QR codes, colour-coded wristbands, and standby medical teams ensured a secure Ambani wedding
Anant, the son of business mogul Mukesh Ambani, had a wedding with colour-coded wristbands, QR code entrances, high-profile attendees, and ample medical preparation.
PTC News Desk: A medical response preparedness reserved for heads of state, colour-coded paper wristbands for access to different zones, and entry based on a QR code messaged on personal mobile phones helped Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, marry his youngest son Anant to pharmaceutical heiress Radhika Merchant in the most lavish wedding of the year.
Global superstars, business moguls, cricket players, movie stars, and politicians of all shades attended the wedding on Friday at the Ambani family's Jio World Centre in Mumbai's BKC, as well as the "blessing ceremony" (also known as "Shubh Ashirwad") for friends and family on Saturday.
An additional reception called 'Mangal Utsav' was scheduled for this Sunday at the same location, to which a wide spectrum of visitors were invited, including business associates and employees.
To bless the newlyweds, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopped at the location on Saturday.
For the wedding and festivities, three separate invitations were sent out. The most esteemed guests received a big red box that was filled with an elaborate chest that included a miniature silver temple with gold idols of several Hindu deities, such as Lord Ganesh, Radha-Krishna, and Goddess Durga.
Each wedding function was represented by a separate card in the invitation, one of which was made of silver and resembled the main gate of an old temple. It contained a number of mementos, including a blue shawl, a silver box containing additional gifts, and an embroidered cloth bearing the initials 'AR' for Anant and Radhika.
The most basic invitation came in a laptop-sized box with three gods' silver sculptures and the invitation. The visitors were requested to use a Google Form or email to confirm their attendance.
"We have received your RSVP and we look forward to welcoming you... the QR codes will be shared 6 hours prior to the event," was the message sent to those who had confirmed their attendance.
The attendees were given access to distinct zones based on the color of the paper wristbands they wore, which they fastened on their wrists after receiving QR codes by email and text message on their phones.
A number of famous actors, cricket players, and business magnates, including Lee Jae-yong, the chairman of Samsung Electronics, a Korean electronics conglomerate, and his spouse, wore pink wristbands on their wedding day and red ones on Saturday.
Workers, guards, and wait staff all had wristbands of various colours.
The vast venue was guarded by ushers and a multi-layered security cover, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.
Extensive plans were developed for fire and other emergencies, and a sophisticated medical response apparatus was modeled after one meant for heads of state.
Physicians and paramedics were on hand, equipped with all the necessary emergency supplies, as part of the medical response readiness. Ambulances were equipped with well-marked routes that led to the closest hospitals, ready to handle any kind of medical emergency.
According to a source, "The Ambanis did not want to leave anything to chance."
According to a different source, there was a delay this time around between the sending of the QR Code and the event as, at the last Ambani wedding, some people had "sold" the access to others who weren't invited.
All of the gatherings had an Indian dress code, and guests from other countries also wore stylish traditional attire like bandhgalas and embroidered sherwanis. Nick Jonas wore a pink sherwani and white pants, while John Cena sported a powder-blue sherwani and white pants. For the occasion, Samsung's head also wore a sherwani.
The majority of attendees dressed differently for Friday's wedding ceremony and the "baraat," or bridal procession. All of the guests that were invited to the wedding were present on Saturday, along with a few other notable individuals.
Former British prime ministers Boris Johnson and Tony Blair, CEO of Saudi Aramco Amin H. Nasser, football player David Beckham, reality TV actress Kim Kardashian and her sister Khloe, Nigerian rapper Rema, and reality TV star Kim Kardashian are among the guests.
Business magnate Gautam Adani, accompanied by his son Karan and wife Preeti, arrived at the wedding holding the hand of his small granddaughter. With his family, Kumar Mangalam Birla also arrived.
Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Tiger Shroff, Varun Dhawan, and nearly all of the top Bollywood actors were in attendance, most of them with their families. Superstars Rajinikanth, Ram Charan, and Mahesh Babu led the entourage from the south.
