Illustration of Inside India's $100 Million Wedding Extravaganza

Inside India’s $100 Million Wedding Extravaganza

After months of elaborate pre-wedding celebrations, India’s wealthiest family is reportedly set to spend upwards of $100 million, and possibly far more, on their son’s wedding, making it one of the most expensive in modern history.

Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s four-day wedding is expected to feature stunning decorations, numerous celebrity performances, and a guest list comprising figures from politics, business, sports, and the arts.

Ambani is the youngest child of Reliance Industries’ Mukesh Ambani, the 11th richest man globally, according to Forbes. Bride-to-be Merchant also hails from an affluent background, with her parents being multimillionaire pharmaceutical executives.

Though the Ambani family has not disclosed the exact costs, estimates suggest expenditures could range from $150 million to over half a billion. This includes payments for musicians, private jets, and a feast for nearby underprivileged communities, as per reports from the BBC and the India Times.

Mumbai police have declared the wedding a public event due to the attendance of numerous high-profile international and Indian politicians, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, according to the BBC.

Roads near the event venues were closed to non-wedding guests, and the groom led a convoy of luxury vehicles to kick off the weekend’s festivities.

This weekend marks the culmination of the couple’s ongoing celebrations. In March, the Ambani family hosted over a thousand guests, including Mark Zuckerberg, Hillary Clinton, and Ivanka Trump, at their estate in Jamnagar, India. For the occasion, the Ambanis constructed a glass palace inspired by Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Palm House and hired Rihanna for her first full-length concert in nearly a decade.

“I wanted to be fun, free, and young,” Merchant told Vogue about the all-night partying that followed Rihanna’s performance. “An Indian wedding is incomplete without a lot of dancing.”

In late May, Ambani and Merchant hosted another pre-wedding celebration on the Mediterranean Sea, with 1,200 guests on a four-day cruise beginning in Palermo, Italy, and stopping at various locations. In Cannes, guests were treated to a surprise concert by Katy Perry. The cruise also featured performances by Pitbull and acclaimed opera singer Andrea Bocelli during a stop in Portofino.

“It was just the most magical evening,” Merchant told Vogue of Bocelli’s performance. “I had goosebumps.”

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