Mumbai Jan 25 : There are plenty of couples in the B town who have decided to tie the knot in 2012. Amongst others, Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza will begin the year with a private wedding affair.

There was a pre-wedding bash for the lovely couple Tuesday, hosted by Sajid Nadiadwala and Fardeen Khan at Royalty Bandra.

"Riteish and Genelia are lovely couples. Their seven years of relationship is very strong and I admire it. The celebrations will begin from Jan 29," Nadiadwala told reporters.

Many Bollywood celebs graced the event and blessed the couple. Boman Irani, who shared the screen space with Riteish in many films, said: "Riteish is like a son, friend and partner to me. I wish all the success to both of them."

The couple walked the red carpet a little late. Genelia was seen in a party mood. "Riteish is my Raj Kumar," she declared.

Karan Johar wished them "all the happiness".

Other huge weddings lined up this year include Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, and Vidya Balan is expected to marry beau Siddharth, CEO of UTV.

Riteish and Genelia first met while shooting their debut film "Tujhe Meri Kasam" in 2003. They will reportedly have a four-day wedding affair, which will be attended by who's who from Bollywood and politics.

Other guests at the pre-wedding bash included Arbaaz Khan, Deepika Padukone, Manoj Bajpai, Raveena Tandon, Farah Khan, Shrish Kunder, Sajid Khan, Jia Khan, Shazahn Padamsee, Fardeen Khan, Ameesha Patel, Tushar Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Arjun Rampal, Sohail Khan and Bobby Deol, among others.

© IANS