These Friends-Turned-Lovers Threw a Hindu and Jewish Wedding Inspired by a “Moody Jurassic Landscape”

Julia and Guatam met in the summer of 2015 at an internship program training and became fast friends. They kept in touch and reconnected after graduating from their respective business schools, which is when Julia started helping Guatam (as a friend!) with his plans to launch a middle and high school (which he did, a few years later). “We became closer as friends until one night, we were out with friends and it clicked!” Julia says. “We both had grown up a lot!”

On August 10, 2020, with the pandemic in full swing, Guatam came up with a plan to get Julia dressed up for a surprise proposal. He asked mutual friends to suggest they all go out to an outdoor restaurant for dinner. Before dinner, Guatam came up with an excuse to bring Julia to the parking lot of his basketball gym. “When asked what kind of equipment he needed to pick up, his response: shoes that have springs on them to help you learn to dunk,” Julia remembers, “Embarrassingly, I did fall for it.”

When they got to the parking lot, Guatam read her a love letter and popped the question. He explained that in the beginning of their relationship, Julia met him in that very parking lot to hype him up before a big game. “He remembered feeling like that was the night he knew he wanted to marry me,” Julia says. Some of their friends, along with Guatam’s parents and their puppy, were hiding in wait to celebrate. 

The two decided to host their sangeet ceremony at Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu, California, surrounded by mature oak trees on Saturday, July 30, 2023. The next day, they invited their 197 guests to Hummingbird Nest Ranch for an entirely outdoor reception. They worked with wedding planner Hovik Harutyunyan of Harutyunyan Events to pull off a weekend that reflected their cultures, complete with both Hindu and Jewish elements. Ahead, see the next-level details, captured by For The Love of It, that went into creating this wedding’s unparalleled guest experience.

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Guests were welcomed to Julia and Guatam’s Sangeet with a pink translucent sign embellished with greenery and florals. The bride wore a light blue lehenga by designer Abhinav Mishra paired with a variety of bangle bracelets and a special ring her mom made for her. “The ring is full of love and family history!” she says. “The stones are from Brazil, the gold is from Russia, and the rings were made in Argentina! It’s been to a lot of places.” Guatam chose a deep blue kurta from a designer in India.

At the Sangeet, guests enjoyed lawn games, a live dhol player, a bangle bar, and signature cocktails created in honor of both Julia’s and Guatam’s moms. They went with bright vibrant de2cor for the event with a color scheme of pink, fuchsia, yellow, and peach. “I grew up in Miami and always loved the tropical plants that surrounded our house,” Julia says. “I loved the iguanas, lizards, big leaves, deep green plants and huge, colorful flowers. I thought it would be so beautiful to recreate that vibe.”

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Everyone hit the dance floor and enjoyed the live dhol player. “At our Sangeet, we had speeches from people close to us, who knew us extremely well, and some of our friends and family performed Indian/fusion dances—as did we,” Julia says. The couple dedicated a lot of time leading up to the wedding practicing the bhangra dance they performed. “Our family and friends prepared the most epic dances for our sangeet evening,” the bride says. “We felt so honored to have our family and friends show up in a big way.”

On the wedding day, Julia wore a lehenga in a deep shade of red by Nikita Gujral. She and Guatam wanted to go to India to shop for wedding attire, but when the pandemic kept them from hopping on a plane, they decided to try online. “I did a lot of searching prior, so I had a good idea of what I wanted to wear!” Julia says, “Ordering online can be a bit daunting, but I had a lot of help from Gautam’s mom and sisters.”

She accessorized with a necklace, earring set that Guatam’s mother wore to her own wedding, and bangles that once belonged to Guatam’s great grandmother; his great aunt gifted Julia a gold and diamond tikka, or traditional headpiece, to wear.

Guatam opted for a collarless sherwani by an Indian designer for the ceremony.

Before the ceremony, the couple’s families celebrated with a festive baraat procession with a live dhol player, a mobile DJ, and a ceremonial horse. Guatam made his grand entrance on the horse with a younger nephew, which symbolizes his protection. When Guatam arrived at the ceremony space, Julia’s mother greeted him by applying red powder, or tilak, to his forehead—another symbol of the groom’s protection.

