- Have YOU got a story? Email tips@dailymail.com
Kim Kardashian made the bold move of slipping into a bridal white ensemble as one of the world’s most lavish weddings in history kicked off on Friday.
After weeks of ceremonies and anticipation, Anant Ambani, the son of India‘s richest man, Mukesh Ambani ties the knot with Radhika Merchant, the daughter of a wealthy pharmaceutical mogul, in a traditional Hindu ceremony in Mumbai later this afternoon.
Taking to Instagram, Kim shared a glamorous of her first wedding look, which consisted of a white off-the-shoulder crop top and a matching skirt as she and Khloe boarded a rickshaw to head to the ceremony.
Khloe also showed off her incredible figure in a sexy nude dress, with both stars also sporting bindis on their foreheads ahead of the Hindu wedding.
The ostentatious nuptials will last three days and are estimated to have cost a staggering £100 million with the guest list including the likes of Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg; Ivanka Trump; Bill Gates; David and Victoria Beckham and other industry titans, Bollywood stars, pop stars and leading politicians.
Justin Bieber performed at a pre-wedding party for guests known as a ‘Sangeet’ and was paid a reported £7 million while according to sources, Adele, Drake or Lana Del Rey will provide the entertainment at a reception on Sunday evening.
This weekend’s dazzling events are the culmination of festivities spanning the past four months that are reported to have cost a combined £250 million.
But astonishingly, Ambani could be shelling out almost double that amount for his youngest son’s wedding once the sumptuous gifts bestowed upon Anant and Radhika are taken into account along with the millions more being spent on hosting some of the world’s A listers.
Ambani, 67, who is listed by Forbes as the world’s ninth richest man and worth £100 billion has already gifted the couple a £62 million luxurious villa on Palm Jumeriah in Dubai which spans 3,000 square feet, has ten bedrooms, and comes with its own private beach.
The couple have also been given a £500,000 Bentley Continental GTC Speed and a dazzling array of custom-made jewellery and clothes worth millions of pounds.
Ambani’s glamorous wife Nita, 60, gifted her daughter-in-law a stunning pearl and diamond choker, worth an estimated £10 million which is just one of dozens of bespoke multi-million-pound pieces made for her. Anant was given a £2 million Cartier brooch.
The Ambanis have also reportedly booked 100 private jets to fly their illustrious guests from around the world to India for the festivities and all five-star hotels in Mumbai have been booked out for their stay, which is being paid for by the family.
Insiders have estimated that once all aspects of the wedding are taken into account, from travel arrangements to hotels, gifts, clothing, food and entertainment the final cost could be close to a stunning £500 million.
One insider told MailOnline: ‘The figures are truly astonishing and hard to believe. But when it comes to this wedding, literally no expense has been spared.
‘It has been in the planning for more than a year and hundreds of people have been working on it because the Ambanis want this to be a wedding the world will never forget. They are not shy to show off their wealth, especially when it comes to family occasions, and this is a ridiculously expensive wedding party that has lasted many months.’
In March, three days of pre-wedding festivities in the western Indian town of Jamnagar saw Rihanna perform for guests. She was paid £5 million for a 90-minute appearance.
And in preparation for this week’s celebrations Ambani hired a luxury cruise liner called Celebrity Ascent for 800 guests who embarked on a four-day Mediterranean cruise and enjoyed private performances from stars like Katie Perry, Pitbull, and the Backstreet Boys.
All the stunning costumes for the bride and members of both families have been designed by Manish Malhotra, India’s leading designer who is also the wedding’s creative director.
He has been working closely with Mrs Ambani who is one of the country’s leading philanthropists and has been the driving force behind the look and feel of the occasion.
The traditional marriage ceremony gets underway at 3pm India time with a ‘baraat’ which is a procession made up of the groom and his friends and family who will be dancing while accompanied by live musicians.
They will make their way to Mumbai’s Jio World Convention Centre, a sprawling cultural and business hub with a capacity for 16,000 people which was built by the Ambani family and where all three days of festivities will take place.
The wedding ceremony will be conducted by Hindu priests chanting ancient Sanskrit verses and the couple will walk around a sacred fire. They will also take seven vows to solemnise their marriage.
An estimated 5,000 people are expected to attend with all roads around the venue closed to non-wedding traffic.
Click here to resize this module
Office workers in Mumbai have been instructed to work from home for the next three days because of the large number of VIP convoys that will be driving around the city.
On Saturday, a traditional ‘divine blessings ceremony’ known as ‘The Shubh Aashirwad’ will take place at the same venue which will also host a glitzy reception on Sunday.
The dates for the ceremonies were chosen by a Hindu priest according to auspicious days on Anant and Radhika’s birth charts. They are both aged 29.
Around 100 chefs will prepare a range of Indian and European delicacies for guests who have all been given instructions on what to wear to keep in line with the theme of the wedding.
The dress code for Friday’s marriage ceremony is ‘traditional Indian attire,’ with ‘Indian formal’ for next Saturday and ‘Indian chic’ for the following day’s reception.
Invitations were sent out last month in an ornate red box containing a model silver temple, gifts and a handcrafted pashmina shawl. Each invitation is estimated to have cost around £7,000.
Guests attending this weekend’s events will also be given gift boxes containing a range of opulent items.
During the pre-wedding celebrations in March, guests received Louis Vuitton bags, specially designed duffle bags, gold necklaces, high-end footwear, luxurious nightwear, and handcrafted scented candles.
In the days leading up to the wedding, a number of other events have been held at Antilla, the Ambani’s 27 storey family home in Mumbai which cost £800 million to build.
The luxurious property features a health club with a gym and dance studio, a ballroom, at least one swimming pool and a 50-seater cinema plus three helipads and parking for 168 cars. It employs 600 staff and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest and costliest private residence.
This is where Anant and Radhika will live, keeping in line with Indian tradition for couples to remain with the groom’s family after their marriage.
Radhika is the daughter of Indian pharmaceuticals tycoon Viren Merchant and works for his company while Anant is employed by his father.
Both studied at universities in the US and met through mutual friends in 2017 and began dating soon after.
Mr Ambani has two other children and is chairman of Reliance Industries, India’s biggest company by market capitalisation with extensive interests in energy, telecommunications and entertainment.
In 2018 he threw his daughter, Isha, the most expensive wedding India had ever seen at the time which cost a reported £80 million.
Beyonce performed and guests attended receptions in Italy’s Lake Como, as well as Mumbai and Rajasthan.