Forget wedding of the decade. At the rate that the wealthiest family in the world is going with wedding preparations between Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant, this is likely to be the wedding of the century. Sit down Akash and Isha, it’s Anant’s turn to shine! The world is watching as Mukesh Ambani showers millions, if not billions, on his youngest son, Anant Ambani, and daughter-in-law Radhika Merchant, in what is touted to be the biggest, fattest, Indian wedding known to humanity. After over 130 days of keeping the world on edge, we break down the ABCs of the most expensive wedding and pre-wedding in the world.
Since commencing in March with a grand hastakshar ceremony in Gujarat’s Jamnagar, Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s pre-wedding celebrations have worked like a travelling troupe — moving from India to London and through the most gorgeous parts of Europe. Mediterranean cruises were organised, private estates were hired, and the biggest, most exclusive artists were specially flown in from all around the world. Finally, the main wedding ceremony is all set to take place in Mumbai on July 12, marking the end of the fourth month-long festivities. While the Ambani wedding festivities timeline includes several events, we list down the main highlights.
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding and pre-wedding celebrations
A is for Ambanis, Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla, and Andrea Bocelli
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One family, their favourite designers, and the performance that awakened a new interest in this prolonged wedding!
B is for Bollywood on speed dial
The Ambanis are doing what even Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Karan Johar cannot do…. Bring every Bollywood celebrity together like one big, happy family. Politics and personal beef? What is that? This wedding is all about holding hands and doing synchronised dances together… just like a Bollywood movie!
C is for cruise parties in the Côte d’Azur and Château de la Croix des Gardes
Did you know that the Mediterranean Cruise hired by the Ambani family to ferry around their 1,200+ guests came with a moderate price tag of just USD 900 million? The cruise set sail from Palermo, Sicily with a welcome lunch, followed by a starry-night-themed formal party for dinner.
The party continued to Rome, then to Cannes, where guests retreated to the Château de la Croix des Gardes for a private performance by Katy Perry. The last portion of living up the European summer life included taking over the main square of Portofino. And while that raised eyebrows among the locals, it did not seem over-the-top for the Ambanis or any of their guests. Pop-ups along the water served the best food and drinks from all around the world. You could even much on a vada pav, if you wished!
D is for dancing to Diljit Dosanjh
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Rihanna, Justin, Katy, and Backstreet Boys on one side, Diljit Pajji on the other! It’s called “dil se hindustani” (my heart is Indian).
E is for emeralds and more emeralds
All eyes were on the emerald block hanging from Nita Ambani’s neck during the Jamnagar event. With a whopping USD 59 million price tag, the necklace could bring even global royalty to shame!
F is for family
If it weren’t for family and family values, would we even be here?
G is for G.U.J.J.U
Who knew the Ambanis love putting on a show? Get the family on stage, play the iconic Kal Ho Na Ho track, and watch Nita, Mukesh, and the children give you the most epic dance performance ever. This is one for the history books, and you’ll probably even show your kids one day!
H is for hastakshar ceremony
While we had to Google what the ceremony entailed, we must also give special thanks to the event planners for finding every ritual applicable to spend more money and make it all seem more legitimate.
I is for Isha Ambani and her main character outfits
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We have to agree the Reliance scion has impeccable taste, serving all her looks to perfection.
J is for Jamnagar and Justin Bieber
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The first highlight of the Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant pre-wedding festivities has to be the grand, gasp-eliciting, scream-inducing gala they held in Jamnagar. Part of the act was getting the local airport upgraded to international status and building an entire resort from scratch to accommodate guests.
The second is the jealousy we all felt watching Justin Beiber perform a private concert in Mumbai. At a time when most global artists give India a miss, seeing Beibs belt out his hits to a set of Bollywood’s elite, who in all other worlds could afford that Europe concert, showed us the true meaning of rage. Rumours suggest that certain “influencers” were invited to said concert as part of a collaboration deal, wherein they got to attend but also had to post Reels and Instagram stories about the event. And you thought this wedding needed more PR!
K is for Katy Perry
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At this point of the Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant wedding, even a Katy Perry concert seems to be run of the mill. The real question is: Where is Taylor Swift?
