A Beloved Paris Restaurant Was the Inspiration Behind This Colorful Wedding in Washington, D.C.

Carolyn and Adit first met in the summer of 2018 when they started working at the same company. A year later, after being assigned to the same project, the duo spent time together on a business trip in New York; on their way back, Adit invited Carolyn to dinner with his two close friends, a recently married couple that had also met at work. “I thought that meant he was into me,” Carolyn says. “After a little liquid courage I told him ‘You know what’s happening here, right?’ He did not. I admitted my crush, he kissed me, and we’ve been together ever since.”

Shortly after the pair started dating, they took a defining trip to Paris, and it was Adit's original plan to recreate that very same vacation and propose to Carolyn in the City of Lights. When the Covid pandemic halted travel plans in October of 2020, Adit created an elaborate ruse of needing to attend a charity event for his company at the Hillwood House in Washington, D.C. “He led me to the French Garden on the property, said ‘You know what’s happening here, right?’, and got down on one knee,” Carolyn says.

The couple knew right away they wanted to host their wedding in Washington, D.C., where their relationship started and where they live now. Another detail set in stone from the start? Who they would hire as a wedding planner. Even before their engagement, Carolyn had dreamed of working with Laura Ritchie from Grit and Grace. “I reached out to her less than 24 hours after the proposal and was so grateful throughout the planning process to have her on our team,” the bride says. In the end, the couple invited 140 guests to their wedding at the Four Seasons in Washington, D.C., on June 4, 2022, and they celebrated with a party filled with décor inspired by their favorite restaurant in Paris. They loved the idea of using the hotel ballroom as a blank slate for their reception and Carolyn fell in love with the blooming greenery in the courtyard. “I couldn’t imagine saying 'I do' anywhere else!” she says.

You won’t want to miss all the chic French-inspired details photographer Shannon Moffit captured on the day.

The bride and groom worked with Claudia from Fig 2 Design to design the paper products for the day, including the invitation suite, table numbers, and menus. The final designs featured patterns seen at one of their favorite Parisian restaurants, Divellec, on the envelope liners and custom matchbook wedding favors.

Carolyn and her bridesmaids got ready at the hotel with champagne. While her bridal party wore matching pajamas that read “bonne nuit mon amour” which translates to “goodnight, my love” on the back, the bride wore white Daily Sleeper  pajama set with feather detailing as she had her hair and makeup done. “I don’t wear a lot of makeup so I really wanted to look like an elevated version of myself,” Carolyn says.

She wore a strapless Monique Lhullier A-line wedding dress with a side leg slit. “It felt chic, timeless, yet still modern and slightly Parisian,” Carolyn says. She chose nude Christian Louboutin heeled sandals to elongate her legs and accentuate the slit in her gown’s skirt.

As accessories, the bride borrowed a pair of diamond drop earrings with pearls from her mother-in-law and wore her late Nana’s pearl and diamond engagement ring. “It was such a special touch that made me feel as if she was there with us that day,” she says. Adit gifted her a diamond tennis bracelet to complete her look. Carolyn also wore a French fragrance, Celine Black Tie, as her finishing touch.

The bride also carried a modern bouquet of blooms that mimicked the rest of the day's floral design. Her personal arrangement contained a mixed of ranunculus, tweedia, hydrangea, and anthurium.

Adit wore a notch lapel black tuxedo and a sleek tie from Michael Thomas Custom Clothier, which was embroidered with the couple's wedding date underneath the collar of the jacket. He also wore cufflinks made from bullets that were a gift from his uncle who serves a surgeon for the Royal Air Force. A spritz of his favorite Italian fragrance, Carthusia Uomo, was his finishing touch.

The happy couple shared their first look in a glass enclosed hallway before the ceremony. “One of our priorities was optimizing the time we got to spend celebrating with family and friends,” the bride says, “Doing a first look freed up so much time later in the day and gave us more time throughout the day to spend together!” Right before the ceremony, the duo shared a glass of champagne together and took in the moment.

Carolyn and the couple’s wedding planner, Laura, envisioned mismatched bridesmaids' dresses from the start. “We flirted with the idea of mixed metallics but ultimately wanted something that would help that chartreuse shine and landed on satin dresses in different shades of blue,” Carolyn says. She asked her sister and her college roommate to stand by her side as maids of honor. All of the bridesmaids held miniature versions of Carolyn’s bridal bouquet.

