In the heart of India, a wedding took place that many believe will never be forgotten for the upcoming years. Anant Ambani, a son of Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, and Radhika Merchant, a daughter of the industrialist Viren Merchant both tied the knot on 12th July,2024.
The Ambani wedding started building up with the few pre-wedding festivals.
The couple’s Roka took place in 2022 at the Srinath Temple in Natwar. In early 2023, the Ambani’s hosted a grand engagement party for the couple at their palatial Mumbai residence, Antlia. The engagement ceremony was preceded by a mehndi function in January 2023, which took place at a five-star Mumbai hotel. Then, in February 2024, the pre-wedding festivities began in earnest with a Lagan Lakhani ceremony.
The Groom
Anant Ambani is a son of Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of the mega company Reliance Industries, and Nita Ambani. Ambani, runs the energy business at Reliance Industries, based in Mumbai, India. He has two older twin siblings, both of whom are also on the board of Reliance Industries. He graduated from Brown and is an advocate for animal welfare and rehabilitation. The pre-wedding ceremony in March included a tour of Vantara, Mr. Ambani’s animal sanctuary. “This was my giving back to society,” he said in a speech during the festivities.
The Bride
Radhika Merchant is a daughter of Viren and Shaila Merchant. Mr. Merchant is the chief executive and vice chairman of Encore Healthcare, also headquartered in Mumbai’s. Merchant, 29, is a director at her family’s health care company. She graduated from N.Y.U. and trained in Indian classical dance.
Justin Bieber Delights Guests with Electrifying Performance at Ambani’s Grand Event
The Love Story
Ms. Merchant said that she and Mr. Ambani met through mutual friends during a drive in 2017. “That first meeting just sparked something special between us, and it wasn’t long before we started dating,” she said. In 2023, Mr. Ambani proposed to Ms. Merchant at the Srinath Temple in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan. “I am 100 percent the lucky one, there is no doubt about that,” Mr. Ambani said in a speech during the pre-wedding weekend in March. “It feels like I met Radhika yesterday, but every day, I fall more and more in love. Like my brother-in-law says, when he used to see my sister, he had volcanoes and fountains going up in his heart. I would say I have earthquakes and tsunamis going on in my heart when I see Radhika.”
The wedding bells
The wedding took place July 12 through 14. The dates were determined by the Hindu tradition of getting married on an auspicious date based on the couple’s birth charts.
The pre-wedding
On March 1, more than 1,000 members of the international elite flew to Jamnagar, a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat, for the weekend festivities. Guests were offered services like chartered flights, makeup artists, top chefs and luxurious vehicles for pickup and drop-off.There was a light show consisting of more than 5,000 drones.
Among the guests were Bill Gates; Mark Zuckerberg; present and former prime ministers of Canada, Sweden and Qatar; the king and queen of Bhutan; and Bollywood’s biggest stars, like Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan.
There was plenty of entertainment, including a performance by Rihanna on the first night. Diljit Dosanjh, the first Punjabi singer to perform at Coachella, took the stage on the second night. And to close out the weekend, Akon performed.
The Second Pre-Wedding
The couple hosted a second pre wedding celebration on a cruise ship in May. The ship departed from Palermo, Italy, on May 29, and concluded its journey on June 1, with stops in Rome, Cannes and Portofino. Among the events hosted onboard were a toga party and a masquerade ball. The Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry and Pitbull performed.
The location of Wedding
The ceremony is usually private and attended by only the closest friends and families.
The wedding festivities occurred at the Jio World Centre, an 18.5-acre business and cultural center in Mumbai that is owned by the Ambanis. It has a capacity of 16,000 people. A red carpet was rolled out for the guests.
The crowd at the Ambani wedding was so large that police had to divert traffic around the venue
Cultural impact
Nita Ambani not only visited Kashi to seek divine blessings for her family before the wedding but also infused the wedding theme with the essence of the holy city. Thousands of artisans, weavers, and craftsmen brought the grandeur of the ‘Eternal City’ to life at the wedding venue. Additionally, the dresses worn by the Ambani family were thoughtfully curated by India’s top designers like Abu Jani, Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi to name a few honored cultures and art across states. The grand event not only highlighted the beauty of Indian customs but also placed Indian culture and morals on the global map.
Additionally, in a heartfelt display of gratitude, the Ambani family organized a special event to thank their dedicated staff for their invaluable assistance in organizing the wedding.
A timeless union
The wedding of Anant and Radhika was a celebration of love that bridged cultures and united people from all walks of life. It was a long piece of music written for a large orchestra of timeless values of Indian culture and a shining example of how these traditions can be honored and celebrated in today’s global society. This wedding will undoubtedly be remembered for years to come as a landmark that brought together love, culture, and unity in a way that the world has never seen before.
