Janhvi Kapoor’s dream wedding reflects a new era of intimate celebrity unions
When Janhvi Kapoor talks about her dream wedding, concepts like drone blows, elephant processions and endless prefunctions are not in the context. In her Vogue wedding book Cover, she says she wants to get married to Tirupati with only a handful of people around. “I dressed so much that on my wedding day, I just would like to be comfortable.”
It is not a question of capacity – Kapoor could order a stadium if it chose – but on intention. What she wants is an intimate ritual, not a production. “I know I want to get married to Tirupati. I certainly don’t want too many people there. I want it to be fast and I want the honeymoon to be very long, ”she tells us.
And she is not alone. In industries and time zones, the stars turn away from the maximalist marriages “All Eyes on Me” in favor of something private, spiritual and stripped. Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddhath were married this year in a Telangana temple, aged 400, announcing it with a single set of photographs. Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor got married at home in Mumbai, while Athiya Shetty and Kl Rahul chose their Khandala farm.
The mood extends beyond India. Charli XCX married the musician George Daniel at the town hall of Hackney in London with 20 nearby customers, in a mini-robbe and sunglasses Vivienne Westwood. Kristen Stewart and Dylan Meyer exchanged wishes in a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles. Even poets Angel Nafis and Shira Erlichman turned the town hall, the Chinese Sum Sum and a reception of the bookstore in their personal script.
The draw for the great wedding of celebrities has not disappeared. But at an era of constant exhibition – even if an airport look is dissected – marriage is the only moment that stars want entirely for themselves. The generation of Kapoor in particular sees the resonance in what seems authentic, not staged.
This change also appears in clothing. Kapoor imagines himself in a Manish Malhotra creation but wants something familiar and comfort. Alia Bhatt wore an organza sari from Sabyasachachi whom she then rewore at the National Film Awards. The sewing show of a 20 -kilo Lehenga gives way to pieces that move easily, feel as inheritances and holds a personal meaning.
This does not mean that extravagance is dead. But the definition of “dream” has expanded. For Janhvi Kapoor, these are wishes in Tirupati and freedom of comfort. For others, it is a balcony, a farm or a restaurant. What is attractive now is not a scale but sincerity. Thus, in the absence of any need to prove anything in the world, what remains is the privilege of being present with yourself, your partner and those who really count. Isn’t that what it is about anyway?
