When Wedding Designer Ambika Gupta received a brief for a destination wedding in Udaipur, she had no idea it would turn into one of the most high-profile celebrations of the season.
The ask was simple yet intriguing -- a large-scale event for US-based clients who were extremely particular about aesthetics and detail. There was no mention of celebrity performances or billionaire connections at that stage.
"All I felt was genuine happiness and excitement," Chennai-based Wedding Designer Ambika Gupta recalls in a candid chat with Rediff's Rishika Shah.
What she eventually went on to create were the mehendi and haldi celebrations of Netra Mantena, NRI pharma entrepreneur Rama Raju Mantena's daughter, with Vamsi Gadiraju. It turned out to be one of the most stunning pre-wedding set-ups seen this year.
The entire vision came from a single two-page presentation shared with all the vendors. It featured collages, textures and a certain 'feel' the Mantenas wanted to achieve.
There was a strong symbolic element too -- the wedding followed a nine-gemstone concept, with each function represented by a particular colour.
"Mehendi was emerald green, and haldi was in yellow tones," Ambika explains. "The mehendi was themed 'Cirque Du Mehendi'. There was a green hot air balloon and elephants wearing green pendant necklaces to match the theme."
From handcrafted elements to intricate colour coordination, every detail was built around this gemstone-inspired palette.
Udaipur is already visually rich with marble, architecture, lakes, palaces and history woven into every corner. Instead of competing with that grandeur, Ambika chose to enhance it.
For the haldi and mehendi functions, Ambika brought in palm trees, handcrafted decor pieces, specially made furniture and even a custom-designed autorickshaw installation. The back panel for one of the events was created in collaboration with Designer Tarun Tahiliani, featuring intricate hand embroidery.
It was a seamless blend of Indian craftsmanship and contemporary styling, modish yet rooted.
What truly set this project apart for Ambika was how emotionally invested she became.
"At one point, it became too personal for us. The mehendi is something I'm extremely proud of. I personally sat for every single element and built the entire look from scratch."
Ambika went store to store, material to material, curating each detail herself -- a process that took her back to a time when she had no big budgets or teams, just instinct and determination.
The scale also brought massive logistical challenges. With only a 6-7 feet wide entryway at the venue, transporting decor while preparing the same space simultaneously was a struggle. "I still don't know how we managed it," she says.
Ambika's journey into wedding design was anything but conventional.
"I studied biotechnology engineering and then journalism and mass communication from Xavier's," she shares. But even as a student, she was always the one organising, styling and curating school events and family functions.
Her creative eye was shaped early on. Her mother ran a boutique, her family belonged to the media industry, and her grandmother appreciated fine carpets and silks. "I've always been surrounded by textiles, colours and beautiful things," she says. And that sensibility now defines her signature style.
To refine her skills further, she trained at the London Flower School and Berlin Flower School, and during Covid, she pursued business management courses from Harvard. Today, she continues to learn, including training herself in AI to stay ahead of the curve.
Ambika never worked for free.
Her first paid event was a house party with a budget of Rs 80,000. At the time, she charged 10 to 15 per cent of the decor cost. Over time, her pricing model evolved into a flat design fee based on the scale, number of days, vendors and complexity involved.
"I still remember how happy I was when I first touched a Rs 8 lakh budget. The came 20 to 25 lakhs, then 1 crore... and today we're operating at an entirely different level. It's been a journey."
Today, her brand has gone pan-India and global, with an office in Dubai, international investors and projects across borders, but her work ethic remains the same: relentless and hands-on.
Her biggest breakthrough came in 2016 when the Chennai wedding she designed for OKG (Original Kerala Jewellers), went viral, catching the attention of multiple blogs and publications. "That was when I made my Instagram page. And after that, there was no looking back."
The wedding came to her through her growing reputation in the city's creative and social circles. At the time, Ambika was also designing elaborate sets for children's birthdays -- a segment she went on to dominate.
During this phase, one of her clients (the OKG jeweller bride), noticed Ambika's work at her nephew's birthday and asked her if she would like to do her wedding. The project went viral in 2016 and opened bigger doors for her.
During Covid, she designed actor Kajal Aggarwal's wedding, the first celebrity wedding to take place during that difficult time. It went viral again as people were craving for normalcy at the time, and that helped her get verified on Instagram and brought her into prime focus.
Since then her portfolio has included Alanna Panday's wedding, Eka Lakhani's roka, Made In Heaven Season 2 sets, Dubai Bling, the Nirma group wedding, Gaurav Gupta's set design, and many, many more.
Working with billionaire and celebrity clients comes with intense pressure, but Ambika believes the emotions remain the same for all weddings.
"They're just as human as any regular family. The only difference is the level of quality expected. That pushes us to elevate ourselves every single time."
Her revenue model combines a design fee with a constantly evolving styling inventory that she uses, reuses and upgrades for different events.
When it comes to building her team, Ambika is clear that talent alone isn't enough. "Intent and personality matter the most," she says.
IMAGE: Ambika Gupta
Photograph: Kind courtesy Ambika Gupta
Everyone who applies at her company goes through a structured process including a writing test followed by a detailed HR interview. She pays close attention to how much history they know, how they speak about their previous workplace, their overall awareness of the world and even how many languages they can communicate in.
For her, being a "good human with good intentions" is non-negotiable. Motivation, curiosity and emotional intelligence rank just as high as creative skill.
Ambika's advice to aspiring wedding designers is simple and powerful: "Be humble. Be patient. You are never 'arrived'. Even today, we work like donkeys. People have a very short memory, so you need to remain consistent and try to do something iconic."
Her key rules are: Build your brand in the first 3 years, be modest with your pricing initially, develop both a personal and company brand, keep upgrading your skills, and bring in your unique flavour.
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