Lucknow's Devika Narain designed #Virushka’s wedding

Devika Narain, a Lucknow girl and a well-known wedding designer, has made the city proud by designing the most-awaited wedding of the year; that of cricketer Virat Kohli and actress Anushka Sharma. The former Loreto Convent Intermediate College, Lucknow, and Lady Sri Ram College, Delhi, student, made several trips to Italy in the past few months to plan for the wedding.
While Devika designed the wedding, her husband Joseph Radhik photographed all the ceremonies including the haldi, the engagement ceremonies, and finally the wedding on Monday morning in Tuscany.
When we messaged Devika to confirm the news of her designing the wedding, she replied back with a "yes" and a smiley and answered our barrage of questions with a simple, "We’re still in the middle of the reception."
Later in the day, after all the celebrations were over and the guests had caught up with their sleep after a whole night of partying, Devika messaged us giving the details of how she planned the ‘coup.’
Devika Narain with her husband Joseph Radhik R (BCCL)
"We're just waking up here (in Tuscany). It's finally all settling in, the cold is seeping back in and at this point I'm an odd mix of relief and immense excitement. This wedding has been probably the biggest coup of the year. We've all been a part of a grand, super fun conspiracy and we're all both relieved and excited today," wrote the designer adding how she came to design the Virushka wedding.
"Anushka approached me via their wedding planner a few months ago. I remember when we were first signed on, we didn’t know the venue or who was getting married. It’s all been a fabulous ride since then. Anushka chose us because she wanted a very intimate wedding. She was very clear that this was a celebration for her family and that she had no one to show off to, or impress. Each detail was custom made for her and like any regular bride she was incredibly invested in the process. She matched the outfit, flowers and even her jewellery to create her magical wedding."
Devika goes on to add, "They chose a beautiful villa in Tuscany as the backdrop. The property is family styled villas and the vibe was of a 'ghar ka shaadi' – something we absolutely love to create. For the main ceremony, we chose a palette of lavender, soft pink and powder blue. Anushka and Virat are very spiritual and great lovers of Rumi and an anthology of his poems was given to each guest. The setting was inspired by the idea of growth and prosperity and designed like an overgrown garden. Our teams worked tirelessly for 45 days with flowers flown in from Holland and intricate fabrics from India to create this magical wedding."
Devika (bottom row in red coat) partying with Virat and Anushka post the wedding in Tuscany while Joseph clicked the photo (BCCL)
Meanwhile Devika's parents in Lucknow got to know the good news through their son-in-law Joseph who told them that it was their daughter who had pulled off this feat. "Devika had gone abroad three-four times and she did mention once that she was going to Italy. But we never thought she will be designing the wedding of the year!" says her father Pradip. And that's because Devika had signed a No Disclosure Agreement with Anushka and Virat.
And while congratulatory messages and calls continued to pour in for Devika and her parents, the young designer and her husband thanked Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma and posted a message on Instagram saying, "Some days, the whole world conspires to make things right. Thank you @virat.kohli and @anushkasharma, it has been an absolute honour and privilege to be a part of your journey."
Devika, in the past, has also designed weddings of cricketers Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik.
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