Adit asked his two lifelong friends to be co-best men; that duo, as well as the rest of Adit's groomsmen, matched the dapper groom in classic black tuxedos and black shoes.

The wedding ceremony took place in the hotel’s front courtyard, where the aisle was lined with arrangements of blue and pink flowers. “With a June wedding there would already be plenty of florals and greenery in the space, so we decided to keep things simple with some funky aisle runners,” Carolyn says. At the last minute, the bride decided to add a broken arch flower arrangement in case the ceremony was moved inside for bad weather. “We were blessed with gorgeous weather and I was totally floored when I walked down the aisle to see the four sculptural arrangements growing up out of the stage,” the bride says. 

As the nondenominational ceremony began, the wedding party walked down the aisle to a live rendition of “Here Comes the Sun” performed by the DC String Machine. Carolyn and her dad walked down the aisle to “At Last” by Etta James. The duo personalized the celebration by asking Adit’s cousin to share a reading on a Hindu ritual and Carolyn’s grandfather to share a passage from the Bible. As the ceremony concluded, everyone receded down the aisle to a live rendition of Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl."

During cocktail hour, guests enjoyed passed appetizers and two signature drinks. One of the reasons the couple chose the Four Seasons as their wedding venue was because of how much they enjoy sharing post dinner cocktails there, so Adit decided to serve his favorite chai-infused Old Fashioned and Carolyn picked a French twist on an Aperol Spritz.

The team at Grit and Grace is known dreaming up statement-making escort card installations, and the one they created for Carolyn and Adit did not disappoint: Claudia at Fig 2 Design created custom matchbooks to guide guests to their tables, which were displayed on two striped walls. “Our guests were able to take them as favors after the wedding and I still use mine to light candles at home,” the bride says.

The couple knew they wanted to bring their favorite Parisian restaurant to life throughout the wedding reception, and that vision began by creating a floor plan with tables of different sizes and shapes and using linens in unique colors to set them all apart. The color scheme drawn from the restaurant included chartreuse with shades of blue and pops of coral, and the design was inspired by chic contemporary interior design and contrasting textures. To mimic that vibe, the entire reception space was draped in navy fabric, creating a moody atmosphere for the rest of the evening's colors to pop against.

The couple’s long head table featured a grounded floral installation and was paired with plush teal chairs for a luxe feel.

The rest of the reception tables had simple wooden chairs and were dressed with vibrant velvet linens that matched the color of the escort card matchbooks.

The centerpieces included taper candles in black holders and glass chimneys, tea candles, and low floral arrangements done up in the day's bold color scheme. Each place setting was consistent, including gold flatware, white plates, and thick chartreuse restaurant-like menus with the couple’s custom monogram stamped on them. A rattan bar was brought into the ballroom and decorated with large floral arrangements in shades of yellow, orange, and green.

Underneath a ceiling floral installation, Carolyn shared a dance with her father to “Hold My Hand” by Hootie and the Blowfish. Next, Adit danced with his mom to “In My Life” by the Beatles.

Though the couple had planned to take dance lessons in the months leading up to the wedding, they admit that they never got around to it. “The week before the wedding I choreographed our first dance in our kitchen for the two of us to practice,” Carolyn says, “When it came time for the big reveal I was actually the one who messed up! Adit saved the day and smoothly transitioned as we both laughed. Afterwards no one could believe that we didn’t take lessons!’

Carolyn and Adit consider themselves foodies, so the menu was important to them. Dinner started with a lollo rosa, red beet, quinoa, and whipped goat cheese salad. They surprised guests with an amuse-bouche mushroom and truffle soup shooter inspired by one of their favorite restaurants in Washington DC. Then, guests chose between a braised beef short rib, glazed sea bass, or Indian vegetarian entree.

Their wedding cake was a sculptural sugar paper design white cake with zesty lemon cream and fresh raspberries topped with a delicate buttercream.

Towards the end of the evening, Carolyn changed into an ivory asymmetrical gathered gown by Michelle Mason to dance the night away in comfort and in style. “The moves were brought!” Carolyn says. To couples in the midst of planning a wedding, Carolyn offers this piece of wisdom. “Through all of it, make sure to show up as a team and support each other through every decision and tough conversation. Remember that this day is a reflection of your relationship and your love, and keep that at the forefront of all of your choices.”