Several months ago Miranda asked you all what you would like to see covered career-wise on Rock My Style. Some of you mentioned you would like to read about entrepreneurial women, advice on changing career paths and also you’d like to have a peek into some fancy workspaces too.
This morning’s feature delivers all three and is packed to the brim with eye candy. Not only are you going to love Sundari’s account of how she launched her brand spanking new wedding styling business but you are in for a treat as she takes us on a tour of her office. It’s blinking pretty!

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Hello Sundari! Tell us about The Wedding Stylist.
It was a tiny idea I had a long time ago when I was back at university studying architecture. It began out as just a Tumblr blog where I would just trawl through and build inspiration for different styles of weddings. The Wedding Stylist is now a home for couples that want to run the show but also want their creative flair to shine through.
So you started off studying architecture. When did you realise it wasn’t for you?
It was during that last project in my final year of university. I found myself feeling sick to my stomach that I’d have to continue doing this for the rest of my life and it wouldn’t be as carefree as the student lifestyle. It would be 9 till 6pm, going onto 8pm, hours poring over boring-as-hell work. If you ever knew an architecture student, you’ll know that you barely ever saw them. It doesn’t change much when you move into the career either, so I had to suck it up and admit that I needed to change my life including leaving a rather safe relationship.
I got my degree then interned at and worked for various companies within the wedding industry but my final role was at a luxury bridal designer as client manager.

What would your advice be to anyone thinking about changing their career path?
If it doesn’t feel right, it most probably isn’t. I really should have changed subject in my first year, but battled on trying to fit into a course that just didn’t fit me. My advice is take a deep breath, hold your hands up and admit you need to change direction. You’re not yourself, you’re not happy and that’s not how life should be.
Do your research, immerse yourself in what you want to do and explore all the different avenues it could take you. If you feel that weight being lifted off your shoulders at the prospect of going for it, do it. Only you can push yourself.
Have you learnt anything along the way that you think is important to share with others in a similar position?
Surround yourself with positive people. It’s easy to get swayed by negative words or little downers. When starting up your own business you are literally taking a leap. You need to not second-guess yourself, as you’ll become your worst enemy especially if you suffer from low confidence.
What’s your business motto?
“Work in a colourful chaos.” This quote is super-personal to me. As a lover of colour and sometimes a very messy person, I knew I couldn’t force myself to live and work in a pristine little box. I had to have colour and had to live in my own chaos. I’m a busy minded person, constantly dreaming up ideas and these words inspire me to keep living as me.
We love your workspace! Where did you get the inspiration and what’s your favourite piece in your office?
Working from home meant I had to make sure I created somewhere completely different for me to get inspired in. I am heavily in love with Stephanie Sterjovski and inspired by her own workspace. As well as being a huge gold polka dot fan, I have a soft spot for the bold and bright.
My favourite piece in my office, without sounding dorky, is my mint lamp. It’s one of the first purchases I made when building my workspace! I love the colour and for me it represents that first step into the unknown.
What’s next on your interiors wish list?
Next on my interiors list is revamping my wardrobe space. It’s a gorgeous double wardrobe built into my wall, but I’d love to completely rework it into a mini dressing space with functional shelving and gold edges, of course.
What gets you up in the morning?
My Nespresso coffee machine (I say mine, but stolen from my boyfriend). That thing works wonders! I absolutely love having a vanilla latte in the morning – the fact I can make my own latte at home is just incredible to me.
What does a working day look like for you?
I begin my day at 8am. First things first, kitchen tidy duty. I know I love colourful chaos, but a messy kitchen makes me feel a bit queasy. Then I sit down with my morning coffee and go through my emails. Going through replying, drafting and sending.
At 10.30am I do a mini workout at home or I hit the gym. I love getting out of the house especially when the weather is glorious as it is right now, and having recently invested in a personal trainer, my motivation is at an all time high!
Back at home, after whichever workout, I am onto my design work. Firstly is always client work, I tend to switch-a-roo a bit with different items I’m creating. Sometimes this varies from computer design work to hand crafting.
For lunch I love a smoked salmon salad. I always try to have a nice filling lunch to stop me from picking at bits in the afternoon.
Then it’s back onto the design work. This time I switch between my business or client work. As I’m nearing my website launch as well as running a competition, I’m working on a newsletter and launch envelope goodie bags. Then I tend to move onto editing photographs and planning out my projects.
I always like to keep to an end time. When starting up a business, it’s easy to find yourself researching and writing anything at any time of day. I really like to make sure I close the books and have that end of day feeling. Obviously if there are super important things that need to get done, I will run over but I’ll make sure I take a full weekend off work and give my body space to breathe.
Describe yourself in three words
Bright, bubbly and glittery
My dream holiday goes something like this…
I have no trouble with long haul flights so anywhere in the world. I have so many places to visit, New Zealand, Thailand, Aruba, Rome, (going next month) Mexico, New York (again please!). So I guess my dream holiday would definitely include a bit of summer time city fun and a sunshine beach get away.

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{Profile}

Headshot

Name | Sundari Kumar
Occupation | Owner of The Wedding Stylist
Lives | Leafy Surrey
Education | Studied architecture by the sea
Previous Career History | Looking after beautiful brides for a luxury bridal wear designer

{Sundari’s Steps to Success}

Step 1 | Inspiration & motivation
I follow Hilary Rushford for email updates and she released a free seminar about setting up her own business. She mentioned a woman called Marie Forleo and after two or three clicks I was on Marie’s YouTube channel devouring her inspirational videos.
Step 2 | My Brand My Way
I began writing note after note, pinning like mad, building a picture of how I wanted my brand, my language, my services and even the colours to be. Luckily enough I have a gorgeous friend who is a graphic designer, Abby of Baggle Design, turned my ideas into a reality.
Step 3 | Practice and Planning
In a sort of serendipity moment, I was lucky enough to have the wonderful Elizabeth from Bridal Musings introduce me to my very first client, Gemma Milley. Also, with a few other personal family and friend weddings this year I instantly had guinea pigs to begin planning out my business processes.
Step 4 | Saying Hello
The wedding world is just overflowing with talented, creative and wonderful people. The beauty of this world is that it’s a wonderful place to collaborate with others. It just took a few hellos and introductions and now I have an amazing address book filled with super fabulous suppliers and friends for the future.
Step 5 | Just Keep Swimming
My final tip and most dear to my heart, is to just keep swimming. Keep on chasing your dream and you’ll get where you want to go and possibly even further.

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So who’s feeling motivated? Who else is with me on wanting to stick gold polka dots to the wall? I think Sundari’s office is gorgeous and must be such an inspirational place to work.