Personalised 'kalire'—a Bollywood-inspired bridal trend to bookmark for your wedding

Indian weddings are known to be elaborate with the best of everything being incorporated into one's special day. This often leads to couples feeling lost amid all the planning and socialising on their big day, which is why including personalised elements in your wedding is a way for couples to feel like their wedding really is about them! Now, this could be special wordings on your ensembles or if you are the bride, you could opt for something more special like personalised kalire. 

Traditionally, the wedding bangles, or chooda, of a Punjabi bride are embellished with kalire, which are dangling ornaments, usually gold in colour. According to folklore, in the early 20th century, a Punjabi bride was given half-cut, dried coconuts tied to her bangles as a snack to keep her from getting hungry on the way to the bridegroom's house. These days, however, they are adorned with embellishments like gold metallic foil, pearls, and whatnot. Taking it a notch higher, Bollywood celebrities have opted for customised versions of the accessory for their weddings. And if you're looking for some inspiration, here's a list of celebrities who opted for personalised kalire for their wedding.

Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra is perhaps the trendsetter for donning personalised kalire at her wedding. Chopra, who got married to Nick Jonas in 2018, carved every symbol of their love on her kalire—a symbol from Greece where Jonas proposed, a cupid, a cross, a trishul, and Mr Chip Potts, the couple’s favourite character from The Beauty and the Beast.

Parineeti Chopra

Priyanka Chopra's cousin sister, Parineeti Chopra, who recently tied the knot with Raghav Chaddha, completed her pastel Manish Malhotra lehenga with a unique set of pink chooda and personalised kalires designed by Mrinalini Chandra. Chopra’s kalires were adorned with a coffee motif and provided a glimpse into her and Raghav Chaddha’s favourite cafe.

Kiara Advani

Kiara Advani married her sweetheart, Sidharth Malhotra, dressed in an empress rose lehenga and emerald jewellery, which was the talk of the town, just like her kalire. Designed by Mrinalini Chandra, Advani’s kalire were a sneak peek into the couple's love story. Along with star, moon, and butterfly motifs, and the couple’s initials, were meaningful connotations personal to the couple. One of the symbols was dedicated to Sidharth Malhotra’s late dog, Oscar, while another was a reminder of the couple’s favourite travel destination.

Athiya Shetty

Athiya Shetty, who tied the knot with Indian cricketer KL Rahul in an intimate wedding ceremony, engraved the seven vows of marriage in Sanskrit on the sun along with little sunflower motifs on her kalire. Once again, Mrinalini Chandra is the star behind the bespoke kalire.

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