Kim Kardashian made the bold decision to wear a white bridal ensemble as she kicked off one of the most lavish weddings in the history of the world on Friday.
After weeks of ceremony and anticipation, Anant Ambani, the son of India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, is set to marry Radhika Merchant, the daughter of a wealthy pharmaceutical tycoon, in a traditional Hindu ceremony in Mumbai this afternoon.
Taking to Instagram, Kim shared a glamorous look from her first wedding, which consisted of a white off-the-shoulder top and 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, and both stars also sported bindis on their foreheads ahead of the Hindu wedding.
The lavish nuptials will last three days and are estimated to have cost a staggering £100m. The guest list includes the likes of Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg; Ivanka Trump; Bill Gates; David and Victoria Beckham and other industry titans, Bollywood stars, pop stars and leading politicians.
Kim Kardashian made the bold decision to don a white bridal ensemble as she and Khloe joined a star-studded guest list at India’s most lavish wedding ever on Friday.
The two sisters took to Instagram to share a glimpse of their first outfits for the three-day nuptials, hours after arriving in Mumbai for the lavish ceremony.
Billionaire Anant Ambani, 29, is set to marry his girlfriend Radhika Merchant in three days of nuptials starting on Friday – with a source describing the £250m nuptials as “the best of the best”
Justin Bieber performed at a pre-wedding party for invited guests known as ‘Sangeet’ and was paid £7million, while sources say Adele, Drake or Lana Del Rey will provide entertainment at a reception on Sunday night.
This weekend’s glitzy events are the culmination of festivities spanning the past four months that have reportedly cost a total of £250m.
But, surprisingly, Ambani could be shelling out almost double that amount for his youngest son’s wedding, once the lavish gifts showered on Anant and Radhika are factored in along with the millions more spent entertaining some of the world’s most prominent celebrities.
Ambani, 67, who is listed by Forbes as the world’s ninth richest man with a fortune of £100bn, has already gifted the couple a luxurious £62m villa on Dubai’s Palm Jumeriah, which spreads over 3,000 sq ft, has ten bedrooms and comes with its own private beach.
The couple also received a Bentley Continental GTC Speed worth 500,000 pounds and a dazzling array of bespoke jewellery and clothing worth millions of pounds.
Ambani’s glamorous wife Nita, 60, gifted her daughter-in-law a stunning pearl and diamond choker, worth around £10m, which is just one of dozens of multi-million pound pieces custom-made for her. Anant received a Cartier brooch worth £2m.
The Ambanis have also reportedly booked 100 private jets to ferry their illustrious guests from across the world to India for the festivities and all five-star hotels in Mumbai are booked for their stay, which is being paid for by the family.
Experts 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 in the region of a staggering £500m.
Taking to Instagram, Kim shared a glamorous look from her first wedding, which consisted of a white off-the-shoulder top and matching skirt.
Khloe then shared a fun video of her and Kim traveling to the lavish ceremony, which officially kicks off the three-day wedding celebrations.
This comes just hours after Kim and Khloe were photographed arriving in Mumbai for the wedding, with the reality star going braless and wearing a low-cut dress.
A source close to the couple told MailOnline: “The figures are truly staggering and hard to believe. But when it comes to this wedding, literally no expense has been spared.
‘It’s been in the planning for over a year and hundreds of people have been working on it because the Ambanis want it to be a wedding the world will never forget. They are not shy about showing off their wealth, especially when it comes to family events, and this is a ridiculously expensive wedding party that has been going on for many months.’
In March, during three days of pre-wedding festivities in the western Indian city of Jamnagar, Rihanna performed for guests. She was paid £5m for a 90-minute performance.
And in preparation for this week’s celebrations, Ambani chartered a luxury cruise ship called the Celebrity Ascent for 800 guests who embarked on a four-day cruise around the Mediterranean and enjoyed private performances by stars including Katie Perry, Pitbull and the Backstreet Boys.
All the stunning outfits worn by the bride and members of both families were designed by Manish Malhotra, India’s leading designer, who is also the creative director of the wedding.
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 wedding ceremony begins at 3 pm Indian time with a ‘baraat’, which is a procession consisting of the groom and his friends and family who will dance accompanied by live musicians.
They will head to Mumbai’s Jio World Convention Centre, a sprawling 16,000-seat cultural and business center built by the Ambani family and where the three-day festivities will take place.
The city’s 16,000-seat Jio World Convention Centre, owned by the groom’s father, will be the main venue for the Hindu wedding ceremony on July 12.
The wedding ceremony will be conducted by Hindu priests who will chant ancient Sanskrit verses and the couple will walk around a sacred fire. They will also take seven vows to solemnize their marriage.
An estimated 5,000 people will attend and all roads around the venue will be closed to non-wedding traffic.
Office workers in Mumbai have been ordered to work from home for the next three days due to the large number of VIP convoys plying across the city.
On Saturday, a traditional “divine blessing ceremony” known as “Shubh Aashirwad” will be held at the same venue which will also host a glittering reception on Sunday.
The dates for the ceremonies were chosen by a Hindu priest based on the auspicious days in the birth charts of Anant and Radhika. Both are 29 years old.
Around 100 chefs will prepare a variety of Indian and European delicacies for the guests, who will be instructed on what to wear to match the wedding theme.
The dress code for the wedding ceremony on Friday is ‘traditional Indian attire’, ‘Indian formal’ for the following Saturday and ‘Indian smart’ for the reception the following day.
The invitations were sent out last month in an ornate red box containing a silver model temple, gifts and a handmade pashmina shawl. Each invitation is estimated to have cost around £7,000.
Guests attending this weekend’s events will also receive gift boxes containing a variety of opulent items.
During the pre-wedding celebrations in March, guests were treated to Louis Vuitton handbags, specially designed canvas totes, gold necklaces, high-end footwear, luxury sleepwear and handmade scented candles.
In the days leading up to the wedding, other events were held at Antilla, the Ambanis’ 27-storey family home in Mumbai, which cost 800 million pounds to build.
The luxury property features a health club with a gym and dance studio, a ballroom, at least one swimming pool and a 50-seat cinema, as well as three helipads and parking for 168 vehicles. It employs 600 people and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest and most expensive private residence.
This is where Anant and Radhika will live, following the Indian tradition of couples staying with the groom’s family after their marriage.
Radhika is the daughter of Indian pharmaceutical tycoon Viren Merchant and works for his company while Anant is an employee of her father.
Both studied at universities in the United States and met through mutual friends in 2017 and began dating shortly after.
Mr. Ambani has two other sons and is chairman of Reliance Industries, India’s largest company by market capitalization, with extensive interests in energy, telecommunications and entertainment.
In 2018, he organised the most expensive wedding India had ever seen for his daughter, Isha, at an estimated cost of £80m.
Beyoncé performed and guests attended receptions in Lake Como, Italy, as well as in Mumbai and Rajasthan.