Ambani-Merchant wedding: Modi’s blessing, a Kardashian cameo — what happened at India’s wedding of the year

CNN
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India’s most anticipated wedding of the year came to a close on Sunday after three days of star-studded celebrations, including the country’s prime minister turning out to congratulate the young couple.

Billionaire heir Anant Ambani married his longtime girlfriend Radhika Merchant in Mumbai. A lavish ceremony The ceremony was attended by Kim and Khloe Kardashian, two former British prime ministers, Indian sports legends and several Bollywood celebrities. The wedding was followed by a blessing ceremony on Saturday, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his congratulations to the young couple and their families.

The weekend festivities concluded on Sunday with a lavish reception, dubbed “Mangal Utsav” (celebration of bliss), as attendees flew out from Mumbai.

The family that owns India’s largest privately held company, Reliance Industries Ltd., has spared no expense. The conglomerate was founded by Anant’s grandfather and is now run by his father, Mukesh, who is worth more than $122 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

Ambani’s 16,000-seat Geo World Convention Centre, where wedding events were held throughout the weekend, was transformed into a miniature version of the Indian holy city of Varanasi, decorated with floral installations and lavish sets adorned with gold and silver.

The couple changed outfits multiple times over the three-day party, appearing in a succession of intricate custom-made outfits that celebrated the country’s traditions and culture.

Merchant’s bridal ensemble was designed by Indian brand Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla and featured ivory-colored zardozi (a type of intricate metal embroidery) on silk and a five-meter (16.4-foot)-long veil. She completed the look with jewelry her aunts and sisters had worn at their weddings. She then changed into a gorgeous red-and-gold outfit for “vidai,” a ceremony in which an Indian bride bids symbolic farewell to her relatives before joining the groom’s family.

Meanwhile, Ambani made an appearance on the red carpet in a gold sherwani and sneakers.For the wedding, he wore a custom red sherwani by Sabyasachi Mukherjee and a large green necklace around his neck.

For the blessing ceremony on Saturday, Merchant again wore a custom piece by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, who collaborated with contemporary artist and sculptor Jayasri Burman to create a one-of-a-kind piece embroidered with real gold.

The outfit celebrates the couple’s union “through imagery that carries deep meaning,” Merchant’s stylist Rhea Kapoor wrote on Instagram: “The portraits that represent the happy couple give off an ethereal aura that celebrates the divinity in their humanity. The fauna represents Anant’s love for animals, especially elephants, which are considered to be auspicious and beautiful.”

At Sunday’s reception, guests opted for an “Indian chic” dress code that mixed traditional Indian fashion with contemporary style. Merchant wore a gold metallic corset from Dolce & Gabbana’s Alta Moda couture line, with a skirt and dupatta in the same shade by Indian designer Anamika Khanna.

It’s not clear exactly how much the Ambanis spent on the pre-wedding celebrations, which included months of partying, but industry estimates put the total surely in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Officials worked for months to turn the couple’s vision into a reality, collaborating with family members to orchestrate intricate details, from floral arrangements to set designs.

Celebrity wedding designer Preston Bailey, who has worked with Serena Williams and LeBron James, was commissioned to create a larger-than-life floral art installation for the weekend.

Speaking to CNN in an email ahead of Friday’s ceremony, Bailey praised Ambani’s mother, Nita, for her attention to detail. “It was a true act of genius, and she is truly committed to showcasing India’s wealth of creative talent to the world through these weddings,” he said.

Bailey’s design inspiration came from the couple’s love of animals and Ambani’s recently opened Vantara animal sanctuary in the western Indian city of Jamnagar. His sculptures included a giant hot air balloon display and more than 60 floral animals, including a giraffe, two giant toucans, a monkey perched in a tree inside the venue, and a giant horse made from red and pink flowers.

“I have been in the industry for over 40 years and have never seen such an elaborate wedding. I believe it will bring such a positive response and recognition to the wonderful creative culture of Indian artistes,” said Bailey, who also handled the weddings of Ambani’s two elder brothers, Akash and Isha.

Manish Malhotra, India’s top couturier and creative director for the wedding, previously told CNN that his “guiding principle” was to “maintain the Indian essence.”

“Every detail, from the décor and food to the outfits and ambience, from the vibrant sangeet (a traditional evening of music and dance which featured a performance by Justin Bieber) to the wedding day and grand reception, was designed to immerse guests in an atmosphere of joy, love and celebration,” he said in an email.

Criticism and sustainability

Details of the celebrations made local headlines and splashed across social media, but many in India, the world’s most populous country with 1.4 billion people, criticised the pomp on display in a country where wealth inequality is stark and millions live in poverty.

“Shame on those who glorify income inequality in a country that needs wealth redistribution,” tweeted Shamita Yadav, a comedian and social media commentator who posts on social media under the name “The Ranting Gola.”

“We are a really poor country,” Sushant Singh, a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, told Indian news media. wire“This is completely unacceptable. But the fact is that half of the major media in India is owned by Ambani and it is unlikely that any major Indian media outlet would say this is terrible.”

Besides the financial cost of weddings and celebrations, there is another, less visible cost: the cost to the earth.

An average Indian wedding with 300 people typically produces 1.5 to 2 tonnes of waste and around 30 to 40 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions before factoring in guest travel, according to Ashwin Malwaid, co-founder of Mumbai-based sustainable wedding consultancy GreenMina. Sources include the energy used for large banquets and extravagant light displays.

A mega event like the Ambani Merchant celebrations would generate far more carbon dioxide emissions than India’s biggest and most lavish weddings, he added.Then there’s the issue of travel, with several celebrities photographed departing from Mumbai from the private jet terminal at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

Marwaid also pointed out the Ambani family’s impact on the environment. Pre-wedding party The event, which took place in Jamnagar, was attended by celebrities from around the world including Mark Zuckerberg, Ivanka Trump, Bill Gates and Karlie Kloss. 4-day cruise These include those arranged for guests in the Mediterranean, and the emissions required to fly in singers like Rihanna and Justin Bieber to perform at various events.