After Priyanka Chopra (now Chopra Jonas per Instagram) and Nick Jonas's wedding in Mumbai, Jodhpur, and Delhi, we didn't think 2018 would have anymore star-studded, over-the-top, jaw-dropping, swoon-worthy weddings left for us to obsess over–until Isha Ambani's wedding celebrations began late last week.
The daughter of India's wealthiest man, Mukesh Ambani, char of Reliance Industries and worth approximately $47 billion according to Forbes, has begun celebrations for her wedding to businessman Anand Piramal. According to CNN, Udaipur and its surrounding areas saw a four-fold increase in flight traffic on Saturday, as chartered jets arrived at the airport to transport the couple's invited guests to their celebrations. One sign you know a wedding will be unforgettable? When the couple offers to fly you to the event via private jet.
To start, guests were treated to a private Beyoncé concert–that's right, a private Beyoncé concert. Has your jaw dropped yet? Beyoncé wasn't even the sole performer; Bollywood superstars, including Aishwarya Rai, performed well-known songs and straight-from-the-movies dances at the couple's Sangeet.
CNN reports that the couple's ceremony will take place on Wednesday at the Ambani family residence, but the pre-wedding celebrations began at Udaipur's City Palace overlooking Lake Pichola this past weekend, welcoming a star-studded, internationally acclaimed guest list–like the Clintons, Ariana Huffington, and newlyweds Priyanka and Nick, who stayed in India after their own nuptials to attend Isha and Anand's celebrations.
While the Chopra-Jonas wedding maintained all the traditional celebrations of a Hindu wedding–from the Mehendi (the bridal henna ceremony) to the Sangeet (the night of music and dancing), traditional Hindu and Christian wedding ceremonies and receptions, and more–the couple seemed to use their welcome gifts and paper suite to inform guests when and where their ceremonies would take place–as one does.
The Ambanis, however, had an app built. Yes, an app. Guests have been instructed to consult it if and when they have any questions regarding the week of events, their locations, or their dress code–like where to be and what to wear to the couple's Sangeet full of Bollywood and Beyoncé performances at the Oberoi Udaivillas this past Sunday night. The real question still plaguing us: what does one wear to an intimate Beyoncé performance? Our guess is Couture, considering that Queen Bey seemed to have looks created exclusively for the wedding, and went brunette to complement them. We're pretty sure that Beyoncé dying her hair for any event marks the day as an international holiday.
Per CNN, with last week's absolutely stunning series of events hosted by Priyanka and Nick considered, the Ambani-Piramal wedding has been dubbed locally (and lovingly) as the "big, fat Indian wedding," and "the latest high-profile ceremony in this year's winter wedding season, which usually runs from November to February (a period considered, in Hindu astrology, to be the most auspicious time to wed)." While the wedding is nowhere near over yet, the guest list, superstar appearances, fashion, and lavish nature of the occasion are sure to shock and delight their guests–even those who attended Priyanka and Nick's festivities just one week ago in Jodhpur.
Carrie Goldberg is HarpersBAZAAR.com’s Weddings & Travel Director. She oversees the site’s BAZAAR Bride channel, travel & dining content, and styles fashion and bridal editorials for BAZAAR.com. When she’s not traveling, she spends her free time in her hometown–New York City–where there is no shortage of new places to shop, eat, drink, see and explore.
