Mid-day.com spoke with one of India's top wedding planners, Sachit Mittal, who has organized many high-profile weddings, most recently for Pulkit Samrat and Kriti Kharbanda
Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant Wedding
To say the wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant was 'grand' would be undercutting the level of opulence it carried. The wedding had all of the citizens of the world wrapped around its finger.
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From the flowers to the gifts to the decor, almost all the details of this wedding left everyone wanting to know more! Well, fret not, we're here to satiate your thirst for knowledge.
How much did Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant wedding cost?
Mid-day.com spoke with Sachit Mittal, the director of Innocept Studio and one of India’s leading wedding planners. With 10 years of experience and a portfolio that includes high-profile weddings such as the recent one for Pulkit Samrat and Kriti Kharbanda, Sachit has navigated every imaginable challenge in the industry.
From last-minute wedding cancellations to tackling seemingly impossible tasks, he has the answers to all your wedding-related questions.
About Anant-Radhika's wedding
The burning question on everyone's mind was, "How much does a wedding like this cost?" According to the planner, the wedding cost at least ₹3000-₹3500 crore. This huge amount covers everything from expensive gifts worth hundreds of crores to exceptional hospitality. Guests were flown in on chartered flights and given the best travel and accommodation.
He estimated, "Dekho main wedding, jo calculation humne banayi hai woh ₹3000-₹3500 crore hai minimum. ₹100 crore toh ginti hi nahi hai. Hundreds mein toh gifts hi padh gaye. The level of the hospitality, level of the guests jinko charter diye gaye hain, travel stay diya gaya hai. Humein hi pata hai unki cost kya hai."
(Look, for the main wedding, the calculation we've made is a minimum of ₹3000-₹3500 crore. ₹100 crore is not even counted. Just the gifts alone are worth hundreds of crores. The level of hospitality, the level of guests who were provided with chartered flights, and the travel and stay arrangements – only we know what their cost is.)
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But can a 'non-Ambani', so to say, replicate a wedding like this? If anything, Sachit argues that the Ambani wedding has inspired other families to have more elaborate celebrations. "Logon ko inspire kiya gaya hai ki functions zyaada karo. Numbers har family ke apne hote hain. There is no comparison to the Ambanis. Jitna white (money) involve hota hai unke shaadiyon mein, utna white kisi ke pass hota hi nahi hai."
(People are inspired to have more functions. Each family has its own numbers. There is no comparison to the Ambanis. The amount of legitimate spending involved in their weddings is unmatched by anyone else.)
A wedding of this size requires a large team. The planner revealed that at least 1500 to 2000 people were involved in making everything run smoothly. This includes planners, decorators, caterers, security, and many more professionals working together.
About Pulkit Samrat and Kriti Kharbanda's wedding
Bagging a celebrity wedding, and then planning it, is definitely not easy work. Sachit also took us on a journey through Pulkit Samrat and Kriti Kharbanda's wedding, which he planned with his blood, sweat and thankfully, no tears! We all saw how beautifully done Pulkit and Kriti's wedding was, but what was the brief given? and, how much did their wedding cost?
While Sachit could not give us the exact figure due to a confidentiality clause, we can assume it was hefty. Talking about the brief, he said, "At first, we had no brief. Jab hum physically mile, kyunki we both were batchmates, tab automatically zone change ho gaya uske vajah se. Plus brief, unka sirf ye tha ki humein bohot kum logon ki wedding karni hai, humara job bhi flowers hai sab organic hone chahiye, kyunki woh charity mein donate kiya gaya hai. Har product charity mein gaya hai. Koi bhi product waste nahi hui hai. Unka focus bohot zyada ispe tha."
(At first, we had no brief. When we met in person, because we were batchmates, the situation automatically changed because of that. Plus, their brief was just that they wanted a very small wedding, and our job was to ensure all the flowers were organic because they were to be donated to charity. Every product went to charity. Nothing was wasted. Their focus was very much on this.)
It's a celebrity wedding, one would assume celebs would be at every corner of the wedding, however, Sachit informed us, "It was a family-oriented wedding. Bohot close celebrities, friends, and family, bas unhi ko invite kiya gaya tha. Kyunki ye waise bhi 100 room ki wedding thi.'"
(It was a family-oriented wedding. Only very close celebrities, friends, and family were invited. Because this was, after all, a wedding with just 100 rooms.)
One of the main highlights for guests at any wedding is the food. The planner spilled the details on the menu at Pulkit and Kriti wedding, and stated, "Food unko properly Purani Dilli ka khaana khana tha. Unke favourite items he Chole Bhature, Chole Kulche, Tikki, yehi the. Jiski vajah se humne bahar ke hotel se sirf main course tha, hotel ke bahar se humne kaafi bada menu bhi finalise karwaya tha. Jisme Agra ki items, Delhi ke Chandni Chowk woh karayi thi"
(They wanted the food to be authentic Purani Dilli (Old Delhi) cuisine. Their favorite items were Chole Bhature, Chole Kulche, Tikkis and Jalebis. Because of this, we arranged for the main course to come from outside the hotel as well and finalized a large menu that included items from Agra and Delhi’s Chandni Chowk)
What is the most extravagant wedding Sachit has planned?
Imagine creating Spain's Tomatina festival just for your wedding. This was exactly what Sachit organized for Keshav Bansal, the owner of Intex and the first IPL Gujarat team owner. He recalled, "The lavish wedding was Mughal-court styled, with the palace decorated with 50,000 kilos of flowers, 3,000 candles, and a grand fireworks display, among other things."
But here's the twist. Sachit revealed, "The most memorable and expensive part of the wedding was the tomatoes we bought for the couple's Tomatina festival, which was part of the festivities. This made headlines as we became the highest tomato buyers in the area." The total cost of the wedding remains confidential, but it was a whopping amount.
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How does a wedding planner deal with gate crashers?
At the recent reception party for Bollywood's newest married couple, Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal, we received numerous reports of gatecrashers sneaking into their private event. But how is that even possible? While Sonakshi laughed off the incident, the internet was left bewildered and wondered, "How did this happen? And if it can happen to Sonakshi Sinha, how can we prevent it?"
Sachit stated that this is a clear representation on the wedding planners and one must be very vigilant while manning the guest list, "Humari hospitality team ispe focus karti hai. Hum log clearly ye bolte hain ki aap kiske yahan se invited ho. For example, agar woh kehte hain 'main bride ke side se hoon,' toh hum bolte hain 'phone number dikhao.' Kabhi kisi ke paas, jaise bride ka, mom ka, dad ka, jo bhi jhoot bolte hain, unke paas number nahi hote."
(Our hospitality team focuses on this. We clearly ask who invited you. For example, if someone says, 'I’m from the bride’s side,' we ask them to show a phone number. Often, those who lie don't have the number of any of the family member)
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