Rihanna! Glass Palaces! Custom Versace! An Exclusive Look Inside Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s Lavish Pre-Wedding Weekend
As soon as a video leaked of Rihanna arriving in India went viral on X, it seemed like every news outlet—and person—in the world was talking about the “pre-wedding” weekend of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant. There was the guest list, for starters: Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Karlie Kloss all attended. Then the fashion: On the first night, Radhika wore a custom Versace gown similar to the one worn by Blake Lively for the 2022 Met Gala. Add in a performance by the “Diamonds” singer—and, well, you had an internet phenomenon.
Anant Ambani, who leads the energy vertical at his family’s company Reliance Industries, and Radhika, who serves as a marketing director at her family’s company, Encore Healthcare, were introduced by mutual friends during a leisurely drive in 2017. “That first meeting just sparked something special between us, and it wasn’t long before we started dating,” Radhika tells Vogue.
In 2023, Anant proposed to Radhika at the Shrinathji Temple in Nathdwara, Rajasthan, a holy Hindu site on the banks of the Banas River. Following their formal engagement ceremony, they held a dinner with their parents, grandparents, and siblings. It was just the first of many celebrations: When they returned to Antilla, the Ambani family home in Mumbai, extended family and friends were waiting for a surprise engagement party. “It was, unquestionably, the best night of my life,” Radhika says.
Nearly a year later, Radhika and Anant threw their now famous three-day pre-wedding weekend and hastakshar (a traditional Indian prenuptial event) at the Ambanis’ home in Jamnagar, Gujarat. “Choosing Jamnagar was our way of honoring our roots and the family’s legacy,” Radhika says. “It’s the place where Anant works and where we spend much of our time, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. It is also where Anant’s grandmother, Kokilaben, was born and truly where our heart is.” Within the 750-acre compound is a mango orchard as well as Vantara, Anant’s animal sanctuary. (Currently, the couple is working to open Vantara to the public. “Anant and I both believe that this is our karma bhoomi, or land of duty,” says Radhika.)
Their pre-wedding took three months to plan. Anant’s mother, Nita Mukesh Ambani, executed the affair with the Indian designer Manish Malhotra as the creative director. “Nita and Manish’s meticulous planning and execution round the clock brought the event to life,” Radhika says. “I cannot emphasize enough that no one else could have created something like this—both in scale and on such a tight time frame.” Anant’s sister Isha and sister-in-law Shloka also supported their mother and future sister-in-law. Meanwhile, Radhika asked Rhea Kapoor to serve as her head stylist.
On March 1, more than 1,500 guests arrived in Jamnagar as the festivities officially began. For the first night, Radhika wore a blush pink custom Versace dress, accented with bespoke jewelry by Parthiv Mehta of Kantilal Chhotalal. Anant, meanwhile, wore custom Dolce Gabbana.
The couple chose not to see any of the venues beforehand, as they wanted some elements of the pre-wedding to be a surprise. Little did they know Radhika’s mother-in-law and Malhotra had constructed a glass palace evoking the Palm House in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden—a favorite place of the bride’s when she was a college student in New York City—adorned in flowers from Jeff Leatham. A mini train transported the guests throughout. After dinner, 5,500 drones took to the sky to tell the story of Vantara, becoming India’s largest drone show ever in the process.
As the night grew later, Radhika changed into an Ashish dress just in time for Rihanna to take the stage. “I wanted to be fun, free, and young,” she says. “An Indian wedding is incomplete without a lot of dancing.”
The couple stayed out until 7 a.m. When finally heading to bed, they saw a rainbow. Radhika viewed it as a surreal moment within an already otherworldly weekend. “Rain in March is an anomaly in India, and yet, during those three days, we experienced weather unlike anything we’ve ever known,” she says. “It felt magical, as if I were living in a dream.”
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