Rohan Mehta and Roshni Khemlani wedding

Reportedly billed at Rs 140 crore, here's how the Florence wedding of Rohan Mehta, son of
Petrochem MD Yogesh Mehta, and London-based Roshni Khemlani was put together.

But for the fact that the zoo at Florence, Italy, could not spare an elephant, this multi-crore
wedding, held last month, was pachyderm sized in every way.

The groom Petrochem MD Yogesh "Yogi" Mehta's only son, Rohan drove a vintage
Rolls-Royce into his wedding, instead of making an entrance atop an elephant as he would
have liked to.

Rohan, whose family is based in Dubai, married London-based Roshni Khemlani, daughter
of Ramesh and Sharmila Khemlani. The groom is part of the family business while the bride
works in the fashion industry.

After the wedding the Couple went off on a "long, long honeymoon". They had been
planning the trip for over six months. The itinerary included Maldives, Madrid, Los Angeles
and Bora Bora.

The elaborate honeymoon is only fitting for a wedding that was based on the theme 'Alice in
Wonderland meets India'. The setting recalled the Garden of Eden and there were human
characters dressed as caterpillars and mushrooms.

A crew of 1,800 worked to put together the entire show. Six large cranes were hired to
construct the event settings. Personnel were flown in from London including 24 people to
iron clothes and 14 makeup artists and salon girls. DJs came from Dubai, singers from
Washington DC and dancers from India. Italian sopranos, mime artists and fire throwers
entertained the guests. There were doctors and ambulances on standby and police officers on
guard throughout the festivities.
The Mehtas and Khemlanis also ensured that their 500-odd guests enjoyed a global culinary
experience. The menu included cheese from France, fresh truff les from Alba, fresh milk
from Switzerland, condiments from London and tandoors from India.

The three-day affair included a mehendi, a sangeet, the pheras and a reception. Each event
had an elaborate decor and a buffet with over 75 dishes. The venues included palaces,
abandoned train stations and custom-built glass marquees.

Like any blowout Indian wedding, there was also song and dance. For the baaraat, the family
took permissions to go through the main streets of Florence. Some of the onlookers were at
first astounded by 500 people dressed in Indian wear but later joined in the revelry.
"The city mayor and police made special efforts to host the marriage in Florence," says
Mehta. Some tabloid reports peg the wedding's cost at Rs 140 crore. But Mehta laughs it off
and says, "The figure is highly exaggerated and I do not want to alert the taxman more than
we have. As parents, we simply wanted the best marriage for our children. I believe we
delivered that promise."

Sanjay Hinduja and Anu Mahtani wedding

UK-based billionaire Sanjay Hinduja tied the knot with Anu Mahtani this week in Udaipur,
and the wedding was an Indian fairytale.
Three days (starting February 10) spent in a palace, celebrating with Bollywood stars and
watching performances by international celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and ex-Pussycat Doll
Nicole Scherzinger, who flew down specially for the event.

The 800-person party moved, on February 10, to the atmospheric lakeside Rajasthan town of
Udaipur - setting for the Bond film Octopussy.
Once people arrived in Udaipur, they were chauffeured around in an elite fleet of top class
BMWs, specially flown in from Mumbai. In order to reach their glamorous hotel, on an
island in the middle of the lake, 14 fully decorated boats were laid on.
Guests began with a cocktail party at the Manek Chow, inside the historic palace in central
Udaipur, followed by a poolside party to celebrate the "mehendi" ceremony - where the bride
is traditionally decorated with henna tattoos They then held a "sangeet" ceremony on the eve
of the big day, where Bollywood heart throb Arjun Kapoor performed in the grounds of the
palace, with a troop of dancers and a vivid lighting show. X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger,
from the band Pussycat Dolls, performed for a reported fee of up to 650,000.
On the day itself, the bridge and groom had flown in Jennifer Lopez, who performed for the
first time in India. Bringing her troop of dancers - among them ex boyfriend Casper Smart -
the 45-year-old performed several of her hits under the marble arches of the palace, for a
reported fee of 650,000. She was also given the finest suite in the Oberoi Udaivillas hotel,
which costs 3,000 a night.
It has been estimated that 16,000 people attended one of the many events accompanying the
main wedding celebrations.
Yet another party was reportedly planned for Mumbai, after their marriage

