Lake Como: The ‘baraat’ will come by boat – a seaplane, to be precise, while the rest of the wedding convoy will get to the marriage venue in luxury yachts, bringing to mind the arrival of another celebrity groom, Hollywood actor George Clooney in a vintage speedboat, Con Amore, to wed his lawyer bride Amal Amaluddin, four years ago. We are referring, of course, to the eagerly awaited nuptials of Bollywood’s beloved couple, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, which will get underway at Villa del Balbianello at Lake Como, Italy, in a few hours.
Villa del Balbianello has a beautiful garden, gorgeous views of the lake, spacious terraces and statue-lined avenues (it’s not just Indians who have ‘statuesque’ tendencies). The location has been featured in Casino Royale and Star Wars: Episode II, Attack of the Clones. The couple will have two wedding ceremonies, honouring the Sindhi and South Indian roots of the groom and the bride, respectively.
Only a select few have been invited to participate in the celebrations, including filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and choreographer and director Farah Khan. It should be noted that it was Bhansali’s hat-trick of ‘leelas’ which saw the couple team up for the first time in Goliyon ki Raasleela – Ram Leela (2013), followed by Bajirao Mastani and Padamaavat.
Twelve florists have been flown in from Florence to decorate the wedding villa.
The entourage is living it up at a luxury resort on the east side of Lake Como, in Blevio. The villa is a 40-45 minute drive from the resort, but going by boat makes for a splashier, quicker commute.The families of the bride and groom are using golf carts to move around the 26,000 square metre expanse of the resort. Given that the average cost of a room at the luxury property is 400 euros (around Rs 33,000), and the couple has booked all 75 rooms, they are apparently forking out a whopping Rs 24,75,000 per day!
On a sombre and thoughtful note, however, the couple has requested their guests to send cheques to Deepika’s charity, The Live Love Laugh Foundation, in lieu of gifts, taking a leaf out of the book of British royal couple Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Sounds of trance music can be heard from the property, which has been booked till November 17, which is also the day that the resort closes for the season. It will reopen next year in March.
According to sources, Ranveer will make a grand entry at the wedding on a seaplane, which has a seating capacity for 14 people. Other guests, however, will arrive at the Villa del Balbianello on luxury yachts booked by the actor. The wedding will take place in the morning, followed by a grand luncheon.Chefs from Switzerland have been flown in to join the catering team for desserts and the wedding cake.
