Elephants, flamenco dancers, castles and private shows by filmstars: 6 super expensive Indian weddings straight out of Bollywood
It is one thing to own an empire and be known for your wealth, but it’s quite another to actually give an insecurity complex to the rich and famous by hosting a wedding so lavish that it will be discussed for years to come.These celebrity weddings had film stars and international singing icons as guests and entertainers. The groom rode to his wedding on an elephant and the guests were given cash and gifts.Here are India’s most lavish weddings that make Hindi films pale in comparison.
Five months ago, an Indian couple, Pankaj and Avnie Malani, got married in Las Vegas in a wedding that was so lavish that it would put ’Hum Aapke Hain Koun’ to shame. The epic destination Indian wedding in Las Vegas saw an entourage of 500 family and friends fly out in the groom’s charter Boeing plane. The pre-wedding Sangeet was held at the rooftop of the Cosmopolitan Hotel and the groom led his ’baraat’ on an elephant to Bellagio, accompanied by mobile DJs. The wedding, that brought the Vegas Strip to a halt, was even trending on Twitter. Their reception was a ’Great Gatsby’ themed extravaganza. The families are said to have spent millions of dollars to pull off a spectacle of an Indian wedding in Vegas.Hotelier Vikram Chatwal and model Priya Sachdev put 20 million dollars in their February 2006 wedding. The guests were transported on private jets to three wedding destinations in Mumbai, Udaipur and Delhi. An impressive list of 600 guests included Lakshmi Mittal, P Diddy and Prince Nikolaos of Greece and many Indian film stars. The couple separated in 2011.Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal’s daughter Vanisha got married to her banker fiancé Amit Bhatia in wedding that Forbes estimated to have cost around $60 million. A report in the Forbes magazine stated that the family flew 1,000 guests from all over the world by private jet to France, where the festivities lasted six days. The engagement ceremony was held at the Palace of Versailles, followed by a dinner at the Jardin des Tuileries. The chefs – India’s finest – were flown in especially for the wedding. Pop star Kylie Minogue performed at the wedding.Sahara chief Subrata Roy’s sons Sushanto and Seemanto got married in 2004 in ceremonies that brought Lucknow to a halt. From hot air balloons to flamenco dancers, the wedding saw over 10000 guests being entertained by the industry’s best in a show of opulence that even stunned the rich. The wedding was attended by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and politicians Laloo Prasad Yadav, the Kapoors from Bollywood and director Ram Gopal Varma among others. Designers Rohit Bal and Sabyasachi designed the outfits for the family.Congress Minister Kanwar Singh Tanwar got his son Lalit married in 2011 in Delhi in a wedding reception that according to reports saw the groom receive a Bell 429 helicopter as a gift from his in-laws. The MP and businessman entertained 15,000 guests.Socialite Kajal Fabiani married luxury purveyor Gaurav Assomull in a fairy-tale wedding in Monaco that is said to have cost Rs 44 crore.
Kajal Fabiani and Gaurav Assomull were the most searched key words on WeddingSutra in March 2011. Everyone wanted to know Read more
