When New Delhi-based fashion designer Apoorva Gupta, 30, met businessman Uvraj Bardeja, 29, neither could have predicted they would be wed exactly a year later. A whirlwind courtship followed, and in December 2024, they tied the knot at historic Six Senses Fort Barwara .
In a candid chat, the two share the rush of putting it all together in under two months. From fits to themes, here’s how it all came together to make a memorable three-day affair.
The Proposal
Apoorva Bardeja: I met Uvraj in December 2023, at his best friend’s wedding, and we got married a year later. Last year we had gone on a lot of hikes, escaped to a lot of mountains; it really brought us together. During a holiday with some friends, we went to Austria for a few days, and he proposed while we were on a mountain. There was a picnic spread, and the view was beautiful. He even got a photographer to hide out up there. Honestly, that was the best moment for me.
Uvraj Bardeja: It was at a hotel called Rosewood Schloss Fuschl, a really beautiful place that I’ve been visiting with my family since we were kids. She had no idea that I would propose, though. So, when we reached the top, where the picnic was, she was like, oh, maybe someone else is sitting here. Once she realised, of course, she started crying.
The Planning
Uvraj: When we visited the Six Senses Fort Barwara [Ranthambore, Rajasthan], it was so beautiful, I think we all had goosebumps. Just one look, and we were sold. Somehow, they ended up having an opening for one of the days we were given by the pundit. Only, it was just 50 days after our visit.
Apoorva: I didn’t know how we did it in that time. Just 50 days to plan it all—the clothes, bookings, invites. It seemed like a sign that the venue was available, though, and how it all fell into place.
Uvraj: Anyway, I wanted a tiny wedding, just 50 to 60 people.
Apoorva: I didn’t want something over the top, but I wanted it to be fun, to have lots of beautiful details. We ended up striking a bargain for somewhere in the middle—around 150 people. When we started planning, each event had a theme. Even our post-wedding reception was themed around Wimbledon. We didn’t want a cliched reception where everyone just wears blingy clothes at an evening event. We wanted it to be a bit more classy, but not sporty or childish. Also, Uvraj is very into tennis.
Uvraj: I play most mornings when I can. And when I was younger, I would ditch my tuition classes to go play tennis. I watched Federer win his last title at Wimbledon. For the dress code, I was thinking of the Wimbledon clubhouse in particular, where people are always so well-dressed.
Apoorva: We went to Ira [Singh] of FSix for the décor for that event, and she just took it to another level. After we saw the first moodboard we were just like, you do your thing, you’ve got this.
In Ranthambore, our first event was a sit-down dinner with just 40 people. It was themed around Rajasthan, so there was a thali, and we had Chugge Khan singing. It was really intimate, really cosy, with rajnigandha everywhere. The next day, for the welcome lunch, our theme was Ralph’s Café, because when I was in New York for my undergrad I used to spend a lot of time at Ralph’s. I was really into the colour palette.
Uvraj: Plus, before I met her my wardrobe was really limited to Ralph Lauren.
Apoorva: The theme for the sangeet was Shehzada’s Tent. Since we were in Ranthambore, we wanted to lean into the whole glamping situation with trunks and leather couches. Our after-party continued the outdoor vibe. It was called Amazonico and we painted these huge grasslands inside a banquet hall. People went crazy wearing animal print. And our wedding was a classic temple theme, with the mandap made to recreate a temple. Most of our themes were Uvraj’s ideas. He really surprised me with how creative he was with them.
Uvraj: We were sitting and chatting with the planners, and everything just came so naturally. Except the last one.
Apoorva: For the last after-party, once the wedding was over, the theme was Mad Maharaja. So, women wore evening dresses with full headgear—they kept their wedding jewellery on. Uvraj’s sister and I came up with that theme.
At each function we also wanted some cute interactive elements. During the haldi, there was a wishing tree where people could write little notes for us, which they would tie on the tree with a little bell. At the welcome lunch there was a phone booth where guests could record their messages to us on an old-school vinyl recorder.