L is for lehengas and lehengas for days
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All the Ambani ladies and Bollywood girlies have been bringing their A-game when it comes to their lehengas. Every Indian designer has been featured at this four-month-long wedding, making it bigger, grander, and more celebrity-heavy than the past 10 Lakme Fashion Weeks combined.
M is for Mukesh Ambani, Mark Zuckerberg, and the battalion of HNWIs
If the upcoming event was instead a political thriller, attacking Jamnagar would be the beginning of the end of the world!
N is for Nita Ambani
It is no secret that she loves Anant the most now, is there? Proving she’s the MVP and the mom we all need, Nita Ji has arrived and how! Throughout the events, Nita has rocked up dressed in the best outfits money can buy, planning the most elaborate activities for the people she loves. The kicker? She does it all while maintaining that Nita Ambani smile. IYKYK.
O is for OHMYGOD
A.K.A. The only emotion we’ve felt since the beginning of this madness.
P is for private jets and private performances but all for the public
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They may invest in all the privacy in the world — from personal security to private concerts and chartered flights — but they do it for the public. Letting the people know the kind of paisa (money) they are willing to spend is just as much part of the plan as every concert and pre-wedding event.
Q is for Qayamat a.k.a. Judgement day/Apocalypse
What can we say, the world is watching.
R is for Rihanna and Radukki
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Firstly, bringing Rihanna out of an 8-year hiatus. Secondly, flying her down to Jamnagar of all places and making her perform nearly 20 of her biggest hits in a parrot green, rhinestone-encrusted one piece, which requires guts. And all of this for being called Radukki in the end? Tsk tsk.
S is for Schiaparelli
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…..and all the design work the Maison has done for this wedding. From sarees to customised dresses, the Ambanis really are showing the world that money can buy anything you dream of!
T is for Tired
Yes. At this point, we’re tired of all the media coverage, we’re tired of being exposed to such wealth; we’re just tired.
U is for Up to date
..which we all are at this point with the wedding festivities! We may be confused with the timeline of the Ambani wedding festivities, tired of the excessive coverage of every napkin found at the events, and totally jealous of the extravaganza, but if there is one thing we all are, it’s up to date!
V is for Vantara
Unveiling Vantara to the world might be a passion project for Anant and Radhika, but for the world, it proved the Ambanis’ business acumen and marketing skills, hinting at their diversification strategy. The ambitious wildlife preservation project, which is located on 3,000 acres of Reliance’s Jamnagar Refinery Complex, is as noble as it gets; however, rounding up the Bollywood battalion to post average selfies using the Vantara filter on IG has perhaps trivialised the cause.
W is for the watches spotted on Anant Ambani
From the impeccable Richard Mille RM 12-01 Tourbillon Carbon Red Quartz and the Patek Philippe Nautilus ‘Travel Time’ to the Richard Mille RM 56-02, Anant’s watch collection has even Mark Zuckerberg, who is the world’s fourth richest person, gobsmacked!
X is for exes, currents, and everything in between!
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding has reunited all the exes, all the currents, and all the flings of Bollywood. Whether it’s bringing Alia Bhatt-Ranbir Kapoor into the same room as Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan sliding past Salman Khan, this festival has seen it all!
Y is for yes, we know!
We know that as per the latest estimates, the cost of this gargantuan wedding is around INR 5,000 crores (Approx. USD 600 million).
Z is for the zeroes that make up that wedding price tag!
Which part of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding celebrations have shocked you the most?
(Main and Featured Image: Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla/Instagram)
This story first appeared here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
According to latest reports, the Anant Ambani- Radhika Merchant wedding costs around INR 5000 crores.
The 'Mameru' ceremony is when the Mausa (maternal uncle) brings gifts and sweets for the bride-to-be. The ceremony is an imporant part of Gujarati weddings.
The main ceremonies of the Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant wedding are happening in Mumbai, India.
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As a pop-culture enthusiast with a penchant for fashion, Srijoni found herself graduating with a degree in History from Miranda House, DU and a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. Apart from binging on the latest web series, trying DIY recipes from TikTok, and spending hours window shopping on the latest Instagram stores, she loves spending time with her family and curating vacation mood boards. Writing opinion pieces, and critiquing international fashion trends are a part of her forte. Srijoni was previously employed at iDiva as their ‘Chief Fashion Writer’ for 5 years.
