How to have a glamorous Ambani-like wedding without spending millions
MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA – 2024/07/05: Anant Ambani (son of Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani) and his fiancée Radhika Merchant seen on the red carpet during the sangeet ceremony at Jio World Centre in Mumbai. (Photo by Ashish Vaishnav/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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The lavish wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant is the talk of the moment, set to take place this weekend after months of spectacular celebrations preceding the event.
Ambani is the youngest son of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries. The total cost of the wedding is estimated to be between 11 billion to 13 billion rupees ($132 million to $156 million), according to the BBC, although the families involved have not revealed any figures.
Extravagances include a three-day star-studded pre-wedding event in March in the family’s hometown of Jamnagar in the Indian state of Gujarat, with 1,200 guests in attendance including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.
This was followed by a luxury cruise across the Mediterranean and yet more celebrations in July ahead of the big day.
Karishma Manwani, a luxury wedding planner in London who works with wealthy families, told CNBC Make It that her clients typically spend between £200,000 and £1 million ($258,620 and $1.29 million) on wedding celebrations.
Meanwhile, Priya Suglani, the founder of events and wedding planning company Pristine Events, said to CNBC Make It that her clientele tends to spend between £40,000 to £130,000.
But a beautiful wedding doesn’t need to be expensive and there are ways to put on a spectacular show with a much smaller budget, according to Manwani and Suglani.
They shared six tips on how to host a luxurious wedding without spending the earth.
Pick 5 non-negotiables
Suglani suggests opting for “quality over quantity,” which means prioritizing what you want to spend the most money on if you’re on a restricted budget.
“I always say to couples, pick your five non-negotiables, so pick your five things that mean the most to you at weddings,” Suglani said.
This means thinking about the things you’ve most appreciated at weddings in the past, such as food, drinks, music, or entertainment.
“Spend most of your money on that, so you can still get a really good personalized wedding and the stuff that you have booked is really good quality,” she said.
“It’s better to do a wedding like that, rather than trying to fit everything in, and you’ve just gone for the cheapest option for all of them, and then it just feels a bit flat.”
Refine the guestlist
It’s tempting to invite everyone you know to a wedding, but refining the guest list will trim costs and allow you to spend more on other areas.
“Try and have people that you really want there and people that you’re going to miss if you don’t see them on the dance floor that night,” Manwani…
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