Exclusive: Inside scoop from Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput’s royal wedding reception

He may have chosen to tie the knot far from the madding film crowd of Mumbai, in his wife’s farmhouse in Chhatarpur, but no Bollywood wedding is complete with a grand bash in tinsel town. And Shahid Kapur and Mira Rajput ensured their guests in the city had nothing to complain. The Grand Cru Salon of the Palladium Hotel had some heavyduty starry footfalls. Amitabh Bachchan, Imtiaz Ali, Siddharth Roy Kapoor and Anurag Kashyap turned up to wish the newlyweds at the grand reception.  There were random onlookers too, but the tight security kept troublemakers at bay. We bring you some highlights from the night, straight from the 37th floor of the Palladium Hotel.

The Venue

Sunday night saw the 37th floor of the hotel come alive with white and green floral backdrop topped with luxurious walnut wood finishes, Brazilian onyx and crystal mosaic wall-coverings. The stage was set right in the centre of the Grand Cru Salon. There were small seating arrangements on either side of the stage for the guests. Amber lights dressed the site with a perfect party glow. And a grand palatial staircase led up to the stage that awaited Shahid and Mira’s arrival. Rachana Lucknowala is the brain behind the lavish reception décor.

An eye for detail

Something Shahid and Mira have in common is the way they get things done. Only hours before the grand party, the two were spotted making slight tweaks to the arrangement. Mira, who wore a pink shift dress, was seen addressing the team while Mr Kapoor happily filmed the venue. The duo arrived much before the event was supposed to start. However, they chose to make an appearance for the media only around 10:30 pm.

To be or not to be ‘on time’

The event that was supposed to start at 8 in the evening actually livened up only after 9 pm. Neelima Azim, Big B and Genelia Deshmukh were among the first ones to arrive. Meanwhile, Supriya Pathak appeared to be busy on the phone. And for the longest time she was not dressed up for the event. Guests staying on the same floor as Shahid seemed in no rush to arrive on time.

Security

The staff of Palladium hotel pulled up their socks only after 7 pm. Before that, all the elevators from 9th floor to the 38th floor were functional. As soon as the media arrived and the buzz spread, the management kept only three lifts open to take the guests to the Grand Cru Salon.

There were security personnel in every lift and on every floor that was in close proximity to the Grand Cru Salon. That left very little room for gatecrashers to spot Shahid and Mira. As soon as the news about the reception venue spread, many gatecrashers tried their luck to get in, donning black outfits as per the theme of the night. And even though a golden key was given to the invitees for them to have a hassle free entry, a few uninvited guests did manage to sneak in.

Not an ex-travagant show

No, we are not talking about the arrangements, which were as lavish as they get. We mean Shahid’s ex lovers who were invited to his reception did a no-show. From Priyanka Chopra to Kareena Kapoor, there were quite a few Bollywood beauties that were expected to turn up at the reception. Even Sonakshi Sinha, who is said to have shared a great rapport with Shahid during their R…Rajkumar days chose a good night’s sleep over a good party. On Sunday night the actress posted on Twitter saying: "Ok guys! Time to sleep! Thank you for always putting a smile on my face... 5M today, and skies the limit tomorrow! Gnite.