By Jilawatan

Even though Bollywood couples prefer to walk down the aisle the traditional way, each wedding is a special package

Shilpa Shetty’s wedding card came with chocolates in a gold and red box, but the soulful pictures of Ganesha embossed on a backdrop of mantras set it apart.

On the other hand, Juhi Babbar’s wedding card had two peacocks scrawled by MF Hussain himself! Whether it is the invitation card, the wedding outfit, the sangeet and mehendi functions, Bollywood couples like taking their wedding vows in a traditional way, but with a difference.

Akshay Kumar wed Twinkle Khanna in a private traditional ceremony attended by only 50-odd guests comprising family and close friends. Fine, except that the wedding date, which was set on February 5, but suddenly brought forward to January 17, and till today no one knows the reason why!

When Fardeen Khan and Natasha Madhvani tied the knot four years ago there was no nikaah or Hindu rituals, but the suave and well-travelled Khan went in for a simple civil ceremony in a five-star hotel followed by a grand reception with a vast multi-cuisine menu!

Cousin Zayed Khan wed his childhood sweetheart Mallika, and had a pre-wedding rock star bash at a disco and a grand sangeet function too!

Though Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan wed at a small private wedding in the Bachchans’ palatial Mumbai bungalow, Abhishek waved aside his fancy cars and surprised everyone by going to the wedding venue on a well-decked ghodi!

Sanjay Dutt broke all rules when he wed Manyata as she was not divorced from her previous husband. They married according to Hindu rites in a small ceremony at a friend’s place, but later solemnised the wedding at the Registrar in Goa.

More recently Ayesha Takia was happy to wed restaurateur Farhan Azmi in a private and traditional nikaah at a mosque without feeling the need for any Hindu rituals!

Amrita Arora’s and beau Shakeel Lakadwala’s church wedding was one-of- its-kind, replete with Amrita wearing a long flowing gown and veil, with bridesmaids that included Kareena Kapoor!

The grandest wedding of recent times was Shilpa Shetty’s, who wed British millionaire Raj Kundra in a small traditional Bunt wedding in friend Kiran Bawa’s farmhouse in Lonavla. The special touch here? Each guest was provided with a make-up person and a hairdresser besides gift hampers!

Eesha Koppikhar brought in her nuptials with restaurateur Timmy Narang with a difference. She had a pre-wedding party with a Ken and Barbie theme. While Narang smiled as Ken, the bride-to-be glowed in a Barbie gown!