The Ambani wedding culminated in a three-day extravaganza with celebrity guests that brought Mumbai to a halt. A guest says going felt like a "dream."
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Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's wedding festivities culminated in an ultra-lavish display in Mumbai over the weekend, with thousands of guests and more than a few famous faces in attendance.
Among those to snag an invite was a friend of Merchant's, who spoke to Business Insider on the condition of anonymity per the bride's values of privacy and discretion.
The friend, whose identity is known to BI, is no stranger to Indian weddings, but the celebration the Ambanis threw for the newlyweds was like nothing she'd seen before.
"I know I'm never going to experience something like this again," she said, describing the whole weekend as "a dream."
Now recovering from the three-day extravaganza, which the BBC estimates may have cost upwards of $156 million, she reflects on what she witnessed. Take a look.
One week before the wedding, on July 5, the Ambani inner circle gathered for the sangeet.
The sangeet is one of a handful of pre-wedding traditions in Indian culture. Unlike the main wedding festivities over the weekend, this event was "just for close family and friends," she said.
The sangeet took place at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai. Even though it was star-studded, the friend said it felt personal to the couple.
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Per Indian wedding tradition, a sangeet typically takes place a few days before the actual wedding and involves family members dancing, singing, and sharing a meal.
"Her friends and family performed, his did too," the friend said. It was basically "one big dance party" that felt "very intimate," she added — though the Ambanis did take it up a notch by treating their guests to a private performance from Justin Bieber.
Even the three-day wedding, while lavish, didn't feel overwhelming, the friend said.
"Their venues are so large that you don't feel overwhelmed," she said. "You're also sticking out with your own gang," she added.
Throughout the wedding, which kicked off on July 12 and ended on July 14, the friend said she could tell the bride, groom, and their respective relatives are family-oriented. "You'll always see the family together," she said. "They're never apart."
She could also tell they weren't fazed by the pressure of hosting thousands of people and a few world leaders and athletes.
"They were super calm," she said. "The way they handle themselves, it's all truly incredible."
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Merchant gave her new mother-in-law, Nita Ambani, all the credit for pulling off such a smoothly-run event that felt simultaneously personal and breathtaking. In an interview with Vogue, the bride dubbed her husband's mother "C.E.O. of the wedding."
For example, the Ambanis hired staff to help at every moment. When part of the friend's dress "came off," she was directed to the bathroom, where staff had the necessary tools and safety pins to fix it.
"They had everything there, and everyone was really helpful," she said.
Photographers captured the family, a host of Bollywood and Hollywood celebrities, and notable political figures arriving at the venue. It wasn't just one red carpet, though — the friend said there were different entrances for different guests.
"I wish I was there," she joked. "For the celebs, they had a private entry."
Inside, the venue was laden with floral arrangements shaped like animals. Designed by wedding planner Preston Bailey, the flowers were a colorful nod to the 3,000-acre animal shelter Anant launched earlier this year.
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Following their red carpet entries, most celebrities mixed and mingled with regular guests, she said.
"At the end of the day, everyone's a guest," she said, adding that some of the Hollywood and Bollywood were also meeting for the first time. "They were obviously socializing among themselves and with the other Bollywood celebrities," she said.
Food was served throughout the night in every room of the venue. The dishes laid out were from high-end restaurants from all corners of the world and served buffet-style. Everyone — including world leaders and celebrities — indulged in the spread and naturally made connections and met people as they went.
One guest who skipped the buffets was Kim Kardashian; she was escorted by her security throughout the evening, the friend said.
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"I'm sure she had a private dinner set for her," she said. Nevertheless, Kardashian was very much present at the main wedding and throughout the pooja, a religious ceremony, on Saturday.
At the pooja, "they had the best singers of India do the aarti, the prayers," the guest said. "That was amazing."
The friend said another jaw-dropping moment from Saturday was when India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, arrived.
"He gave them his blessing," she said, adding that the change in the "aura" of the room was palpable.
"To be in the same room as the Prime Minister was honestly something else," she said.
The main wedding took place at Mumbai's Jio World Convention Center on Friday. Ahead of the festivities, some roads were closed, and diversions were set up around the venue, causing tension among local residents, BI previously reported.
While there did end up being a lot of traffic on her way to the event, the friend, who lives locally, said she was "used to it.
"It's really Bombay in a nutshell," she said, referring to the city by its former name.
Nevertheless, the journey was worth it for the wedding festivities and performances, the friend said.
"It was a true party," she said, specifically referring to the baraat, which is the groom's procession to the wedding venue, which Anant did on horseback.
Later on in the evening, the friend said guests were treated to performances from an array of artists, including Luis Fonsi, who sang his crowd-pleaser 'Despacito.'
"It was insane," she reflected.
While some of the more traditional and alcohol-free events — like the pooja — ended early, the friend said the Ambanis hosted "after-parties" following the wedding and the reception for their friends and the younger crowd.
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"The bigger ones like the Sangeet, the wedding, the reception, ended late because all of us partied after," she said.
Although some guests, like John Cena, didn't stick around for the after-parties, the friend said at least a handful of famous faces did, including Zendaya's stylist, Law Roach.
