Mumbai, Maharashtra, India – July 5, 2024: Anant Ambani (son of Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani) and his fiancée Radhika Merchant at Mumbai Jio On the red carpet at the sangeet ceremony held at the World Center. (Photo by Ashish Vaishnav/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Sopa Images | Light Rocket | Getty Images
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s lavish wedding is a hot topic right now and after months of lavish celebrations, it will take place this weekend.
Ambani is the youngest son of billionaire Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani. According to Indian media reports, the total cost of the wedding is estimated to be between 11 billion and 13 billion rupees ($132 million to $156 million). British Broadcasting Corporationalthough the families involved did not disclose any figures.
Luxurious events included a three-day star-studded pre-wedding event in March in the family’s hometown of Jamnagar in the Indian state of Gujarat, attended by 1,200 guests including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan.
This is followed by a luxury cruise across the Mediterranean and more festivities in July leading up to the big day.
Karishma ManwaniA luxury wedding planner in London who works with wealthy families told CNBC Make It that her clients typically spend between £200,000 and £1 million ($258,620 to $1.29 million) on wedding celebrations.
Meanwhile, Priya Suglani, founder of event and wedding planning company original activity” told CNBC Make It that her clients tend to spend between £40,000 and £130,000.
But Manwani and Sugrani say a beautiful wedding doesn’t have to be expensive, and there are ways to have a great wedding on a smaller budget.
They share six tips on how to host a luxurious wedding without wasting the planet’s resources.
Choose 5 Non-Negotiables
Sugrani recommends choosing “quality over quantity,” which means if you have a limited budget, prioritize the things you want to spend the most money on.
“I always say to couples, pick five non-negotiables, so pick the five things that are most important to you at your wedding,” Sukrani said.
This means thinking about the things you appreciated most about past weddings, such as the food, drinks, music, or entertainment.
“Spend most of your money on this so you can still get a really nice personalized wedding and the quality of what you book is really good,” she said.
“It’s better to have a wedding like this rather than trying to fit everything in and you just choose the cheapest option for everyone and then it feels a bit bland.”
Complete guest list
It’s tempting to invite everyone you know to your wedding, but perfecting your guest list can save costs and allow you to spend more money on other things.
“Try to invite the people you really want and the people you’ll miss if you don’t see them on the dance floor that night,” Manwani says. “Each guest adds up.”
In fact, Sukrani said, there is a growing trend in the wedding industry to invite fewer people but spend money in other areas.
“(People) now have a 200-person guest list so they can go all out and do things they wouldn’t have done before with 500 people,” she said.
DIY it
Sukrani recommends being smart about cost-efficiency – this may include making things yourself at home.
“Now you can do things like make your own stationery and print it out,” she explains.
Couple Vanessa Acosta and Sam Roberts went a step further and hosted their Have a wedding in your own backyard with a budget of $3,000.
“We DIYed and saved everything,” Acosta previously told CNBC Make It. “We saved my husband’s shirts and he used really nice dress shoes that he already had. I made my dress, I saved fabric; I made my veil.”
Consider holding a wedding on a weekday
Manwani advises couples to be as flexible as possible on wedding dates in order to save a lot of cash.
“Think about a weekday wedding. Don’t go to the UK’s peak weekend of bank holidays as venues will be much more expensive. Suppliers will also be in much greater demand. So no one will want to negotiate. No one will want to give you a good one. deal,” she said.
“But if you’re on a weekday during off-peak hours… the suppliers are free on that day. They’ll be happy to give you a deal that works for you. So, you’ll get the best supplier and you’ll Get the venue you want at a reasonable price without paying extra.
Host some activities at home
Manwani said if you are planning various pre-wedding events like the Ambanis, hosting a wedding at home is a convenient and cheap way to do it.
“Do it in your back garden rather than hosting the whole event because every time you have a venue there’s a minimum spend, you have to offer a lot and you want more guests because the venue can accommodate 100 guests , so you end up inviting 100 guests,” she said.
“But if you’re doing it at home and you can only have 25 guests, you’re going to stick to that list.”
Artificial flowers are better
Flower arrangements can play an important role in a wedding event, but fresh flowers aren’t your only option.
“Now, we have a really stunning selection of fake flowers that still have drama and personality, but are much more affordable,” Sugrani said.
If flowers are a must at your wedding, consider flowers that are in season, Manwani says.
“Some brides come to me and they have a favorite flower that is not in season. So, we have to import them from the Netherlands or other countries. But if you want to play with the flowers that are available at that time of year, you will get beautiful appearance without having to pay the logistics costs of no one actually seeing it,” she added.
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