The couple’s ceremony was focused around the mandap, which doubled as a chuppah. “This was an important element for both Julia and Gautam, so we wanted to highlight the structural focal point that served as both the Hindu mandap, representing family and different stages of life, and Jewish chuppah which represents the couple’s home,” says the couple’s planner, Hovik Harutyunyan.

The structure and the aisle entrance were decorated with tropical flowers, which are meant to represent positive energy in Hindu weddings. “We had fun with the orange and blush hues in the ceremony design because we knew the reception design was going for a much moodier look,” Hovik says.

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When the ceremony began, Guatam made his way down the aisle followed by a parade of the couple’s nieces and nephews. Then, Julia walked down the aisle with both of her parents to an acoustic version of “Seeing Stars” by Borns. “We both wrote a speech to each other that was written as a love letter and kept it private until the ceremony,” Julia says. “To end the vows, we wrote 10 vows together that we both recited as promises to each other.”

Instead of a bouquet and boutonnière, Julia and Guatam exchanged marigold garlands during the ceremony, which represent mutual trust, love, and respect in Hindu weddings. They recessed back down the aisle to a faster version of “Seeing Stars” by Borns.

Guests made their way to Hummingbird Nest Ranch for dinner and dancing. Julia loves sweets, so Guatam surprised her with a candy bar at the reception.

When Julia first started wedding planning, she envisioned a concept that incorporated her love of dinosaurs, prehistoric landscapes, insects, and blue flowers. The couple’s planner drew inspiration from these elements to build a moody color palette for the reception; they added décor elements like unique plants, lava rocks, and butterflies.

A mixture of long and round tables were set up around an outdoor fountain with string lights overhead. “Inspired by the world of dinosaurs, we wanted the tablescape to look like a moody Jurassic landscape,” planner Hovik Harutyunyan says. They used unique varieties of flowers and greenery accented with lava rock table numbers and black vases, dinnerware, and chairs to accomplish this vision. Emerald velvet napkins and taper candles matched the tropical greenery; blue delphiniums were added to the centerpieces for a pop of color.

For the reception, Guatam changed into a Ted Baker tuxedo in an eggplant shade. Julia wanted to wear a dress inspired by the Met Gala for the reception, but had trouble finding the right dress at bridal appointments. “In Indian culture, white is not a wedding color and although we were mixing our cultures, I felt I could do something a bit more fun with the dress and hopefully also make it wearable after my wedding for other fancy events,” she says.

Her mom suggested she work with a designer to create something custom, which led her to Suzanne Hanley of Atelier Des Modistes. Together, they came up with an idea for an evening gown made with pink butterfly lace fabric as a nod to her love of butterflies—their partnership was one of Julia’s favorite parts of the entire wedding planning process. “While I had a vision at the outset, I never could have imagined what it would turn out to be,” she says. “Suzanne’s atelier is like a little cove with beautiful things.”

Julia and Guatam shared their first dance to a live slowed down version of Odesza’s “Higher Ground.” They chose “As” by Stevie Wonder and “You’ll Be In My Heart” by Phil Collins for dances with their parents.

Guests enjoyed two signature cocktail options: a mezcal old fashioned and a spicy mezcal margarita. “We both love mezcal!” Julia says. 

Julia and Guatam had a clean white tiered wedding cake embellished with swirling butterflies as a nod to Julia’s dress. They chose a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache filling.

Everyone hit the dance floor to dance the hora, a tradition in Jewish weddings. “We wanted our wedding to capture the interfaith nature of our marriage, and so we had both Hindu and Jewish elements infused,” Julia says. “We wanted the weekend to be a reflection of our cultures, an opportunity to express our commitment, and a fun way to celebrate with our friends and family.”

The couple’s guests enjoyed a dinner of kabobs, rice, hummus, babaganoush, and pita bread from their favorite Los Angeles restaurant. Later, the couple brought out pizza from Prince Street Pizza for a late-night snack.

After the wedding, Julia and Guatam spent a few days in Malibu. In the fall, they spent six weeks in Italy for their honeymoon. If they could offer a piece of wisdom to couples planning a wedding, they recommend sticking to throwing a great party. “Everyone will have a good time when you have a good time,” Julia says. “Good food, good music, good booze, and mostly, great energy make a great party!”

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