New York, Aug 23 (IANS) The wedding party that Indian-born 
steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal hosted for his daughter Vanisha in 2004 
has been dubbed by Forbes magazine as the grandest wedding of 
this century.

Mittal's $60-million extravaganza outranked billion-dollar wedding 
receptions hosted this side of 2000 century by American Donald 
Trump (his third marriage), Russian billionaire Andrei Melnichenko 
for his marriage with former Miss Yugoslavia Aleksandra Kokotovic 
and French luxury titan Bernard Arnault for his daughter Delphine, 
a report titled 'Billionaire Weddings' in the magazine's latest 
edition said.

Mittal, today the fifth richest man in the world, spent $60 million 
for the wedding of his 23-year-old daughter with Amit Bhatia, a 
Delhi-born investment banker based in London.

The Mittals sent out 20-page invitations in silver boxes and put up 
1,000 guests flown in from across the world in a five-star Paris 
hotel. The five-day festivities spread across some of France's most 
famous settings, including the chateau built for Nicolas Fouquet, 
King Louis XIV's finance minister.

One night there was a party at Versailles while another event 
reportedly took place at a wooden castle temporarily erected in 
Parc de Saint-Cloud, the Forbes report said.

Trump, who married his third-wife Melania Krauss last year, threw a 
reception at his palatial 18-acre Mar-A-Lago club in Palm Beach, 
Florida. The star-studded guest list included Bill Clinton and 
Shaquille O'Neal.

The Forbes report also mentioned the bride's Christian Dior gown, 
which she modelled on the cover of Vogue last February, and was 
decorated with 1,500 rhinestones.

For his September 2005 marriage in France, Melnichenko flew in 
both Whitney Houston and Christina Aguilera to perform. There 
were rumours that the billionaire had a Russian chapel dismantled, 
shipped and rebuilt in France.

But the 2005 wedding of the year, according to Harper's Bazaar 
magazine, was of Delphine Arnault with the heir of an Italian wine 
fortune.

The ceremony was held in a cathedral in Bordeaux adorned with 
5,000 white roses. The bride walked down the aisle in a gown 
designed for her by John Galliano, which took 1,300 hours to make.

The reception was held in a transparent tent at nearby Chateau 
d'Yquem, the winery owned by Arnault's LVMH that's known for its 
$100,000 bottles of wine and guests included Elizabeth Hurley and 
Karl Lagerfeld, the Forbes report mentioned.