The most expensive wedding in modern times is the July 2024 Mumbai wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant, reported at around Rs 5,000 crore, or roughly $600 million, though the family has never confirmed a figure. This list ranks the five weddings with the best-documented price tags as of October 2026. Every number is a news report or estimate, not an invoice, so we label each one and show what it covers.
| Rank | Wedding | Reported cost | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant | about $600 million (reported) | July 2024 | Mumbai |
| 2 | Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal | about $86 to $100 million (reported, disputed) | December 2018 | Mumbai |
| 3 | Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia | about $60 million (reported) | June 2004 | France |
| 4 | Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez | $20 to $56 million (estimates differ) | June 2025 | Venice |
| 5 | William and Catherine (policing alone) | about £6.35 million | April 2011 | London |
Why the ranges? Nobody publishes a wedding budget. We rank by the figure most widely reported at the time and say where reports disagree.
1. Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant: about $600 million (July 2024)
Media reports put the celebrations at Rs 5,000 crore, about $600 million at the time. Reports say roughly $300 million of that went to 11 pre-wedding events, including a cruise with performances by Katy Perry and the Backstreet Boys. The ceremony ran over three days from 12 July at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. Reports say Rihanna was paid about $9 million and Justin Bieber about $10 million to perform. Other estimates range from $100 million for the wedding alone to about $1 billion for everything.
How we valued it: a widely reported figure from news coverage of the event, converted to dollars at the rate used in the coverage. It is an estimate, not a confirmed figure.
2. Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal: about $86 to $100 million (December 2018)
People familiar with the planning told a business news service the bill was about $100 million, while a person close to the family said it was not more than $15 million. A later report converted Rs 7 billion to about $86 million. The family declined to comment.
How we valued it: we take the midrange reported figure and flag that sources disagree widely.
3. Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia: about $60 million (2004)
Reported at the time as a six-day celebration for around 1,500 guests, with a reception at Versailles and the ceremony at another French chateau. Later write-ups have quoted $60 to $78 million. We use the earliest figure and keep it in 2004 dollars, with no inflation adjustment.
How we valued it: the earliest news report of the cost, unadjusted.
4. Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez: $20 to $56 million (June 2025)
The president of the Veneto region said the celebrations for 200 to 250 guests could cost 40 to 48 million euros, roughly $47 to $56 million. A business magazine’s own estimate, based on conversations with sources, was at least $20 million and possibly $25 million or more. Earlier rumors of $600 million were disputed.
How we valued it: we show the range and rank it by the lower official-sounding estimate, as it is an unconfirmed projection.
5. William and Catherine: about £6.35 million in policing (April 2011)
The royal family does not publish a total. The one hard number is public: freedom of information requests showed the Metropolitan Police spent about £6.35 million on the day, with about £3.6 million covered by a Home Office grant. We include it as a documented public cost, not a wedding total.
How we valued it: police spending from freedom of information responses.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
The Bezos and Sanchez wedding in June 2025 drew the big headlines, but its estimates fall well below the 2024 Ambani figures. We found no verified 2026 wedding that changes the ranking.
What drives these prices
- Scale of the guest list and number of events, beyond the ceremony. The top entry is mostly pre-wedding events.
- Performers. Headline artists are now a six- or seven-figure line.
- Security and logistics, including flights and venue buyouts.
- Secrecy. Without official numbers, a wedding’s cost grows with each retelling.
The habits that let people afford this
Short audio lessons on money, mindset and discipline, in the Alux app.
Get the Alux app →FAQ
What is the most expensive wedding ever?
The Ambani wedding in Mumbai in July 2024, reported at around $600 million.
Who paid for the 2018 Isha Ambani wedding?
Her family, who declined to comment on the cost. Reports ranged from $15 million to $100 million.
How much did the Bezos wedding cost?
Estimates range from $20 million to about $56 million. Neither side confirmed a total.
Did the royal wedding cost $35 million or $110 million?
We could not verify any such total. The documented figure we can state is about £6.35 million in policing for the 2011 wedding.
Why are the totals so uncertain?
Private families do not publish budgets, so every figure is a press estimate.
How we put this list together
We ranked each wedding by the most widely reported cost in news coverage at the time and labelled the basis. Prices are approximate and change over time.
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Last updated: October 2026.
