Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and husband Shoaib Malik hosted a grand wedding reception at the Emerald Room, the grandest banquet hall of the Taj Krishna hotel in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Sania, who married Pakistani cricketer Malik on Monday, was dressed in a red and gold dress with a khada dupatta, a six-metre dupatta that is draped over a bride's head, while Malik was dressed in a Sherwani. Both outfits were made by Delhi-based designers Shantanu and Nikhil.

Photographs: TV9

The occasion was graced by the presence of former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Sahara chief Subrato Roy and a handful of actors.

Although, nearly a1000 invitations were sent out, some 500-600 guests turned up at the Taj Krishna hotel.

Also present was a Pakistani delegation led by their Minister of Welfare and Population Firdaus Ashiq Awana, who presented a golden crown to Sania.

"We have come to congratulate Sania and Shoaib on behalf of the people of Sialkot and Pakistan. We are presenting this crown to Sania. This crown symbolises the love, affection and respect of the people of Sialkot and Pakistan," Awana said.

"We hope this wedding will promote brotherhood and friendship between the people of the two countries," she added.

Apart from Chandrababu Naidu, others who attended the ceremony included actors Raja Murad, Venkatesh, Nagarjuna, Neha Dhupia and Rakshanda Khan.

Shoaib's team-mate Sohail Tanvir was the only Pakistani cricketer who arrived here to attend the ceremony.

Every one of the 500-odd guests who attended the function, was introduced to the couple.