The Big Fat Show: India’s Top 10 Most Expensive Weddings

Bhubaneswar: Are you hooked on to the updates on social media offering a peek into the lavish pre-wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant? Well, reports suggest that the Ambani family has been spending over Rs 1200 crore for the pre-wedding festivities. That’s a whopping sum!

But, the show of wealth at the wedding has not been restricted to the Ambanis alone. India’s ultra-wealthy has often left no stone unturned in showing off at weddings. No, wonder why the world often talks about ‘The Big Fat Indian’ weddings! From renting out five-star hotels to bringing in foreign pop singers via private jet to perform on the wedding day, here’s a look at some of the extravagant Indian weddings that made headlines.

1) Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal
In an extravagant, multi-city wedding that spanned almost a week and cost over INR 830 crore ($100 million), Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal exchanged vows.

The “City of Lakes,” Udaipur, hosted lavish pre-wedding activities at the Oberoi Udaivilas Hotel and City Palace to start off the celebrations. Charter flights were used for the guests’ transportation, and they enjoyed dance performances, costume parties, and private concerts. The festivities were held in Mumbai, Lake Como in Italy, and Udaipur.

The Ambanis constructed a huge mandap on a private island in the midst for the main event. The bride’s wedding sari alone cost over 2 million rupees. They even had real elephants decorated in colorful garments!

A separate reception in Mumbai included a private show by pop icon Beyoncé, who was rumored to have earned $15 million for her 45-minute set. Almost every major Bollywood star attended, along with political bigwigs like Hillary Clinton.
Cost: INR 830 crore
Year: 2018

2. The nuptials of the Reddys
If you believed that the daughter of infamous former mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy was marrying for the highest money ever, wait until you learn about the former mining baron’s own wedding. At his son’s 2004 wedding, Reddy went all out, spending about Rs 550 crore ($74 million) on what was effectively a five-day celebration for over fifty thousand people.

The celebrations took place at Lucknow’s Sahara Stadium and included opulent bull-drawn carriages for guest transportation as well as Bollywood art directors’ recreations of historic Indian temples. The photos of the Reddy family included enormous helium balloons hovering above the event.

Arounf 3,000 security officers were on standby for the extravagant. The photos of the Reddy family included enormous helium balloons hovering above the event. 3,000 security personnel were stationed for the extravagant event, which featured performances by prominent Bollywood actors and cricket players.

Reddy came under intense criticism for his ostentatious show of riches during India’s financial crisis as a result of his costly wedding. However, a multi-billion rupee celebration for his lone son might have just been standard procedure for a man renowned for his ostentatious lifestyle and celebrity interactions. There’s no denying that Reddy’s little prince spared no money in order to make a statement.
Cost: INR 550 crore
Year: 2016

3. Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia
Fairy stories were brought to life at the most lavish Indian wedding between Amit Bhatia and Vanisha Mittal, the daughter of steel mogul Lakshmi Mittal. The astounding $60 million six-day event took place in 2004 and featured some of Paris’ most famous buildings.

An engagement party at the Palace of Versailles marked the beginning of the celebrations, appropriate for a royal wedding. The major ceremony took place at the 17th-century Vaux le Vicomte palace, where skilled artisans arrived from India by plane to build a lavish mandap in the center of the gardens, a typical Indian wedding stage.

The décor was designed to the last detail. The estate was renovated into an enormous reception hall covered with pink fabric, minarets, and fiberglass life-size elephants. Fairy stories were brought to life at the most lavish Indian wedding between Amit Bhatia and Vanisha Mittal, the daughter of steel mogul Lakshmi Mittal. The astounding $60 million six-day event took place in 2004 and featured some of Paris’ most famous buildings.

An engagement party at the Palace of Versailles marked the beginning of the celebrations, appropriate for a royal wedding. The major ceremony took place at the 17th-century Vaux le Vicomte palace, where skilled artisans arrived from India by plane to build a lavish mandap in the center of the gardens, a typical Indian wedding stage.
Cost: INR 240 crore
Year: 2004

4. Subrata Roy’s Double Wedding For Sons
Subrata Roy was an expert at throwing extravagant weddings. Prior to facing legal issues and insolvency, the chairman of Sahara India Pariwar lavished attention on his son’s wedding. Seemanto married Chandini Toor on Valentine’s Day, 2004, and Sushanto married Richa Ahuja on February 10, 2004.

