Colour, confusion and crowds... It was every bit the grand filmy wedding as Abhishek Bachchan, astride a horse, wearing an off-white sherwani and a white turban bedecked with flowers, arrived on a hot Friday evening to wed his Aishwarya Rai.

Bollywood's power couple finally tied the knot in a grand ceremony that held much of the nation in thrall - never mind if the only details of the closely guarded event that filtered out were grainy zoom shots from TV cameras stationed across the road.

Aishwarya reached the Bachchans' Juhu residence Prateeksha in a silver Mercedes decorated with flowers along with her mother and brother.

His face covered with a sehra of white flowers, Abhishek did a small jig before getting off the bus and waving cheerily and then getting on to his horse again at Prateeksha.

While photographers scrambled to train their cameras at the goings-on, curious stargazers climbed up trees, railings and even hoardings to get a first-hand view.

The Bollywood celebrities who arrived to bless the couple also included Sonali Bendre, Preity Zinta, Karan Johar, Ajay Devgan and Kajol.

Friday's wedding was the climax of three-day festivities that included a sangeet and a mehndi ceremony that were equally secretive.

The buzz around the Abhi-Ash marriage started last year and had been steadily getting louder even though the Bachchans never announced it officially because they wanted to keep it a private affair.

Both the Bachchan residences were turned into fortresses and for the uninvited, getting in was next to impossible.

The Bachchans not only took care of their own privacy, they were thoughtful enough not to disturb their neighbours - the lawns at the venue were covered with soundproofed, air-conditioned tents.

Members of the film fraternity who made it to the guest list showed cooperation towards the first family of Bollywood - none of the invitees breathed out a single detail about the wedding.

The three-day private wedding celebrations had started with a ‘sangeet’ on Wednesday and culminate with Abhishek tying the knot with Aishwarya today. And, as the bride and groom get ready to exhange the varmala, behind the closed gates of 'Prateeksha', their fans and well wishers will have to wait a while before they can greet the newly weds.