There were also notable Indian cricketers in attendance, including as Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Sachin Tendulkar.
Notable absentees included Virat Kohli and T20 World Cup winning captain Rohit Sharma, who was in London for the Wimbledon semifinal.
Politicians including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple, and Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena (UBT) were present at the wedding.
Among those present were Karnataka deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar, Congressmen Kamal Nath and Sachin Pilot, and NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar.
Along with yoga master Ramdev, Shankaracharyas of Jyotirmath Swami Avimukteshwaranand and Dwarka Peeth Swami Sadananda Saraswati also attended the function.
Along with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his deputy Pawan Kalyan, FIFA President Gianni Infantino was also there.
On Friday and Saturday, the guests arrived in style, walking past throngs of photographers and videographers like it was the Met Gala.
Also Read: Anant Ambani wears golden sherwani with sneakers for wedding ceremony with Radhika Merchant
The bride, 29-year-old Radhika Merchant, is the marketing director of her husband's company, Encore Healthcare, and the daughter of pharmaceutical tycoon Viren and Shaila Merchant. The groom, 29-year-old Anant, oversees the renewable and green energy expansion for the oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd.
The family has been throwing extravagant parties since March, and this three-day wedding extravaganza is the last one. After the pair announced their engagement in January 2023, the Ambanis threw three opulent bachelorette parties.
The first event was a three-day pre-wedding celebration in March at the group's refinery township in Jamnagar, Gujarat. Among the 1,200 guests were tech billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, as well as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, while Rihanna gave an exclusive performance. Highlights of the celebration included a visit to Ambani's 'animal rescue centre', which houses exotic creatures, and magic performances by David Blaine.
Also Read: Nita Ambani brings Varanasi chaat vendors for Anant Ambani's wedding after sampling their delicacies
Starting in the Italian city of Palermo, the Ambanis embarked on a four-day Mediterranean cruise in May. The itinerary included performances by Backstreet Boys, Pitbull, and David Guetta on deck as well as a performance by Katy Perry at a masquerade event held at the Château de la Croix des Gardes in France. At a toga party at sea, DJ David Guetta performed. Tenor Andrea Bocelli serenaded the revelers in the town plaza as the cruise came to a conclusion in Portofino, Italy.
Justin Bieber gave a performance at the musical night, or "Sangeet," last week.
The Ambanis have not disclosed the total cost of Anant's wedding. However, the extravagant scope of the event included three Falcon-2000 planes being chartered to transport wedding guests, as well as invitation boxes priced at Rs 5–6 lakh each.
Anant Ambani gave his pals a limited edition Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar watch.
Rumor had it that Bieber had received $10 million (almost Rs 84 crore) while Rihanna had received $7 million for her performance.
Reliance did not respond to an email.
Nonetheless, some have criticised the lavishness of the wedding, calling it a "vulgar" show of wealth. The extravagance also sparked concerns about India's growing inequality.
"The ostentatiousness of the Ambani wedding is not the issue. On social media platform X, novelist Salil Tripathi remarked, "It's the exhibitionism."
Aaksh's pre-wedding bash in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Maroon 5's wedding in Mumbai were attended by Coldplay's Chris Martin a year later, while Beyoncé performed at daughter Isha Ambani's 2018 nuptials, which featured guests like Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. Mukesh and Nita had previously thrown extravagant weddings for their other children as well.
With some estimations reaching up to USD 100 million, Isha's 2018 wedding was described as the most costly wedding in India to date.
With a net worth of USD 119 billion, Mukesh Ambani, 67, is currently the 11th richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. Over the past twenty years, he has worked to turn Reliance Industries, which his father started in 1966 as a stodgy oil and petrochemicals giant, into a worldwide empire that includes luxury apparel, telecoms, retail, financial services, and cricket.
The youngest of his three children, Anant Ambani, is represented on the board of Reliance Industries.