An Indian bride has shared the eye-watering cost of her epic five-day wedding, which included dropping $700,000 on decor and $130,000 on catering.
Carlita Nair and her husband Sanjay Balgobin, who work in the real estate industry, got married in 2022 in a lavish traditional Indian wedding in Orlando, Florida.
About 400 guests were invited to the luxurious event, which lasted five days and cost a whopping $2 million dollars.
No expense was spared during the incredible wedding, with the ceremony at the Ritz Carlton in Florida and the reception the next day at the JW Marriott – both decorated with lush flowers and complete with unique entertainment and performances.
Carlita Nair and Sanjay Balgobin got married in 2022 in a traditional Indian wedding in Orlando, Florida
The blushing bride posted several breakdowns of the cost of their wedding day on social media – which she said ultimately amounted to $2 million
No expense was spared on their big day, with hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on lighting, special effects and entertainment
All the traditional prewedding events – the haldi, mehndi and sangeet ceremonies – were held in Sanjay’s parents’ backyard, where they built a 12,000-square-foot space to accommodate everyone.
According to Carlita, choosing locations for an Indian wedding in Florida can be particularly difficult due to a lack of resources for South Asian community events.
“There may be one or two fantastic South Asian wedding planners, but they were booked on our event days,” Carlita explained. Insider.
Wanting to serve traditional dishes, the couple chose the Ritz Carlton because there is an Indian chef who flies to Ritz Carlton’s around the world to cater Indian weddings.
She added that they also wanted to get married indoors because their traditional wedding outfits were heavy and the weather was already warm in Florida.
In total over the five days, a total of $700,000 in decor alone for the luxurious wedding and reception, and another $100,000 for the pre-wedding events the day before the wedding festivities began.
Videos shared on social media from the event show beautiful, bright floral arrangements draped from the ceiling and down the sides of the curved runway.
Carlita had several epic looks for the extravaganza. Her wedding outfit weighed a whopping 50 pounds and she waited five months for it to arrive, paying $9,000.
Carlita and Sanjay had their sangeet and mehndi night in a building they custom built in Sanjay’s parents’ backyard
It was important to the couple that they got married indoors as it was hot in Florida and their outfits were heavy
Carlita detailed the lavish cost of the wedding on social media, including how much her outfits cost – a total of $38,000
Since traditional Indian weddings span several days with several ceremonies, the couple had some beautiful outfits
There were 400 guests in attendance at the epic five-day wedding event
Entertaining their guests was important to the couple, with the only quirk being the LED robots on the dance floor (pictured)
There were a few things included in their traditional wedding that came at an extra cost – like extra entertainment (a fire dancer is pictured) – but the couple says it was worth it
They spent $700,000 on decorations, with Carlita saying they wanted to use fresh flowers, which covered their locations
The wealthy couple said it was important to them to arrive in style, so they paid $2,000 for a chauffeured Ferrari
Her husband’s outfit was still heavy at 15 pounds and cost $5,000.
Her next look was her wedding lehenga, which weighed 14 pounds and cost $15,000.
Carlita’s white reception outfit was created by Indian designer Manish Malhotra.
‘He had just dropped a collection right before the wedding, so my outfit came straight off the catwalk with a custom-made blouse. It cost $21,000,” she said.
The blushing bride knew there would be a lot of people attending, and it was going to be a big wedding, so she chose her outfits accordingly.
“I knew my outfits had to have the look I needed for such a big event,” she said. “I spent a total of about $38,000 on my outfits alone.”
Her bridal makeup was done by her old makeup artist, for whom she flew from Alberta, Canada.
In a TikTok, Carlita said that many non-Asian people didn’t understand how her wedding could cost so much
Although Carlita admitted the lavish event cost more than they expected, claiming they were hit with hidden charges from their suppliers that they didn’t expect.
“Be careful with suppliers as people in the wedding industry are not direct with prices,” she wrote on social media.
There were a few things included in their traditional wedding that were an extra expense, but worth it in the couple’s opinion.
One of these things included quality entertainment – hiring two famous artists from the Indian Caribbean, Ravi B and Savita Singh, and even having LED robots which were a hit on the dance floor.
Other additions to the celebrations included drummers on stilts and a fire show.
“We even considered buying real elephants and tigers, but they were too expensive,” Carlita said.
“Our entire family came to help us for our wedding, including financially, during the planning process and with the little details,” Carlita explained.
She continues, “In Indian culture, the bride and groom are often not required to pay for the entire wedding, and cousins and aunts buy things here and there.”
Sanjay is also the only child and has a large family, so he really wanted to throw a grand party for everyone.
Currently, the couple lives with Sanjay’s parents in Florida, which Carlita says is very traditional in South Asian culture.