Katrina Kaif has been delighting fans by sharing glimpses of her grand but very-secret wedding to Vicky Kaushal. The couple got married at the Six Senses Resort, Fort Barwara in Rajasthan on December 9. After posting select pics from the wedding, the haldi and the mehendi ceremonies, Katrina Kaif took to Instagram this morning to share photos of her sisters walking her down the aisle. Katrina dedicated the post to her six sisters, whom she referred to as her "pillars of strength".
The pics show Katrina Kaif making her bridal entry under a "phoolon ki chaadar" that is held up by her sisters Stephanie, Christine, Natacha, Melissa, Sonia and Isabelle. This was a departure from traditional rituals at an otherwise traditional Punjabi wedding - because the "phoolon ki chaadar" (which literally translates to a sheet of flowers) is normally held up by the bride's brothers.
"Growing up, we sisters always protected each other. They are my pillars of strength and we keep each other grounded... May it always stay that way!" Katrina Kaif wrote while sharing photos of her bridal entry.
Katrina Kaif is not the first Bollywood bride to have turned traditional wedding rituals on their head. Before her, Patralekhaa surprised many when she applied sindoor (vermilion) on Rajkummar Rao's forehead during their wedding.
Sindoor is traditionally applied by the groom on the bride's forehead. However, the couple's wedding video shows that after Rajkummar applied sindoor on Patralekhaa's forehead, he bent forward and said "Tum bhi laga do (You also apply some)." Patralekhaa obliged with a smile on her face.
Meanwhile, actress Dia Mirza chose to forgo the traditional rituals of Kanyadaan and Bidaai when she married businessman Vaibhav Rekhi on February 15 this year.
Kanyadaan is a ritual that symbolises the father 'giving his daughter' away to her husband, while Bidaai marks the departure of the bride from her father's home to her husband's.
In an Instagram post, Dia Mirza said it was "time for women to own their own agency" and to redefine what is old. "We said NO to 'Kanyadaan' and 'Bidaai' change begins with choice doesn't it?" she wrote.
In another significant break from tradition, Dia Mirza's wedding ceremony was conducted by a woman priest, Sheela Atta. "The highest point for us was the Vedic ceremony conducted by a woman priest!" wrote Dia Mirza in her Instagram post.
