From Spectacular Acts to Lavish Decor: Inside Anant And Radhika’s Pre-Wedding ceremony Festivities

The Ambani family is currently all over the internet, and rightly so. Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant are going to tie the knot in July 2024, however, the three-day pre-wedding festivities took place in Gujarat’s Jamnagar over the last three days. The celebrations started with a charity service called Ann Seva on 28 February and concluded on 3 March with an extravagant sangeet ceremony. From the most elite guest list to the most expensive performances, the pre-wedding festivities were no less than a lavish celebration in itself.

The pre-wedding events for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant took place in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The buzz is that the duo’s wedding is an astonishing 1900 percent higher than Bollywood’s most expensive wedding, states a report by Koimoi. Koimoi also reported that the pre-wedding celebrations alone cost a whopping INR 1250 crore (USD 150M approx). Naturally, only the best of services and arrangements were made for the pre-wedding celebration. Here are some of the most expensive things that were specially curated for the pre-wedding bash.

Every lavish spend that was made for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant pre-wedding

The act of Ann Seva

The nuptial ceremony of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant is surely going to be the world’s most expensive wedding in 2024. The grand pre-wedding event has already taken the internet by storm. The festivities kickstarted on 28 February with a service called Anna Seva. The entire Ambani family along with the bride served traditional Gujarati food to over 51,000 people in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

International airport for 10 days

Watching the exclusivity of the Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s pre-wedding festivities, the Indian government temporarily granted international status to a defence airport in Gujarat’s Jamnagar for 10 days. The airport witnessed a noteworthy influx of around 200 chartered planes with 50 aircraft flying in directly from foreign locations including Dubai, Doha, Paris, London, and Malta.

Performance by Rihanna

The wedding extravaganza kicked off with a performance by Grammy Award-winning singer, Rihanna. The singer reportedly charged INR 74 crore approx. (USD 9 million) for her star-studded performance. She performed a total of 19 songs including her hit track, Diamonds. Indian artists including Arijit Singh, Diljit Dosanjh, and Ajay-Atul also performed at the grand Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant pre-wedding celebration.

Arrangements for the guests

The whos who of Bollywood arrived for the wedding festivities including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and more. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen and Former CEO of Microsoft Bill Gates along with 2000 global tycoons also arrived for the Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant pre-wedding festivities. Luxurious arrangements were made for the guests including world-class chefs, wardrobe services and luxurious cars like Rolls-Royce, Range Rover, and BMW to transport guests. For the guests who arrived for the Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant wedding events, luxurious VIP tents with top-notch amenities were also assembled at the venue.

High-profile guests at the Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant wedding event

Other guests that attended the wedding extravaganza included names like Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, BlackRock Inc. co-founder Larry Fink, Saudi Aramco’s chairman Yasir Al Rumayyan, and Alphabet Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai. Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, and M.S. Dhoni were on the guest list too.

A magical drone show

The highlight of the pre-wedding event was the astonishing drone show that was organised during the festivities. A special tribute to an elephant named Gauri (saved by Nita Ambani) and an introduction to the Vantara program that focused on rescuing and caring for animals was showcased during the drone show as well.

Food for the soul

As many as 2,000 guests were invited to attend the pre-wedding celebration of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant. A team of 21 chefs from Indore’s Jardin Hotel was present at the location to prepare a wide variety of dishes. From Japanese, Thai, and Mexican food to traditional Indore dishes and Parsi Thali, almost 75 dishes for breakfast, 225 varieties of dishes for lunch, an assortment of 275 dishes for dinner, and 85 different types of dishes for late night were available for the guests. No dish was repeated throughout the lavish celebration.

The most expensive wedding invitation

The wedding invitation cards for the Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant pre-wedding events alone cost a whopping INR 1.5 lakh. The cards came with personalised handwritten notes for guests along with unique and thoughtful gift items accompanying the cards.

From the runway to the wedding

The Ambanis are known to pick the best of the ensembles when it comes to grand events. For the pre-wedding celebrations, Isha Ambani wore attires from brands like Miss Sohee and Valentino which cost around INR 10 lakh per outfit. The bride stunned in a custom pink Versace gown, which was originally worn by Blake Lively at the 2022 Met Gala.

The story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia India

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

– Where is the Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant wedding taking place?
All the pre-wedding events took place in Jamnagar, Gujarat. As for the wedding, nothing is known as of now.

– How did Radhika meet Anant?
Radhika Merchant and Anant Ambani are childhood friends

– Who is performing at the Ambani pre-wedding?
Rihanna along with many Indian artists performed at the pre-wedding celebration.

– Who is the foreign singer at the Ambani pre-wedding?
Rihanna flew down to India to perform at the Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant wedding.

Hero & Feature Image: Courtesy RELIANCE/AFP