Isha Ambani’s wedding cost more, but was Vanisha Mittal’s 2004 marriage to Amit Bhatia – attended by Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan and Kylie Minogue – India’s most extravagant ceremony?
When steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal’s only daughter Vanisha married Amit Bhatia a week-long, US$60 million French spectacle was called for – including an Eiffel Tower fireworks display, a private show by Kylie Minogue and a guest list bursting with Bollywood royalty including Aishwarya Rai, Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan
As a globally renowned steel magnate and high-profile billionaire, Lakshmi Mittal is no stranger to spotlight-attracting, attention-grabbing accolades.
In 2005 he became the first Indian to achieve a spot on Forbes’ prestigious list of the world’s 10 richest people. Two years later he was rated as the richest Asian in Europe, and then in 2015, he was ranked as the 57th most powerful person on the planet (also by Forbes).
Not one to do things by halves, it’s perhaps no surprise that the so-called “King of Steel” went all out at the time for his daughter Vanisha’s ultra-extravagant 2004 nuptials – an opulent series of festivities that reportedly cost around US$60 million and was touted at the time as the “mother of all weddings”. Read on to find out where all that money went.
The occasion
When Vanisha Mittal, the only daughter of the India-born chairman and CEO of the world’s largest steel-producing corporation, married London-based banker Amit Bhatia, no expense was spared in laying on one of the finest and fanciest wedding festivities in living memory. The matrimonial celebrations lasted almost a week and took place in several swanky and sumptuous locations, all in France.
The venue
These luxe locales included the famed Palace of Versailles for the engagement ceremony, while the traditional Sangeet party that kicks off Indian weddings took place at the exquisite Jardin de Tuileries alongside the Louvre in Paris. However the main event, the wedding itself, was a glittering, over-the-top affair at Vaux-le-Vicomte, a historic 17th century castle, 55km from Paris that was built for the finance minister of Louis XIV.
The guest list