At Lucknow’s Sahara Stadium, a week-long double wedding spectacle attended by 11,000 guests took place. Celebrities from Bollywood and cricket mingled with the delighted couples, sharing in their joy. As if that weren’t enough, Roy also conducted simultaneous wedding ceremonies at the same location for 110 less fortunate brides.

The stadium was lavishly decorated, with elements reminiscent of an old Indian palace. Arriving in elaborate horse-drawn carriages, guests were met by an ocean of enormous.

Three days of nonstop partying are standard when money is no object. Not a single ostentatious moment escaped the attention of a private chopper recording from every angle. Roy’s double wedding served as the model for all Indian weddings in high society. Others desire to follow in the footsteps of Bollywood royalty and business moguls. The Sahara Stadium was converted for a few brief days into an actual fairy tale to commemorate the priciest Indian marriages, complete with unending luxury and unending love. Every little detail served as a declaration to the world that the House of Roy is the party host with the most pomp and circumstance.
Cost: INR 552 crore
Year: 2004

5. Shristi Mittal And Gulraj Behl
The standard for extravagance was raised in 2013 when steel magnate Pramod Mittal’s daughter Shristi married investment banker Gulraj Behl in a grandiose destination wedding. Over Rs 5 billion were spent on the three-day wedding in Barcelona, Spain, which drew 500 guests.

The wedding of the Mittal heiress was lavishly funded. The National Museum of Catalan Art served as the location, and helicopters were needed to record the celebrations from every perspective. A 60kg six-tier wedding cake and a dinner designed by famed Spanish chef Sergi Arola were highlights of the reception. To meet the needs of the guests, more than 200 butlers and cooks were flown in from Thailand and India.

The festivities came to a climax on the last evening with a breathtaking fireworks show launched from Barcelona’s famous Sagrada Família church. This lavish and priciest Indian wedding ever established a standard for destination weddings and lavish expenditure on wedding-related expenses.

For one extravagant weekend, the guests at this fanciful, fantasy wedding in Spain were whisked away to a world of unfettered excess and grandeur.
Cost: INR 500
Year: 2013

6. Adel Sajan and Sana Khan
Adel Sajan, the CEO of Danube Homes, got married while traveling. On board the Concordia-class cruise liner Costa Fascinosa, which was sailing between Barcelona, Spain, Marseilles, and Cannes, France, before coming to an end in Savona, Italy, Sajan and his partner, Sana Khan, tied the knot.

One of the most expensive Indian weddings ever, it is said to have cost over Rs 100 crore. Personalized gift baskets from Harrods were given to guests, Badshah, Vishal, and Shekhar performed musically during the sangeet ceremony, Gauhar Khan and Sushmita Sen gave speeches, and the bride and groom cut a ten-tiered wedding cake during the reception.
Cost: INR 100 crore
Year: 2017

7. Sonam Vaswani and Navin Fabiani
In an exquisite wedding held at a historic estate in Vienna, Austria, Sonam Vaswani, daughter of Sunil Vaswani, founder of Stallion Group and a well-known businessman in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), married Navin Fabiana, son of Kamal Fabiana.
Cost: INR 210 crore
Year: 2017

8. Sanjay Hinduja and Anu Mahtani
UK-based billionaire, Sanjay Hinduja and designer Anu Mahtani had a star-studded wedding in Udaipur. Dressed in Manish Malhotra ensembles and being entertained by none other than Jennifer Lopez this is one wedding we wish we could have been a part of.
Cost: 147 crore
Year: 2015

9. Lalit Tanwar and Yogita Jaunapuria
The 26-year-old daughter Yogita of former independent MLA Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria and Congress leader Kanwar Singh’s son Lalit received a helicopter for their tilak-shagun wedding! Is it really true? Bollywood stars graced this union of two wealthy families for Rs 250 crore.
Cost: INR 250 crore
Year: 2011

10. Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma
Former Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma tied the knot in December 2017 at Lake Como in Tuscany, Italy, and had a lavish wedding estimated around ₹100 crore, as noted by media. A close-knit wedding ceremony reportedly followed Hindu wedding traditions, followed by their wedding reception held in Mumbai a few days later, which was a more lavish affair, attended by celebrities and cricketers, and in Delhi, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Cost: INR 100 crore
Year: 2017