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The most expensive wedding in the world didn’t happen in Las Vegas, Paris, or Venice. It happened in Mumbai, India, in December 2018. This wasn’t just a big party-it was a cultural spectacle, a display of wealth, tradition, and scale that still holds the record today. The wedding of Anant Ambani, son of India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, and Radhika Merchant, daughter of a billionaire textile magnate, cost an estimated $500 million. That’s more than the annual budget of some small countries.
Why Did This Wedding Cost So Much?
This wasn’t a simple two-day event. It stretched over six days, with multiple ceremonies following traditional Gujarati and Hindu customs. The guest list included heads of state, global CEOs, Hollywood stars, and Bollywood royalty-over 1,000 people stayed on-site for the entire event. The venue? A custom-built city inside the Ambani family’s private estate, Antilia. They constructed a 1,500-seat banquet hall, a 300-room guest village, a mini-golf course, a 24-hour medical center, and even a mini temple with gold-plated idols.
Every detail was custom-made. The invitations were hand-embroidered silk with real gold thread. The wedding attire? Anant wore a 25-karat gold-embroidered sherwani worth over $1 million. Radhika’s lehenga had over 50,000 hand-sewn pearls and Swarovski crystals. Her jewelry alone-designed by Indian luxury house Amrapali-was valued at $30 million.
Traditional Indian Wedding Elements That Skyrocketed the Cost
Indian weddings are already known for being lavish, but this one took tradition to another level. The haldi ceremony used 1,000 kilograms of turmeric paste. The mandap-the ceremonial canopy-was covered in 300 kilograms of fresh flowers, delivered daily from Holland and Kenya. The sangeet night featured a live orchestra of 150 musicians and dancers, including performers flown in from Rajasthan and Punjab.
Food was served in 12 different cuisines across seven kitchens. Chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants in London, Tokyo, and Paris were hired. There was a dedicated chocolate fountain station, a 24-hour tea bar with 50 varieties of tea, and a dessert table with 1,000 individual sweets made by master confectioners from Jaipur. Even the napkins were monogrammed with gold leaf.
Who Paid for It?
The Ambani family owns Reliance Industries, a conglomerate worth over $250 billion. For them, this wedding wasn’t a financial stretch-it was a statement. In Indian business culture, weddings are seen as investments in social capital. Hosting a wedding of this scale strengthens alliances, signals status, and cements family legacy. It’s not just about spending money-it’s about reinforcing power structures.
The Merchant family, Radhika’s side, also contributed significantly. They’re known for their textile empire and have deep roots in Gujarat’s merchant class. Their contribution included rare silk from Banaras, handwoven by 500 artisans over nine months. The wedding was a merger of two dynasties-not just in love, but in legacy.
How Does This Compare to Other Luxurious Weddings?
Other high-profile weddings come close, but none match this scale. The 2004 wedding of Princess Caroline of Monaco cost around $40 million. The 2018 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was estimated at $40 million too, mostly for security. Even the 2016 wedding of Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia in India reportedly cost $50 million. But none of these had a full-scale temporary city built from scratch, with private airports, custom-made vehicles, or a dedicated team of 3,000 staff.
What makes the Ambani-Merchant wedding unique is how it fused global luxury with hyper-local tradition. While Western celebrity weddings focus on minimalism or exclusivity, this wedding celebrated abundance. Every ritual-from the baraat procession on a golden elephant to the saptapadi (seven vows around the sacred fire)-was performed with extreme precision and opulence.
What Do Indians Think About This Wedding?
Opinions are split. Some see it as a celebration of Indian heritage and entrepreneurial success. Others call it an insult to the millions who struggle to afford even a modest wedding. In India, the average wedding costs between $5,000 and $20,000. For many families, that’s years of savings. Social media exploded with memes, debates, and even protests. Yet, in Gujarat and other parts of western India, the wedding was celebrated as a cultural triumph.
What’s rarely discussed is how this event influenced the wedding industry. After 2018, demand for luxury wedding planners in Mumbai, Delhi, and Hyderabad jumped by 40%. Designers started offering gold-thread embroidery packages priced at $50,000. Hotels began marketing “Ambani-style” wedding packages-complete with temporary guest villages and flower walls imported from Europe.
Will There Ever Be a More Expensive Wedding?
It’s possible. With India’s growing number of billionaires-over 170 as of 2025-and a culture that still views weddings as public performances of status, the next record could come from another industrial family. Maybe the Tata or Adani clan will outdo it. Or perhaps a diaspora family in Dubai or London will throw a wedding that blends Indian rituals with global extravagance.
But for now, the Ambani-Merchant wedding stands as the most expensive ever recorded. It’s not just about money. It’s about how tradition, power, and performance come together in one unforgettable moment. In India, a wedding isn’t just a ceremony-it’s a legacy.
What was the cost of Anant Ambani’s wedding?
The wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in December 2018 cost an estimated $500 million. This includes venue construction, guest accommodations, attire, jewelry, food, entertainment, and logistics across six days of ceremonies.
Why are Indian weddings so expensive?
Indian weddings are expensive because they involve multiple days of rituals, large guest lists, elaborate attire, custom decor, and traditional elements like gold jewelry, live music, and multi-course feasts. Families often spend years saving for the event, and in many communities, the wedding is seen as a public display of status and social connection.
Who paid for the Ambani wedding?
The Ambani family, led by Mukesh Ambani, covered the majority of the costs. The Merchant family also contributed significantly, especially in textiles, jewelry, and traditional ceremonial items. Both families are among India’s wealthiest, with combined net worths exceeding $100 billion.
How long did the Ambani wedding last?
The wedding celebrations lasted six days, including pre-wedding rituals like haldi, mehndi, and sangeet, followed by the main ceremony and post-wedding events. Guests stayed on-site in a custom-built guest village with over 300 rooms.
Was the Ambani wedding typical of Indian weddings?
No, it was extreme even by Indian standards. Most Indian weddings cost between $5,000 and $20,000. While large guest lists and gold jewelry are common, building a temporary city with private airports and global chefs is unprecedented. The Ambani wedding set a new benchmark for luxury, not a cultural norm.