beau and an Indian cricketer KL Rahul on January 23rd, 2023, at her father Suniel Shetty’s 17-year-old lavish farm-bungalow Jahaan in Khandala. The ‘Mubarakan’ actor and the highest-paid 2022 IPL cricketer had been dating for a while before their moments of nuptial bliss — the couple met through mutual friends and connected instantly. Their wedding was only left as speculation for the media till the end to preserve privacy. It became news only after the wedding when the newlyweds posed for the paparazzi and confirmed their marriage.
The Pre-wedding
The pre-wedding celebrations started early on Jan 21st, followed by the sangeet the next day. In a Muhurtham ceremony post shared by the bride, she’s seen adorning a luminous smile with a gold shimmered-saree, complimented by a bright pink blouse. Her neatly tied bun with minimal make-up was radiated with the glow of a classic bride dressed in traditional antique gold-moti jadau jewellery.
For marigold-themed haldi, the couple chose to adorn ivory-dull gold coordinated ensembles. Timid yellow chikankari lehenga complimented the bride’s humongous chand-bali chandelier earrings and pulled up hair look for the mehendi while Rahul’s drop neckline heavily embroidered pale olive jacketed kurta-pyjama looked promising. Later in the evening, Shetty chose to smear herself in white as she wore a shimmery white pant-suit for careless dancing during her sangeet and cocktail ceremony while Rahul carried the same look.
The Wedding
Amidst the scenic mountain view, the couple took the saat pheras at the golden hour, surrounded by the warmth and blessings of their family and close friends in attendance — Krishna Shroff, Diana Penty, Anushka Ranjan with Aditya Seal, and cricketer Ishant Sharma with his wife, Pratima.
The couple chose Anamika Khanna’s sophisticated designs for the wedding ceremony. The bride donned an unconventional old-rose chikankari lehenga with intricate zardosi and jaali embroidery, and a beguiling veil to go with, while the groom wore an ivory sherwani, and a multi-layered emerald necklace, perfectly complementing his bride.
Shetty & Rahul shared glimpses of their wedding on Instagram and captioned, “In your light, I learn to love…” Following which congratulatory posts poured in, even stars such as Virat Kohli, Madhuri Dixit, and Kajol wished the couple a happily ever after. Athiya Shetty’s friend and celebrity photographer Rohan Shrestha shared a few portraits and wrote, “In all our years of knowing each other, it was so rare to have shot an image of you smiling — forget laughing! Yesterday was a different you, such a happy you. There was peace, pure love, and perfect happiness. Testament to all that you two are…”
Father-in-law Suniel Shetty confirmed that the reception would likely be held after the IPL season, and so is their honeymoon.
