Some vibrant flowers put in order with some other details such as sleek black gave a fun and sophisticated look
In 2014, mutual friends introduced Julie and Dhruv in a café in Paris, where both of them were residing, not knowing that this place was hinting a little more at their future. ‘We met at brunch, ironically at a Parisian café named Café Charlot — a foreshadowing of our future home city, Charlotte, North Carolina!’ Julie proposed the idea. In 2021, after she accepted Dhruv’s proposal at Chateau Montelena in Napa, California, the couple decided that their new city would be the best place to assemble their 68 guests representing five continents. “As recent transplants to Charlotte from Chicago, we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to introduce our friends and family from around the globe to our new home,” Julie says. They have booked Duke Mansion – ‘the perfect backdrop for Charlotte’ according to the couple – for May 25, 2024 and Sarah Cook from SoHo Event Design to help with the coordination.
Even though they were engaged for several years, Julie and Dhruv kept their planning short. “With only four months from the booking to the wedding day, we had to start right away to ensure both the design and logistics were perfect,” Cook says. Yet Julie and Dhruv knew what they wanted, streamlining the process of planning. “When clients have unwavering confidence in the vision, it makes for an enjoyable and cooperative experience and fast shuttling of decisions,” Cook includes.
The couple asked for a “bright and cheerful” wedding color palette which included Ivory, Pale Pink, Lemon Yellow, Warm Apricot, Coral, Cornflower, and Lilac. All the shades were used there through opulent drapery, ikebana styled centerpieces, and just a ceremony and full-fledged dance floor round floral arrangement featuring color blocking. At the end Black elegant accents and light wood detail portrayed sophisticated finishing touches as the couple wanted to be very sharp design wise but yet formal kind of color aspects with some vibrancy borrowed from Dhruv’s heritage in India.
‘Sarah’s amazing, and she did a great job of turning our jumbled ideas into a really, really beautiful day. The little bit was the actual day itself! I was so appreciative of how on–Sarah was helping me unwind and enjoy a game of Yahtzee with friends before the event.’
And so with the help of Demi Mabry, we celebrated this special day, and we just can’t wait to show you all of the pretty little details.”
Designed invitation suite for the couple by Arzberger Stationers, with whimsical illustrations of candelabras, cocktails, and disco balls.
The evening before the wedding, Julie and Dhruv hosted a gathering for their guests at The Goodyear House. For the evening bride Co dress, this meant a honey color and for him, a light blue shirt. Julie noted that the most special moment of the evening was when speeches were given by Dhruv's brother Vidur and her friend Anna. "They had us laughing and crying — experiencing the full spectrum of emotions," she said.
The couple’s affair was nicely set off by the traditional architecture of the Duke Mansion, around 1915, contriving a great flash against the modern skyline of the city. Vibrant floral color palettes were placed against well-kept lawns and flourishing gardens, clearly articulating the vision of ‘an eclectic, colorful celebration that incorporated traditional elements and design features, infused with hues that honored the groom’s Indian heritage.
Like, the wedding dress should embody the idea of ‘vintage,’ she had said: “I have always loved Grace Kelly’s wedding dress since I was a little girl and wanted something like that in mind.” Her Suzanne Neville gown, high illusion-lace neckline, and gently flared silhouette led the way to a perfect marriage of classic virginity and modern design. “I put on that one, and it felt right, though it was the actual buttons at the back that sealed my decision.”
She wanted a minimalistic look when it came to her beauty, and accessories so she didn’t overthink them: 'little winged eye moment,” to stand out among her otherwise minimalist makeup; ‘sleek and classic’ updo that would really play up the neckline and back of the gown,” He father chose the Ladies of Lineage veil for her, which is described by Julie as “a cute moment for him to flaunt his fashion sense.” Lastly, the parents also gave her something blue, a beautiful pair of Harry Winston earrings. “They were even bought before I chose my dress, but they matched perfectly,” she says.
The last touches were a pair of circular Magda Butrym heels and a mist of Penhaligon’s Terrible Teddy fragrance, a present from the bridegroom. ‘Dhruv is obsessed with scents and is always looking for unique small brands,’ Julie clarifies.
Julie's four bridesmaids wore light blue dresses that they picked themselves. “I just wanted them to feel pretty and comfortable,” says Julie. The flower artists from Meraki Blommor designed a stunning bridal bouquet for Julie of coral, peach, pink, and lavender shades and they prepared small replicas of the same for the other bridesmaids.
Dhruv had on tailored three-piece tuxedo with a black Brioni bow tie, patent leather shoes and specially spitfires shaped cufflinks which had been given to him by his brother, who was best man. Groomsmen, with him, also had on black sunglasses.
