Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant married in Mumbai on Friday with an extravagant celebration that spared no expense and drew A-list guests from around the world. Obtained by CNNCNN —
After seven months of extravagant pre-wedding celebrations, Anant Ambani, the son of India’s richest man, completed his long-awaited marriage to pharmaceutical heiress Radhika Merchant before thousands of guests on Friday.
Kim and Khloé Kardashian, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra and former British prime ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson were just some of the famous faces who flew in to Mumbai to attend the star-studded event. The wedding also attracted many of the biggest names in Indian entertainment, sport, business and politics, from Bollywood stars like Rajinikanth and Sanjay Dutt, to former president Ram Nath Kovind, the chief ministers of various states and numerous members of the country’s revered cricket team.
No expense was spared by the Ambanis, the family behind India’s largest private corporation, Reliance Industries. Founded by Anant’s grandfather, the conglomerate is now run by his father Mukesh, who is worth over $122 billion, according to Forbes.
In a rain-soaked Mumbai, police closed roads in the area surrounding the Ambani-owned, 16,000-capacity Jio World Convention Center ahead of a red-carpet-style arrival event. Attendees dressed the part, streaming past photographers in custom sarees, lehengas and kurtas at an event that may set forthcoming trends in Indian wedding fashion.
Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra pose on the red carpet at the wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Mumbai, India. Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
International guests also honored the traditional dress code, with many seen wearing designs by major Indian fashion designers. John Cena walked the red carpet in an embroidered sky blue sherwani and white pants, while Jonas sparkled in a baby pink version — made from a bouclé-style woven fabric embedded with sequins — and matching satin trousers. Jonas arrived with his wife and actor, Priyanka Chopra, who opted for an intricately embellished sunshine yellow sari.
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The fashion crowd were out in full force too. Zendaya’s longtime stylist Law Roach arrived in a mauve velvet jacket, purple tunic and a pair of Schiaparelli gold toed shoes, while designer and New York Fashion Week staple Prabal Gurung wore a rose-colored sherwani and aviator sunglasses.
Kim and Khloé Kardashian, who skipped the red carpet entirely, were seen on social media dressed in gold and red saris respectively. Kim’s ensemble featured an off-the-shoulder tasseled bodice, whereas Khloé opted for long, ornate sleeves, stacked necklaces and an opulent maang tikka. In an Instagram story, Kim teased that their film crew was in tow for an episode of their show “The Kardashians.”
John Cena arrived in an embroidered blue sherwani. Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
Stylist Law Roach paired his traditional Indian ensemble with a pair of Schiaparelli shoes. Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
Actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was glittering in jewels for the nuptials. Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
Once inside the venue, which was transformed into a miniature version of the holy Indian city of Varanasi, celebrities including Chopra and Cena were seen dancing and letting loose. Footage widely shared on social media also showed members of the Ambani family dancing on stage with Indian singer, Daler Mehndi. The night’s other performers included Afrobeats star Rema, who performed his hit song “Calm Down.”
As for the couple itself, the groom first arrived on the red carpet in a golden sherwani paired with sneakers, which he later changed for the ceremony. The bride dazzled in hand-embroidered bridal couture by the Indian label Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla. Merchant followed the Gujarati tradition of wearing red and white in an opulent red-trimmed ivory ensemble. It featured 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, according to her stylist Rhea Kapoor, who shared a first look on Instagram.
Ahead of her “vidai,” the ceremony in which Indian brides symbolically bid farewell to their relatives before joining their groom’s family, Merchant changed into an opulent red and gold outfit featuring a woven blouse, lehenga, veil and embroidered head covering.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie Blair arrived on the red carpet in classic Indian attire. Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
In a video posted to social media on Friday morning, Anant’s mother Nita Ambani recounted a recent trip to Varanasi, in India’s Uttar Pradesh state, where she sought blessings for the pair. She said she hoped to “reimagine and present the purity, positivity and beauty of Varanasi at the wedding,” adding that the event would “pay a tribute to India’s glorious culture and heritage, brought to life by thousands of artisans… weavers and craftspeople.”
It was also revealed that the gown Nita Ambani wore on the event red carpet took more than 40 days to create. The custom peach silk ghagra was designed by couture house Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla and artisans Vijay Kumar and Monika Maurya.
A lavish affair
The Ambani family has remained tight-lipped about proceedings in the build-up to Friday’s wedding, though rumors about the guest list and the identity of star performers have swirled in recent weeks. Local press and Indian social media users have also pored over speculation over everything from the dinner menu to the items of jewelry that might be on display from the family’s sizable collection.
One of India’s best-known fashion designers, Manish Malhotra, served as the event’s creative director. The celebrated couturier produced bespoke outfits for various members of the Ambani family throughout the month-long wedding celebrations.
CNN