After an eye-popping pre-wedding celebration and a multi-day luxury European cruise party, Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's grand nuptials are set to be held in a three-day Mumbai celebration.
A save-the-date card, widely shared on social media, pins the Jio World Centre as the venue, with celebrations set to begin on July 12.
A landmark in the heart of Mumbai, the Jio World Centre is a 7.4 hectare business and cultural district owned by the Ambani family's Reliance Industries.
Ambani, 28, is the youngest son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, one of the world's richest men, while Merchant, 29, is the daughter of industrialist Viren Merchant.
According to the save-the-date card, designed in red and gold, the three-day celebration will begin on July 12 with the “shubh vivaah” or auspicious wedding, with the dress code listed as “Indian traditional”.
This will be followed by “shubh aashirdwad” (the latter word means blessings) on July 13, with guests expected to be dressed in “Indian formal”.
Celebrations will culminate in “mangal utsav” or the wedding reception on July 14 with “Indian chic” being the dress code.
The card is signed by Mukesh and Nita Ambani as well as their children and grandchildren.
The Ambanis are currently on a European cruise, their second prenuptial bash, along with 300 guests, which includes top Bollywood stars. Despite a strict no-phones policy being reportedly in place, videos shared on social media showed Backstreet Boys performing their 1997 hit Everybody (Backstreet's Back) on the cruise liner.
Pop star Rihanna performed at the first pre-wedding bash in Jamnagar, Gujarat, in March. The three-day event was attended by world leaders as well as top businessmen including Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.
Featuring choreographed Bollywood-style stage productions, massive fireworks and multiple themed parties, the pre-wedding event alone is rumoured to have cost more than 12 billion rupees ($144 million), according to India's Financial Express.
Celebrated Indian fashion designer Manish Malhotra, creative director for the event, told The National it was something he'd cherish all his life. “Looking back, we were all like: 'Oh my god, it went so well.'” It was such a memorable experience,” he said.
Malhotra also helped put together the wedding of Anant's sister, Isha Ambani, in 2018. Spread across Udaipur in India, Lake Como in Italy and then at the Ambani home in Mumbai, the wedding was rumoured to have cost more than 7 billion rupees. Beyonce performed a 45-minute show in Udaipur, which also featured a number of costume changes.
Then considered one of the most expensive Indian weddings of all time, Anant and Radhika's wedding celebrations have already dwarfed that even before the main wedding takes place in July.
