Married, at last

Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik tie the knot ahead of schedule.

The drama surrounding the Shoaib Malik -Sania Mirza marriage finally ended on Monday afternoon, when the couple exchanged vows, four days ahead of schedule, at Hotel Taj Krishna in Hyderabad.

Sania, wearing her mother’s red wedding sari, emerged from her Jubille Hills bungalow an hour before the wedding, and got into a black C-class Mercedes, with media persons falling over each other to take a shot. She was accompanied by her sister Anam, parents Naseem and Imran and friend Rakshanda Khan. An entourage of seven cars followed Sania’s car to the Hotel, where relatives and friends had already gathered. For security reasons, the convoy reached hotel Taj Deccan which is opposite Taj Krishna, and Sania was taken through an underground passage to the venue. Sania’s relatives were spotted in the lobby asking the security men to keep the media away.

In a departure from tradition, the mehendi and sangeet are set to happen after the wedding. The reception is slated to happen at the Royal ballroom of the same hotel on Thursday. While only family and close friends attended the wedding, the reception has close to 1,000 guests on the list. The lavish menu comprises a large number of delicacies and Hyderabadi biryani, in particular. A lot of celebs are expected to attend the reception.