Shrishti Mittal and Gulraj Behl wedding

A recession in the global steel industry did not dampen the ostentatious Barcelona wedding
celebrations of Shristi Mittal, niece of Lakshmi Mittal, chairman and CEO of the worlds
largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal. Mittal is among the globes wealthiest and, with a fortune
of $16 billion, ranks No. 2 in a Forbes listing of the worlds richest Indians. The three-day
wedding reportedly costing $82 million added itself to the long list of flamboyant Indian
weddings.
Helicopters hovered over the December wedding venue as videographers captured the
ceremonies from every angle. Despite the confidentiality agreements mandated for the
hundreds of guests, leaked bits were splashed in the Indian media detailing the showy
nuptials of Shristi, who is Mittals younger brother Pramods daughter, to investment banker
Gulraj Behl. Barcelona was chosen as Pramod Mittal is said to be an ardent admirer of the
works of Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi. The main wedding ceremony was held at the
National Museum of Catalan Art atop a hill.
Shristi Mittal who graduated from Columbia Universityworks for the steelmaker. Her three-
day wedding in Spain outdid, hard as it was to do, the over-the-top wedding celebrations of
Mittals own daughter Vanisha in France in 2004.

The culinary indulgences, an essential and lavish element of all Indian weddings, were laid
out in Barcelona against the backdrop of a recreated seabed by Michelin-starred chef Sergi
Arola. Over 200 chefs, butlers and assistants were flown into Spain from India and Thailand.

The wedding cake was a breathtaking six-tier construction weighing 60 kilos. The guests
were dazzled by a light and water display to the signature tune of Hollywood blockbuster
'Chariots of Fire' in the Montjuic district which was cut off for traffic. The mayor of
Barcelona, himself a guest, defended hosting the wedding and said it would boost the citys
profile and stir up economic activity.

In 2004, Lakshmi Mittal spent a then-record $65 million on the wedding of his daughter
Vanisha to Delhi-born, London-based investment banker Amit Bhatia. Over a thousand
guests flew in to France to participate in that five-day extravaganza that included an
engagement party at the Versailles Palace, a Kylie Minogue performance to fireworks at the
Eiffel Tower, a play at the Jardin des Tuileries that recreated the story of how the couple met
and fell in love, and a wedding ceremony at the Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte.

Sahara chiefs sons, Seemanto and

Sushantos wedding
Est. cost of wedding INR 5.52 billion (552 crores) Subrata Roy's Sons, Sushanto with Richa
and Seemanto with Chandni got married in Lucknow in 2004. Sahara chief had the marriage
venue dazzled with torch-lights, lamps, marshals and prism glasses. Celebrities such as
Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Anil Ambani, and Mulayam Singh Yadav acted as hosts
and welcomed other wedding guests. The sangeet function took place at the Hotel Clarks in
Awadh. Pre-wedding functions were celebrated at the grand residence of the Sahara's. The
wedding cuisine included about a 101 different cuisines from all over the world. Other
attractions were the dance performances by Shiamak Davar group and performances by a
British Symphony Orchestra who played popular Indian tunes. The seven vows of Indian
marriages were inscribed on the pillars of the gateway. The wedding, attended by over 11,000
guests from the world over, was held at the Sahara Auditorium. The invite to this lavish
wedding had a special chip embedded in it for the easy identification of guests and to make
sure that no gatecrashers could enter. There were more than 110 cuisines to cater to the taste
buds as also entertainment from around the world. On the other hand, Subrata Roy indeed
took a fantastic step on this occasion and got 101 under privileged girls married. Also, food
was served to about 150,000 beggars.

Lalit Singh Tanwar and Yogita Jaunapuria

wedding
A chopper as a gift for the groom, tilak-shagun for the grooms family worth Rs. 21 crore,

and film stars set to be in attendance at functions the Capital witnessed the most lavish

display of wealth as Congress leader Kanwar Singh Tanwars 26-year-old son Lalit tied the

knot with former independent MLA Sukhbir Singh Jaunapurias 26-year-old daughter Yogita.

