Bridal finery, Bollywood style

Starry dulhans light up the Bridal Fashion Week .

Every Bollywood leading lady worth her fame decked up to the nines to play coy bride at the recently concluded Bridal Fashion Week in New Delhi. Clearly, the standout look was Sonam Kapoor's gorgeous yet playful appearance as showstopper for designer Rohit Bal. In a cream lehenga choli with understated gold embroidery and kundan jewelry, she literally shone as she playfully blew kisses to the enthralled crowds, the ornate jhoomar on the side of her head catching the light and sprakling like her.

Golden girl Alia Bhatt

It was a bridal event like no other, with the six-day fashion extravaganza showcasing bridal creations by the leading lights of the designer fraternity. Pretty young thing Alia Bhatt made her ramp debut as show stopper for World Gold Council jewelry brand AZVA. Her jewelry was inspired by the traditional saat pheras; the range consisted of neckpieces, bracelets, armlets, tiaras and bangles handcrafted in keeping with the underlying theme of seven. Her fitted gold gown was a dazzling indo-western fashion statement created especially by designer Tarun Tahiliani who played out the gold theme to the hilt in his bridal line.

Traditional brides Chitrangada and Esha

Chitrangada Singh and Esha Gupta looked like contemporary dulhans in all their bridal finery. Sultry siren Chitrangda opted for an elegant red and gold shimmery, intricately embroidered Suneet Verma creation, with a daring choli, hair curled and trailing down one elegant shoulder, giant chandelier earrings framing her chiseled face.

In fact, Suneet Verma’s collection, ‘The Golden Bracelet’, was inspired by the clothing and lifestyle of Pompeii and the theme came through in his warrior princess look of gold armlets adorning slender limbs. Esha Gupta donned a stunning bright red and gold lehenga for Adarsh Gill whose clothes were a beautiful blend of traditional and contemporary floral and geometric motifs in vibrant shades emerald green, royal blues, fluorescent oranges and royal purples.

Ice maiden Lisa Haydon

In contrast Lisa Haydon epitomized the ice maiden in a pristine white Tarun Tahiliani lehenga choli, hair pulled back and head covered with a white netted pallu, a beautiful contrast to her dusky complexion.

Kangana Ranaut looked every inch a maharani as she modeled JJ Valaya's collection, 'The Maharaja of Madrid' on a stage done up in white amidst models dressed like royals depicting the grand welcome of a Maharaja and his daughter returning from their adventures in Spain. She looked stunning in an orange-golden heavily embellished lehenga teamed with a blue velvet choli and golden headgear as she sashayed down the ramp, looking every inch a Maharaja's daughter.

Neha, the Gothic bride

While Shane and Falguni Peacock’s collection, ‘The Garden of Eden’ saw models sashaying down the ramp in blingy velvet saris, net gowns and layered anarkalis teamed with floral headgear, their showstopper Neha Dhupia’s outfit was a far cry from traditional sprinkling of red, pink and white.

She looked almost Gothic, heavily kohled eyes set against a bare face, waved hair framing her face. Her outfit was a printed and embroidered black gown with an extended metallic belt.

The royalty of Bollywood

Nargis Fakhri was the showstopper for another JJ Vallaya collection and walked the ramp as a royal bride in a heavily embroidered and embellished floor-length anarkali.

Meanwhile Sonakshi Sinha wore a charismatic red heavily embellished lehenga from Jyotsna Tiwari's bridal collection with matching crimson lips and hair cascading down one shoulder. Bridal Fashion Week Brand Ambassador Jacqueline Fernandez also walked the ramp in a vibrant traditional lehenga for Jyotsna Tiwari's collection.