Anant Ambani‘s marriage to Radhika Merchant, a pharmaceutical heiress, was completed on Friday, after a long-awaited celebration of his extravagant pre-wedding festivities .
Kim and Khloe, Nick Jonas, Priyanka and Boris Johnson and former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson are just a few of the celebrities who flew to Mumbai for the star-studded wedding. Many of India’s biggest stars in entertainment, sports, business, and politics attended the wedding, including Rajinikanth, Sanjaya Dutt, former President Ram Nath Kovind and the chief ministers from various states.
The Ambanis are the family that owns India’s biggest private corporation Reliance Industries. The conglomerate was founded by Anant’s father, Mukesh. Forbes estimates that Mukesh is worth more than $122 billion.
Police closed the roads around the Ambani owned, 16,000 capacity Jio World Convention Center in Mumbai ahead of the red carpet-style arrival event. At an event which could set future trends in Indian wedding style, attendees dressed to impress, rushing past photographers in custom-made sarees and lehengas.
Fashionistas were also out in force. Zendaya’s stylist Law Roach arrived wearing a mauve-colored velvet jacket, a purple tunic, and Schiaparelli gold-toed shoes. Designer and New York Fashion Week mainstay Prabal Guruung was dressed in a rose colored sherwani, and aviator glasses.
Kim Kardashian and Khloe were both dressed in red and gold saris on social media. Kim’s outfit featured an off the shoulder tasseled body, while Khloe chose long, ornate sleeved, stacked necklaces, and an opulent oblong maang tikka. Kim teased in an Instagram post that the film crew would be with them for an episode of “The Kardashians.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/kim-kardashian-khloe-kardashian-wedding-guest-071224-2-db46c38a9f4a45ab8a57855969450327.jpg)
Inside the venue which had been transformed into a miniature of the holy Indian town of Varanasi celebrities such as Chopra and Cena could be seen dancing and having fun. Social media footage also shows members of the Ambani Family dancing with Daler Mehndi, an Indian singer. Rema performed “Calm Down,” his hit song by Afrobeats singer Rema.
The couple was also dressed in golden sherwanis and sneakers. He changed into a different outfit for the ceremony. The bride wore hand-embroidered bridal couture from the Indian label Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla. Merchant wore red and ivory in an opulent ensemble with red trim, following the Gujarati tradition. According to Rhea Kapoor’s first look on Instagram, it featured a 16 foot-long veil embellished with sequins, stones, and other materials, and a long, traditional skirt called a ghagra.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C9VH0xOIDZp/?hl=en&img_index=1
Merchant donned an rich red and gold outfit, which included a lehenga with a woven top, a veil, and an embroidered headcover.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C9Vk9u0IBKc/?img_index=1
In a Video that was posted on social media Friday morning, Anant Ambani’s mother Nita recounted her recent trip to Varanasi in India’s Uttar Pradesh, where she asked for blessings for them. She expressed her desire to “reimagine, and present, the purity, positivity, and beauty of Varanasi” at the wedding.
The gown Nita wore at the red carpet event took over 40 days to make. The couture house Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, artisans Vijay Kumar & Monika Maurya and the custom peach silk gown were responsible for designing it.
Table of Contents
A lavish affair
In the weeks leading up to the wedding on Friday, the Ambani family remained mum about what was happening. However, rumors have been circulating about the guest list as well as the identities of the star performers. The local press and Indian social network users have speculated about everything from the menu to what jewelry might be displayed from the Ambani family’s large collection.
Manish Malhotra is one of India’s most famous fashion designers. He was the creative director for this event. The celebrated couturier created bespoke outfits throughout the wedding celebrations, for different members of the Ambani Family.
He told that “every detail is designed to immerse the guests in a joyous atmosphere, filled with love and celebration.”
The couple participated in several pre-wedding traditions before the ceremony on Friday. Justin Bieber sang at the couple’s “sangeet”, a night filled with music and dancing, held last Friday. The couple attended a “haldi”, a private ceremony where friends and family apply turmeric paste on the heads, faces, or bodies of the bride and groom.
According to Hindu tradition, wedding dates are chosen based on auspicious days in the birth charts of the bride and groom.
Anant Ambani, 29, is Mukesh’s youngest child. He graduated from Brown University and works as a director for Reliance Energy. Radhika Merchant is also 29 and the daughter of Viren Merchant and Shaila Merchant who founded the pharmaceutical company Encore Healthcare.
The exact amount spent by the Ambani Family on the wedding festivities of the couple is unknown. The industry estimates place the total in the hundreds and millions of dollars. Musical performers are reported to have received seven- or eight-figure amounts.
We spoke to residents in Mumbai who had mixed reactions about the lavish event and the wealth displayed. Devanshi Zaveri said: “It is their wealth, but it’s beyond ridiculous to do what they’re doing.”
Jenica Kothari, a banker, welcomed the boost for local businesses. “It helps the economy, it helps everyone… I think they should spend the money if they have it.” As thousands of guests prepared to jet off to Mumbai, India’s financial capital, hotel rates in the area reportedly rose.
Celebrate the month of May with us
The festivities will continue at the 27-story Antilia residence of the Ambani Family in Mumbai. The Ambani family’s 27-story Mumbai residence, Antilia, will host a “Shubh Ashirwad” or divine blessings celebration on Saturday. A Sunday reception with an “Indian Chic” dress code will offer guests one last chance to celebrate the couple.
The schedule for the weekend concludes seven-months of preparations to what is described as India’s biggest wedding of the year. The celebrations began with an engagement party featuring celebrities in January. The Ambanis then hosted a community dinner for over 50,000 villagers, and a 1,200 guest pre wedding bash, which included a live performance by Rihanna.
The family chartered a ship in May to take guests around the Mediterranean for four days. The itinerary included several stops in Europe, as well as concerts by Pitbull and the Backstreet Boys.
Anant’s elder sister, Isha held a extravagant wedding as well in 2018. She married businessman Anand Piramal in front of celebrities, politicians, and business titans. Her pre-wedding party featured a private concert by Beyonce.