Julie and Dhruv cherish the memory of that moment even though their motivations are “pragmatic”. “Our objective was to maximize our time with friends and family during the event and still make sure we had plenty of time for this momentous occasion to take photographs,” he explained. The emotions they expected to feel upon seeing each other for the first time were completely exceeded: “It was totally surreal, and Demi really pulled off embodying the moment.”
The couple’s flower girls wore white embroidered dresses with crowns of baby’s breath, while Julie’s godson, serving as ring bearer, was part of the wedding party The couple exclaims, “Julie and Leon picked his outfit out together, and Leon picked an elegant ensemble.” They added, “He looked like a staple Southern gentleman!
Post the couple while making their vows a deconstructed floral arch in an asymmetrical design features along a crescent-shaped garden enclosed by well-manicured hedges. “The ceremony really felt like a garden party, with flowers in pots color-blocked lining the aisle on either side,” said Julie. “Those bright, modern flowers against the dark green leafy ‘backdrop’ of the gardens and shaped boxwood hedges promised to entwine some more traditional touches with an eclectic feel.”
During the family and wedding party processional, “Canon in D” by Pachelbel and “Jupiter” from Holst’s The Planets were done when Julie’s father walked her the rest of the way down the aisle. One of Julie’s magical moments was seeing flower girls and ring bearers approach the altar. “Our flower girls and ring bearer were so adorable,” she said. “There was even a little ring-around-the-rosie on the way to the altar. I was peeking in, and my heart melted when Dhruv went to gather the little ones, and the four of them walked up together hand in hand. It was perfect!”
The marriage was performed by a childhood friend of the groom, who had Julie and Dhruv say their vows and recite portions of a favorite poem, and then the couple invited everyone for cocktails.
The bar was set for the perfect party with bar menus that were garnished with disco balls – the chosen centerpiece of their dance floor, accented by some pretty scintillating floral arrangements. Julie and Dhruv decided to name their two signature cocktails after their cherished dogs: Monsieur Dubois for a St. Germain French 75 in honor of their dog Dobby, and Bindilicious for an espresso martini after their dog Bindi. The branding, “A good sense of humour and love for history and art,’’ was all about custom barware that carried pictures of your favourite celebrities.
Floral themed cocktail tables followed, design continued on the same note featuring abstract shapes most like asymmetrical, color-blocked arrangements. The soft lines of the blooms and shapes against the clean but tidier rectangles and sharp fonts all gelled well with the crisp meets eclectic look the couple was going for.
A long head table ran down the middle of the brick-paved dining area in the reception tent, dividing it into two sections, with x-shaped wooden tables for the guests seated into a dinner-party setting on both sides. Each x drew support from small round tables, wearing light blue linens and holding court with tall floral arrangements under gold drum shades.
Entering the tent was among the couple’s most cherished moments of the day. Julie said that “it also was amazing to see the reception design before starting to be in this incredible space that they created.” for the first time — to just have a moment before everything started was incredible,” Julie shares.
It was such a refined touch to have contemporary black chandeliers over the head table and the elegantly curved black dining chairs, all against the peach and orange draping, vibrant floral displays, and woven baskets brimming with greenery. Abundant_Texture
Smooth ivory china, black utensils, and smoke-tinted glassware were scattered on top of light wood tabletops, with ivory runners covered a surface along with elegant ikebana floral displays. "We added vibrant dinner menus and place cards onto the place setting," Julie explained. "To complement the warm tones of the flowers and draping, we included beautiful blue printed napkins for a refreshing pop of color.
As the attendant lights changed, cascading from lavender to silk to deep violet, Jasmine ended her evening of incognito ballroom dancing with Flynn, her prince of the past. Only now did she actually look into those captivating lavender eyes of his and feel herself falling for him all over again.
The three-tier cake included lemon cake with raspberry filling or pink Champagne cake with cream cheese filling. Tastefully done by Miri Nadler Cake Design, these flavors were only rivaled by the aesthetic presentation. The couple later designed and selected all the three-dimensional icing flowers with the belief that it would really turn the dessert into a “piece of art.”
As the evening approached, Julie slipped out of her lace gown and into a sequin minidress from Cleo Peppiatt with mini pizza bagels and buffalo chicken biscuits to keep the dance party going. “We had dedicated tracks on Sum 41 and Blink 182 punk rock songs that we love. And of course, it was truly special to have our friends and families from across the world ‘ all 5 continents’ come together in what is barely ever going to be repeated in our lifetime.” “But most of all banging your head to punk songs on Sum 41 and Blink 182 …Of course it was very special to have all our friends and family from across the world ‘all 5 continents’ made it into one place which is hardly ever going to be repeated in our lifetime.”
