Elephants, Michelin stars and Mughal jewels: Indian weddings are a $130 billion business

New Delhi CNN —

The wedding of the year is here.

In less than a week, Anant Ambani, son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, will marry his girlfriend Radhika Merchant. India is no stranger to opulent weddings, but the preparations and parties for this particular union have transfixed the country.

Jaw-dropping guest lists, which have included Silicon Valley billionaires and Bollywood stars, have underscored MukeshAmbani’sgrowing influence in the global economy. Asia’s richest family has also shown off its wealthwith a display of jewels evoking the long-gone era of maharajahs and Mughal emperors.

The Ambanis have set a new benchmark for big, fat Indian weddings, which are boundto grow bigger and louder than ever before as the number of the ultra-rich swells in the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

“The Ambani wedding parties have … had a multi-faceted impact on the wedding industry in India, influencing trends, boosting demand for wedding vendors, promoting cultural heritage and even driving economic growth,” Tim Chi, CEO of The Knot Worldwide, a wedding planning service, told CNN.

Mukesh Ambani (L) and his wife Nita (4L) pose with their younger son Anant (3L), his fiancée Radhika Merchant (2L) and other family members during Anant's engagement ceremony in Mumbai on January 19, 2023.

The Indian wedding industry has boomed since the country emerged from the pandemic. Estimated at about $130 billion, it’s now nearly twice the size of America’s, although still smaller than that of China’s, according to a report by Jefferies last month.

“An otherwise value-conscious society, Indians love to spend on weddings,” Jefferies said. “And this is irrespective of the economic classes.”

At about $15,000, the average Indian