In a country where almost half the population lies below the poverty line, it is a matter of shame how many indulge in the expensive weddings that could have easily fed millions of people.
While many may argue that it is their money and they can spend it as they want, but we wonder as a human race can we do better? Here’s the list of some of the most expensive Indian weddings.
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1. Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal: ₹700 crore (Year: 2018)
The whole world took notice when the daughter of India’s richest business tycoon married a business scion. The wedding venue was spread across 3 places (Udaipur, Lake Como in Italy, and Mumbai), and the guest list included Hillary Clinton, entire Bollywood, and amazing performances included a performance by Beyonce!
2. Sushanto Roy and Seemanto Roy’s double wedding: ₹554 crore (Year: 2004)
From marrying 101 underprivileged girls, to flying his guests on private jets, the notorious chairman of Sahara India Pariwar, Subrata Roy, hosted one hell of a double wedding in 2004 for his sons, Sushanto and Seemanto. The wedding included serving over 100 cuisines to his 11,000 guests. Subrata Roy made sure that the world remembers this double wedding for decades to come!
3. Brahmani and Rajeev Reddy: ₹550 crore (Year: 2016)
The wedding of only daughter of the mining baron Janardhan Reddy in the middle of demonetization took many by surprise. He literally spared no expense and the whole world took notice. From the wedding invitation card including an LCD screen, to the bride wearing Kanjeevaram saree worth ₹17 crores and jewellery worth ₹90 crore, the wedding was an extravagant affair. The wedding served over 50,000 guests, with the wedding venue designed to resemble the ruins of Hampi.
4. Shristi Mittal and Gulraj Behl: ₹500 crore (Year: 2013)
The niece of steel tycoon Laxmi Mittal, Shristi Mittal, literally had a ‘big, fat, Indian wedding’ with the investment banker Gulraj Behl in a three-day extravagant affair in Barcelona. Almost 500 guests attended the wedding festivities, after signing a confidentiality agreement. Michelin-star chef Sergi Arola prepared the culinary spread and the couple cut a 60-kg, six-storey-cake.
5. Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia: Over ₹200 crore (Year: 2004)
In 2004, the marriage of steel tycoon Laxmi Mittal’s daughter Vanisha Mittal left many shocked as the it costed whooping 200 crores. Vanisha married Amit Bhatia in a three-day affair that took place in France. This marriage set the record of the most expensive wedding of the year. The celebrations included a private performance by Kylie Minogue, a fireworks display at the Eiffel Tower gardens, and the whole Bollywood on the guest list. The wedding took place at Vaux-le-Vicomte, a historic 17th-century castle.
6. Lalit Tanwar and Yogita Jaunapuria: ₹250 crore (Year: 2011)
Do you know the groom was gifted a helicopter? And, every guest was gifted a safari suit, a shawl, ₹2,100 in cash and silver coin. The marriage of Lalit Tanwar and Yogita Jaunapuria also saw a performance by Neha Dhupia!
7. Sonam Vaswani and Navin Fabiani: ₹210 crore (Year: 2017)
The perfect lesson in what happens when billionaires get married, Vaswani-Fabiani wedding left many amazed across the world. The #SoNavSoFab wedding took place in Vienna, Austria and singer Bruno Mars performed at the wedding festivities.
Remembered as one of the move lavish marriage of the year, the welcome party for the guests was held at Vienna’s Palais Ferstel, the mehendi took place at the city’s Palais Liechtenstein Park and included a performance by Sukhbir, and the wedding happened at the Belvedere Palace.
8. Adel Sajan and Sana Khan: ₹200 crore (Year: 2017)
Inspired by the movie ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’, Adel Sajan and Sana Khan hosted a cruise wedding at the Concordia-Class Costa Fascinosa cruise ship that sailed from Barcelona in Spain to Marseilles and Cannes in France, ultimately ending in Savona, Italy. The sangeet performance included a jugalbandi between Badshah and Vishal and Shekhar, and reception included speeches from Gauhar Khan and Sushmita Sen!
9. Vineeta Agarwal and Muqit Teja: ₹130 crore (Year: 2011)
Daughter of billionaire Pramod Agarwal, Vineeta married Muqit Taneja at the San Clemente Palace in Venice, in a private ceremony with 800 guests. The wedding festivities included a performance by Shakira.
10. Shloka Mehta & Akash Ambani wedding: Unknown Crore (Year: 2019)
For the Shloka Mehta & Akash Ambani wedding, the total expense is still unknown. But there is no doubt that the expense of this wedding must have topped every other wedding on the list. With the pre-wedding festivities in Switzerland to a possible performance by Maroon 5 to the entire Bollywood in attendance, this wedding was taken notice by the whole world.
All figures are in approximations and not adjusted for inflation.