Kartika Sharma’s journey goes far beyond designing big, extravagant Indian weddings. It is a story of finding her voice, building self-belief, and choosing herself, again and again.
Kartika Sharma
Founder: Gulaab Weddings (Big-Fat Indian Weddings & Events)
Startup/Business Stage: Established & Growing
Location: Jaipur, India
Not all journeys begin with a plan. Some begin with a feeling. A quiet, persistent pull toward something more, even when you don’t fully understand what that “more” looks like. That is Kartika Sharma’s story. She didn’t wait to define it; she simply chose to follow it.
And that choice, made before clarity, became the foundation of everything that followed.
At 21, while most of her friends were still studying and exploring life in bigger cities, Kartika made a different decision. She moved from Udaipur to Jaipur. Not with a blueprint. Not with certainty. But with a quiet, unwavering desire to make something of herself.
That desire didn’t translate into instant success. It translated into effort.
After completing her B.Com in Udaipur and a diploma in event management in Jaipur, she stepped into the weddings & events industry in the only way she knew: by doing whatever it took to learn. She volunteered at tilak and teeka ceremonies, managed hospitality desks, and ran tirelessly during the Commonwealth Games.
She showed up. Again and again. There was no role too small. No task beneath her. And somewhere in that repetition, something shifted. Willingness turned into intent. And intent slowly began shaping direction. As her understanding deepened, so did her ambition. She started earning her place, quietly, consistently. People began to notice. Opportunities to join established companies started coming her way.
But by then, something had already shifted within her. She didn’t want to build someone else’s vision. She wanted to build her own. That decision led to her first venture in 2011, alongside a co-founder who brought experience into the mix. At the time, the weddings and events industry was still evolving. The big players were just getting started, and there were no defined roles. Wedding planning and décor were often seen as one bundled service. It was unclear. Unstructured. Uncertain. And yet, she stepped in, beginning to make her mark, year after year.
She says, “You can never be fully ready. But you should start anyway.”
That belief stayed with her. But life had its own plans. Almost a decade later, Kartika found herself at a very different place personally and professionally. In 2020, she went through a painful divorce while also navigating growing disagreements with her business partner. It wasn’t just a business decision anymore. It was a life decision.
Standing at that intersection, she chose something most people avoid. She chose herself.
“If I can survive the pain of separation,” she told herself, “I can also walk away from a business that no longer aligns with me.”
She walked away, from both. What followed was not a restart. It was a reclaiming.
That’s how Gulaab Weddings was born. Her second venture, but her first independent one.
The early days of Gulaab Weddings were filled with uncertainty. Her fears were stronger than her conviction and understandably so. She had stepped into a space where expectations ran high, budgets ran into crores, and execution had no margin for error. At the same time, the world around her didn’t make it easier. Clients and vendors were curious, sometimes intrusive.
Why didn’t her marriage work?
Why did she leave her business partner?
“I wonder if men are asked the same questions,” she says, almost rhetorically.
And somewhere between those questions and expectations, she had to rebuild, not just her business, but her confidence. That rebuilding showed in her work. She hesitated with cold calling. She struggled to build collaborations. She relied heavily on inbound business. She didn’t always set clear deliverables, and delayed payments became a pattern.
“I was naive,” she admits.
As she continued learning, she began to set clear boundaries: asking for advances, defining terms, building collaborations, and strengthening her presence in the market. The shift didn’t happen overnight; it took her three years to stabilise financially. But in the process, her entire approach transformed. And even as the business found stability, her inner journey was still unfolding.
Reinvest in the business before upgrading your lifestyle.
That became a rule she didn’t break.
Like many founders, Kartika faced moments of deep self-doubt. “Sometimes, you walk into a room looking successful, but in reality your bank account is choked and you have no confirmed business.” In those moments, she leaned into something most people hesitate to admit: fake it till you make it. Because in an industry driven by perception, confidence often has to come before certainty.
She worked on what she could control. Attention to detail, preparation, communication, and continuous learning. She learned from her team, from younger professionals, from larger vendors. And over time, she understood something fundamental that credibility is not built in one moment. It is built in consistency.
Kartika describes herself as a “motherly” leader. She ensures her team feels supported, heard, and cared for. But she is equally clear about one thing that empathy does not mean the absence of boundaries. She balances care with clarity. When conflicts arise, her approach is simple: let people express, align everyone to the goal, focus on solutions, and resolve quickly.
And she lives by a belief that is both simple and difficult:
If you have the capacity to blame others, you must also have the strength to listen.
One of the hardest lessons she learned through this rollercoaster journey was the courage to say no.
No to smaller projects.
No to misaligned opportunities.
No, even when it meant having nothing lined up for months.
Growth isn’t just about saying yes to more. It’s about saying no to what doesn’t align. And to do that, Kartika had to evolve. Her delegation, her communication, her presence, her networks, even her use of technology. Somewhere along the way, she realised a simple truth: if the founder doesn’t evolve, neither does the business.
Kartika operates in a high-pressure space, managing the emotional and often intangible expectations of ultra HNI clients and celebrities. But success, for her, no longer looks the same. Where it once meant money, glamour, and scale, it has now become quieter, stronger, and more personal. Today, success for her, is defined by, peace of mind, respect, and the freedom to choose her own path.
Freedom to choose.
Freedom to build.
Freedom to walk away.
“Before, I was dreamy,” she says. “Now, I am unstoppable.”
And yet, even in that strength, there is gratitude. She speaks of her father, her husband, and her father-in-law as her pillars of support. She acknowledges her extended family, friends, and even her former co-founder. Because no journey, however independent, is built alone.
For women who want to build, Kartika doesn’t romanticise the path. She calls it what it is ‘tough.‘
“You can’t be a dainty darling and survive in this business,” she says.
“Either become strong, or build a strong team that can handle the tough parts.”
She believes financial discipline is non-negotiable. And that the real value of entrepreneurship lies not just in success but in who you become through the process.
As she looks ahead, she sees change already happening. “Women are more confident. More educated. More willing to take risks. Networks are stronger. Collaboration is easier. The industry is evolving.” And she believes the next generation won’t wait for change. They will create it.
Kartika’s journey is not about scale, glamour, not even success in its conventional sense. But the quiet, powerful act of choosing yourself, again and again. Even when it’s hard. Even when it’s uncertain. Even when no one else fully understands why. Kartika didn’t wait for the perfect moment, for complete clarity, or to feel fully ready. She simply began and then she kept going. Through doubt, through loss, through rebuilding. And somewhere along the way, she didn’t just build a business; she built herself. That is what makes her journey powerful. That is what makes it real. Because in the end, every woman who chooses to build is not just creating something outside. She is reclaiming something within.
As she beautifully puts it, “Manzil to mil hi jayegi, bhatakte hi sahi. Gumraah to wo hain, jo ghar se nikle hi nahin.” You will reach your destination, even if you wander. The truly lost are those who never begin.
Connect with Kartika on LinkedIn
Blog By: Nidhi Vadhera
Startup Strategist | Investor | Author (Romancing Targets)
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**This blog is based on an interview conducted by Nidhi Vadhera with Kartika Sharma and on the details shared during the discussion**