Sania and Shoaib at their wedding reception in Hyderabad today

At the Taj Krishna in Hyderabad today (April 15), where their wedding reception was being held, Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik looked like any other newly married couple. Smiling, dressed beautifully, surrounded by family and friends (in this star couple's case, famous friends). Sania looked very much the traditional Hyderababdi bride wearing a cream chudidar-kurta ensemble with a red and gold dupatta, while Shoaib wore a cream sherwani. And it seemed like all the controversises leading up to their marriage were fogotten. At the reception were guests from India and Pakistan, politicians and actors, as well as friends of both families. Spotted were Neha Dhupia, Rakshanda Khan, southern superstars Nagarjuna and Venkatesh, cricketer Sohail Tanvir and singer Waris Baig. Sania was even presented with a crown from Pakistani minister Firdous Ashiq Awan, on behalf of residents of Sialkot, where Shoaib is from.

But compared to the media hype surrounding the wedding, the reception was a rather quiet affair. Many of Bollywood's big names including the Bachchans and Salman Khan's family couldn't attend due to prior commitments but were reported to have conveyed their good wishes to the couple. There were also rumours that invited guests chose not to attend due to the controversies surrounding the couple.

The Indian tennis player and the Pakistani cricketer have been under intense media scrutiny ever since they announced that they would be getting married. The interest in them has been consistently high, because of their fame, due to the strained relationship between India and Pakistan, and later because of Ayesha Siddiqui who said that she was Shoaib's first wife, and accused him of abandoning her. Shoaib first denied her allegations, but later divorced her. During the investigations into Ayesha's allegations, Shoaib's passport was also seized by the police. This apparently led to the nikah ceremony being delayed, as Shoaib's passport was required for it.

But looking at the happy couple today, it was obvious that now it was all about new beginings for them. And we wish them all the best for the future.