The fitness trainer bride of tech billionaire Ankur Jain has lifted the lid on the insane preparations that went into their jaw-dropping Egyptian wedding, which started with a three-night African safari and took place at the Great Sphinx of Giza with an afterparty at the base of the Pyramids. Bilt Rewards creator Ankur, 34, and former WWE star-turned-celebrity fitness guru Erika Hammond, 33, tied the knot over the weekend – and they threw a week-long celebration that DailyMail.com estimates was worth millions.
Now, Erika has spoken exclusively to DailyMail.com about what it was like to prepare for the opulent, multi-day wedding – revealing it took more than a year to plan – while sharing intimate details about the big day. She also opened up about some of the mishaps that came with hosting such an extravagant affair – which included ‘managing multiple time zones’ and not having any similar weddings to use as inspiration. While chatting with DailyMail.com, Erika explained that after she and Ankur got engaged in November 2022, they took some time to ‘live in the moment’ before they even thought of the wedding until the new year.
‘When 2023 hit we started thinking about how we could create a wedding that was special to us, our family and close friends,’ she dished. As for why they chose Egypt as the spot for the big day, Erika explained that the country held a very special place in both of their hearts. ‘Ankur went to Egypt as a child and teenager with his family, and had always talked about how it was so inspiring and one of the best experiences and trips he had ever been on,’ she revealed.
In early 2023, she said Ankur took her to Egypt, where they ‘explored the Sphinx and Pyramids’ – and instantly, she fell in love. ‘Then I too knew how special of a place Egypt was,’ the fitness guru gushed. During that trip, they also met the world’s leading Egyptologist and Ankur’s close family friend Dr. Zahi Hawass, who officiated the wedding – which Erika described as a ‘huge and very special honor.’
When asked what the ‘hardest part’ of the planning process was, Erika explained that because no one had planned a wedding quite like theirs before, it made things slightly difficult. Plus, dealing with vendors and planners in different countries meant they had to ‘manage’ many different time zones. ‘Because so much of this was a first, there was no clear precedent on how to get some of these things done,’ she told DailyMail.com. ‘So we all had to work together to figure out how to achieve our goals. On top of this, we had multiple time zones to manage, with our planners in Egypt, the team in South Africa and our respective families in different parts of America.’
Ankur is best known for founding Bilt Rewards, ‘the first major loyalty program that allows renters to earn points on rent and build a path towards homeownership.’ As of January 2024, the company had a $3.1 billion evaluation. According to Forbes, he has a net worth of roughly $1.2 billion. As for Erika, she co-created Rumble Boxing, and was one of its leading trainers for more than six years, before moving to Equinox where she launched her Knockout workout.
She also started Strong by Erika Hammond, an app ‘that features boxing-inspired, high intensity interval training (HIIT) and strength training workouts,’ per Athletech. On the big day, Erika made sure to document the entire thing – something she said was vital so that their ‘future kids could go back and live the wedding and festivities with them’ – much of which she shared online with her 101,000 Instagram followers.
The celebrations kicked off with a trip to the Sabi Sand in South Africa, where they were surrounded by the some of the country’s most stunning views and had the opportunity to get up close with its pristine wildlife.
The couple jetted off to a nature reserve in the heart of Africa with 68 of their closest friends and family members, and spent three nights at the luxurious Sangita Safari Lodge – where rooms start at roughly $2,000 per night a person but can reach as high as $26,600 per person a night for the top villas.
Ankur, Erika, and their guests spent their days exploring the reserve, while their evenings were spent partying with live music, delicious-looking food, and of course, tons of alcohol. They then took a private plane to Egypt, where they threw a slew of immense celebrations – including one at the stunning Mohamed Ali Palace and another at the new Grand Egyptian Museum (which isn’t even opened to the public yet). While the week-long celebration looked picture-perfect on social media, Erika admitted that there were a few ‘hiccups’ along the way.
She explained that on the night that they flew from South Africa to Egypt, they almost missed their ‘welcome party’ thanks to flight delays. ‘However, we made lemonade out of lemons and ended up all still making the welcome party at 2:30am,’ she revealed. ‘And it ended up being one of my favorite memories from the week. Our friends and family really rallied for us and were all waiting to welcome us to our wedding.’
Footage from the flight showed everyone getting ready while in the air, and they even had a fashion show, walking down the aisle of their plane to show off their looks. For the bash they had a red carpet leading up to the entrance; inside there were Egyptian performers, caricatures, and fire spinners, as well as artists weaving custom rugs and tapestries for guests. The night before the wedding, they held another party at the Grand Egyptian Museum.
They officially tied the knot on Friday, exchanging vows in front of 150 guests – which included celebrities and fellow moguls – at the iconic Great Sphinx of Giza, before holding a reception at the base of the Pyramids. Erika walked down the aisle in a stunning custom Rahul Mishra white and gold sheer dress – which Ankur saw for the first time on the big day. The sparkling gown contained flower embellishments and an enormous flowing train. ‘I found Rahul from a post of Zendaya on a red carpet wearing the most beautiful Saree gown I’d ever seen, and I immediately followed him and knew I wanted him to make my wedding dress,’ she explained.
‘When I thought about what I wanted for my wedding dress it was important to me to draw inspiration and celebrate Ankur’s Indian culture, ancient Egyptian culture, and Western traditions. I worked with Rahul and his team via WhatsApp and Zoom calls to collaborate on this vision.’ Star-studded attendees include Fox 5 Anchor Bianca Peters, Equinox CEO Harvey Spevak, the Points Guy Brian Kelly, Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, NSYNC member Lance Bass and husband Michael Turchin, Fox Business anchor Liz Claman, author Ryan Serhant and his wife, attorney Emilia Serhant, famous violinist Lindsey Stirling, actress Serena Kerrigan, DJ Gryffin, and musician Robin Thicke, who performed.
She then switched into a custom Grete Henriette number for the afterparty, which ‘complimented her wedding dress using gold and white stones.’ Erika said her favorite moment of the whole week was standing under the Pyramids ‘with her new husband as fireworks went off above them.’ ‘It’s a core memory I will literally never forget,’ she gushed.
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