Calling It 'Wedding of the Year' May Be an Understatement

It has been a wedding like no other—and the festivities have been going on for months. So where does one start? Maybe here: The youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest man, married his longtime girlfriend early Saturday in a ceremony attended in India by global celebrities, business tycoons, and politicians. The AP has much more:

• Nuptials: The celebrations of Anant Ambani marrying Radhika Merchant took place at the Ambani-owned Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai and the family home. The guest list included the likes of Mike Tyson, Nick Jonas, Tony Blair, Boris Johnson, John Cena, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser, David Beckham, Adele, and Kim Kardashian, who was escorted to her hotel room by artists playing a flute. Sister Khloe was there, too, as was almost everyone from Bollywood. The groom arrived in a Rolls Royce, with marching bands playing in the procession.

• The pregame: Big festivities go back to March, when Rihanna and Akon performed for a star-studded 1,200-person guest list. In May, a four-day European cruise featured on-deck concerts from the Backstreet Boys and Pitbull, followed by a masquerade ball where Katy Perry sang. Last week, Bieber belted out his hits for the couple and their guests.
• The money: The father of the groom, Mukesh Ambani, is the world's ninth-richest man, with a net worth of $116 billion, according to Forbes. He is the richest person in Asia. His Reliance Industries is a conglomerate reporting over $100 billion in annual revenue, with interests that include petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecoms, and retail.
• Big picture: The lavishness has led many to raise questions about rising inequality in India, where the gap between the rich and poor is growing and the number of billionaires has shot to over 200. According to some economic surveys, the country's richest 1% own over 40% of the country's total wealth.
• No expense spared: Millions were spent on grand jewels worn by the family's women, evoking memories of the long-gone era of Indian royalty. The wedding invitations were made of silver and gold. Private jets were hired to fly in some of the guests. And Bollywood's most sought-after designer, Manish Malhotra, served as the wedding's creative director. International guests wore traditional clothes by major Indian fashion designers. They put on embroidered sherwanis—long-sleeved outer coats worn by men in South Asia. Cena came in a sky-blue sherwani and white pants. Jonas wore a pink sherwani and white pants.

(More weddings stories.)