Anant Ambani's Wedding: Date, Details And More

The wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant took place on 12 July 2024. The couple, who got engaged in January 2022, hosted a three-day pre-wedding festival in Jamnagar, Gujarat, which included celebrity guests such as Rihanna, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Ivanka Trump. The wedding itself, which took place in Mumbai, was a lavish, star-studded affair, with celebrity guests including Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra, and Tony Blair.

The wedding date and venue

Anant Ambani, the son of India's richest man, and his bride Radhika Merchant, the daughter of pharmaceutical tycoons, tied the knot on the 12th of July 2024. The wedding date was chosen based on the couple's astrological charts, as per Hindu tradition. The main ceremony was held in Mumbai, following seven months of extravagant pre-wedding celebrations.

The pre-wedding festivities kicked off on the 1st of March 2024, with a three-day festival in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The celebrations included a star-studded "Evening in Everland", with guests like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Ivanka Trump, and Qatar's Emir in attendance. The couple's engagement ceremony took place in January 2022, with a traditional 'Gol Dharna" ceremony in a Rajasthani temple.

The main wedding ceremony in July was a lavish affair, with thousands of guests in attendance. The Jio World Convention Center in Mumbai, owned by the Ambani family, was transformed into a miniature version of the holy Indian city of Varanasi. The event was designed to pay tribute to India's culture and heritage, with the decor, cuisine, attire, and ambiance carefully curated to immerse guests in an atmosphere of joy, love, and celebration.

The wedding date was chosen to be the 12th of July, with the subsequent days of the 13th and 14th also included in the celebrations. These dates were strategically selected based on the advice of the couple's family priest, who identified auspicious astrological alignments in their birth charts.

The wedding ceremony was a star-studded event, with celebrities, politicians, business tycoons, cricketers, and influencers in attendance. The guest list included Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra, Tony Blair, Boris Johnson, and numerous Bollywood stars and Indian cricket team members. The bride dazzled in a hand-embroidered bridal ensemble by the Indian label Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, following the Gujarati tradition of wearing red and white. The groom, Anant, first arrived on the red carpet in a golden sherwani paired with sneakers, later changing for the ceremony.

The wedding festivities continued through the weekend at the Ambani family's 27-story residence, Antilia, in Mumbai. The celebrations included a "Shubh Ashirwad" ceremony, a divine blessings ceremony, and a grand wedding reception or "Mangal Utsav" with a wide range of guests in attendance.

The pre-wedding festivities

The first day was themed "An Evening in Everland", with guests dressed in elegant cocktail attire. The decor featured larger-than-life white, pink, and purple flower arrangements by American floral designer Jeff Leatham. The second day was "A Walk on the Wildside", with a "jungle fever" dress code. The event was held outdoors at the Ambanis' animal rescue centre, Vantara, in Jamnagar, and featured peacock and jaguar motifs, as well as forest, bird, and animal designs throughout. In the evening, guests proceeded to "Mela Rouge", a Moulin Rouge-inspired carnival with yellow bulbs, chandeliers, and bold red colours, including dramatic red floral installations. The final day included two events: "Tusker Trails" and "Hashtakshar", where guests enjoyed the beauty of Jamnagar.

The pre-wedding celebrations also included a 10-page manual on the dress code for each event and luxury tents for guests, complete with personal makeup artists and stylists. The bride-to-be, Radhika Merchant, wore specially crafted outfits, including two lehengas—one studded with 20,000 Swarovski crystals and another that took 5,700 hours to make. She also wore a pink version of a Versace dress previously worn by Blake Lively to the 2022 Met Gala. The groom, Anant Ambani, wore outfits by Dolce & Gabbana and flaunted a Richard Mille wristwatch worth an estimated $1.5 million.

The wedding ceremony

The groom, Anant, arrived on the red carpet in a golden sherwani paired with sneakers, which he later changed for the ceremony. The bride, Radhika, wore a hand-embroidered bridal ensemble by the Indian label Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla. Following the Gujarati tradition, she wore red and white, with a 16-foot-long veil adorned with stones and sequins and a long ghagra, or traditional skirt, with a nearly seven-foot-long detachable train.

The Jio World Convention Center in Mumbai, with a capacity of 16,000, was adorned with lights and red flowers, creating a luxurious setting for the ceremony. The venue was transformed into a miniature version of the holy Indian city of Varanasi, with celebrities and notable guests in attendance, including international stars and Indian politicians, business tycoons, cricketers, and film stars.

The wedding date was chosen based on auspicious days on the birth charts of both the bride and groom, as per Hindu tradition. The ceremony included traditional rituals such as the "vidai," where the bride symbolically bids farewell to her family before joining the groom's family.

The Ambani family, known for their opulence and cultural richness, spared no expense for the wedding of Mukesh Ambani's youngest son, Anant. The family's wealth and influence were evident in the grand celebration, which is estimated to be one of the most expensive weddings in the world.

The wedding reception

The reception was the culmination of seven months of extravagant pre-wedding celebrations, which included a three-day pre-wedding festival in Jamnagar, Gujarat, in March, and a four-day cruise around the Mediterranean in May.

The reception itself was a star-studded event, with celebrities and notable figures from around the world in attendance. International guests included Kim and Khloe Kardashian, John Cena, Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra, Tony Blair, and Boris Johnson. Many international guests honoured the traditional dress code, with John Cena wearing an embroidered blue sherwani and Nick Jonas wearing a baby pink version.

The Indian film industry was also well represented, with stars such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Ranbir Kapoor, and Deepika Padukone in attendance. Indian cricketers were also present, with members of the Indian cricket team in attendance, except for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

The reception featured performances by several artists, including Afrobeats star Rema, who performed his hit song "Calm Down", and Yo Yo Honey Singh. The night also included dancing and celebrations by the Ambani family and guests, with footage shared on social media showing celebrities such as Priyanka Chopra and John Cena dancing and letting loose.

The reception was a luxurious and extravagant affair, with no expense spared by the Ambanis, reflecting the grandeur and cultural richness the family is known for. The event is estimated to have cost hundreds of millions of dollars, making it one of the most expensive weddings in the world.

The wedding guests

The wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant was a star-studded affair with around 2000 guests in attendance. The guest list included celebrities, politicians, cricketers, film stars, and influencers.

Some of the notable international guests were Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, John Cena, Nick Jonas, and Rema. Kim Kardashian wore a silver lehenga with a plunging neckline, while Khloe Kardashian opted for a gold and red saree. John Cena arrived in a cream-coloured pagdi, while Nick Jonas wore a baby pink sherwani.

Many Bollywood stars were also in attendance, including Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, and Priyanka Chopra.

Other notable guests included former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson, former US Secretary of State John Kerry, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The wedding also attracted some of the biggest names in Indian entertainment, sport, business, and politics, including Bollywood stars like Rajinikanth and Sanjay Dutt, former president Ram Nath Kovind, the chief ministers of various states, and members of the country's revered cricket team.

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