The wedding extravaganza, comprising four functions, is tipped to be costing the two

families a staggering Rs. 250 crore. The main ceremony took place at Haryanas Jaunpur

village and was attended by 15,000 people, including all the villagers, who were reportedly

given a shagun of Rs. 11,000 each. They sent 1000 special invites to the VIP guests for the

reception. The guests include Bollywood stars.

At the lagan ceremony held last week at Tanwars farmhouse in Asola in the Fatehpur Beri,
all the 2000 guests were gifted silver biscuits weighing 30gms, a safari suit each and Rs. 2100
in cash. The grooms tika was done with Rs. 2.5 crore, and the families tika was done with

Rs. 1 crore for 18 other members, said a guest, wishing anonymity.

The lagan ceremony that was held on February 25 was attended by over 4000 guests from

eight different villages. All the guests who attended were presented a packet as return gift

which comprised a 30-gm silver biscuit, a safari suit set, a shawl and Rs 2100 cash. A villager

who attended the lagan ceremony said: "It was a huge event. There are around eight villages

in Fatehpur Beri area and people from each and every household were invited. This is one of

the biggest weddings we have witnessed in our lifetime." "During the ceremony, money

amounting to Rs 21 crore along with a silver dummy of a helicopter among other gifts was

offered by the bride's family. The family also promised that all demands of whosoever is

coming in the barat will be fulfilled. The groom's grandfather was also offered money

amounting to about Rs 2.5 crore during the lagan ceremony by the bride's family," a source

said.

Some of those who attended the lagan function also said that Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria, a

former MLA from Sohna and bride's father, even handed over a photograph of the gift - a 5-

seater chopper - to Tanwar. The ceremony was held at Tanwar's farmhouse in Asola, south

Delhi and was attended by several village elders besides politicians from rural Delhi

For a community reception on Thursday, Tanwar has invited the entire Gujjar community for

a musical night which may see performances by singer Gurdas Mann and actor Neha Dhupia.

Sunday evening will see a VIP reception at The Ashok Hotel in which political bigwigs,

including the Prime Minister, have been invited. During the ceremony, money amounting to

Rs 21 crore along with a silver dummy of a helicopter among other gifts was offered by the

bride's family.

Mallika Reddy and Siddharth Indukuri

wedding
Mallika and Siddharth Reddy's sangeet in Hyderabad on Friday may have been a Bollywood
extravaganza, but when it came to the shaadi, the Reddys decided to go all traditional. The
bride and groom, resplendent in their designerwear - Mallika in a gold sari and Siddharth in
an embroidered sherwani - were at the centre of one of the biggest and fattest weddings in the
past few months. Of course, the glitterati were still there in full force.
The mandap was tastefully done up in red velvet and gold. There was a separate VIP
enclosure where the stars were chilling out while other guests sat at the mandap, watching the
wedding.

Five thousand wedding invites were sent out, each of which cost Rs 5,000. The total cost of

just the invites came up to 2.5 crore. The invites were accompanied by super expensive gifts

such as solitaires, Sabyasachi and Satya Paul sarees along with carved idols of Lord

Venkateshwara and sweets.

Special chartered flights had been arranged to fly guests from Mumbai and Delhi for the big
day. Apart from these a few air taxis had been arranged exclusively for the Bacchans and
Khans and arrangements had been made for them to take off with an hours notice.

The guest list comprised of business tycoons and a host of superstars from Bollywood. The
Shamshabad Airport Arena, Taj Krishna, Novotel and Hyderabad International Convention
Centre were booked to accommodate guests, while some high-profile guests were put up at
the Taj Falaknuma Palace where the cost of renting out the presidential suite is Rs 5 lakh per
day.

Bollywood stars not only attended the wedding but also entertained the guests. Hema Malini
performed at the sangeet while the King Khan Shah Rukh performed and was reportedly
paid Rs 2 crore for his performance. Priyanka Chopra and Mallika Sherawat danced while
Vivek Oberoi compered the whole show!
The dcor was regal in hues of gold and red with magnificent floral arrangements and
exquisite settings. The seating arrangement looked nothing short of a halveli. The couples
attire was designed by a host of designers for different functions, namely Abu- Sandeep,
Rohit Bal, Tarun Tahilliani and Shantanu and Nikhil.