Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant marry in ‘wedding of the year’

The long-awaited nuptials of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant have finally occurred, in a lavish, star-studded ceremony.

Power couple Radhika Merchant and Anant Ambani married on Friday local time in front of friends, family and a flock of celebrities.

Kim Kardashian, Priyanka Chopra, Tony Blair and more A-listers travelled to India to witness the long-awaited, multi-day nuptials of Merchant and Ambani, who is the son of Asia’s richest man, Page Six reports.

The couple, who got engaged in December 2023, have been celebrating for months in the lead up to what has been widely dubbed the “wedding of the year”, starting with a pre-wedding party in March attended by 1200 guests, including Ivanka Trump and Mark Zuckerberg.

Merchant’s stylist, Rhea Kapoor, shared a first look of her bridal attire on Instagram, describing her intricately-embellished Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla-designed lehenga as “a fairytale come to life”.

“Radhika’s ensemble is Abu Sandeep’s intricate interpretation of ‘Panetar’ – the Gujarati tradition of brides wearing white and red,” Kapoor captioned several stunning shots of the beaming bride – whose parents, Viren and Shaila Merchant, are the founders of pharmaceutical company Encore Healthcare.

“The ivory Zardozi cutwork ensemble consists of a trailing ghagra (skirt) layered with a second detachable trail, a 5-meter head veil and a tissue shoulder dupatta (shawl-like scarf).”

Stones and sequins adorn the look from top to bottom, while the “fully embroidered” dupatta “uplifts the silhouette with its maximal drama”.

The groom posed with his parents, Mukesh and Nita Ambani, on the wedding’s red carpet. Picture: Punit Paranjpe/AFP

The 29-year-old accessorised with “the family jewels her nani, mom (sic) and sister wore to their weddings”, per Kapoor, including a spectacular necklace set with sparkling diamonds and oversized emeralds.

The childhood sweethearts pose for a picture during their sangeet ceremony in Mumbai on July 5. Picture: Sujit Jaiswal/AFP

Fittingly, Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla also designed the entire Ambani family’s looks for their arrival at the wedding venue, Mumbai’s Jio World Centre, including the groom’s dazzling sherwani and his mother Nita’s peach silk ghagra and matching dupatta.

Ambani, also 29, is the son of Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, and Asia’s wealthiest man.

Kim Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian ahead of the ceremony. Picture: Instagram

Britain's Former Prime Minister Tony Blair with his wife Cherie Blair. Picture: Punit Paranjpe/AFP

Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas. Picture: Sujit Jaiswal/AFP

Celebrities in attendance at the wedding ceremony – which kicks off three days of extravagant festivities estimated to have cost $US600 million ($887 million) – included Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and John Cena, all dressed in traditional Indian attire.

Justin Bieber was paid a reported $US10 million ($14.7 million) to perform at a pre-wedding event last week, following Rihanna’s concert at the couple’s equally star-studded pre-wedding bash in March.

The spring festivities welcomed famous guests such as Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Ivanka Trump, who attended with husband Jared Kushner and their daughter, Arabella.

And while months of wedding celebrations might seem over the top, the groom’s father is worth more than $US120 billion ($177 billion) – so he can certainly afford it.

This article originally appeared on Page Six and was reproduced with permission