Julia Nabhan and Christopher Aventuro grew up in Westchester, New York, with mutual friends and overlapping school circles, but it wasn’t until college that they found their way back to each other. Julia was a sophomore at George Washington University and Chris a junior at Georgetown when, on New Year’s Eve in New York City, they happened to run into one another. Eight years later, they would return to the city to get married.

Chris proposed in the summer of 2024 on a rooftop overlooking the ocean in Capri, where his family is from. “We kept the engagement private for the remainder of the trip, sharing the news only with family and friends as we headed home to New York,” Julia remembers. “Those first few days soaking it all in together made the experience even more special.”

For their January 24, 2026 wedding, the couple envisioned an old-school New York celebration that would embrace the season and the city’s storied interiors. OTM Directory Planner Classic Events, opens in a new tab—who had previously planned the bride's sister’s wedding—led the weekend, beginning with an intimate rehearsal dinner at Il Cantinori, one of Julia and Chris’s favorite Italian restaurants.

Julia, who previously worked in fashion and is now studying interior design, turned to Over The Moon Style Director Grace Givens, opens in a new tab to create a wardrobe that carried her point of view throughout the weekend. For the rehearsal dinner, Grace styled her in Markarian, opens in a new tab’s Eveline Lace dress, which they lengthened and finished with a black velvet bow at the waist. A black wrap, Manolo Blahnik Hangisi slingbacks, a Hunting Season, opens in a new tab satin Opera clutch, and pearl lattice Anabela Chan, opens in a new tab earrings from Over The Moon completed the look.

On the morning of the wedding, Julia got ready in LFrank’s Marlayne vintage blush silk slip dress, opens in a new tab and Long Maia vintage blush silk robe, opens in a new tab from Over The Moon, paired with Manolo Blahnik Fontaza mules. “Grace perfectly understood my vision,” she says of the styling process.

For the ceremony, Julia wore a custom Mark Ingram Collection dress with a lace bolero, an especially fitting choice for a January wedding. Grace paired it with Manolo Blahnik Carolyn heels, her mother’s diamond drop earrings, and her grandmother’s wedding band, which she wore on her right hand. She also encouraged Julia to wear her hair in a soft low bun “to let the dress stand on its own,” with Elite Bridal Beauty, opens in a new tab creating her understated hair and makeup. Chris complemented her in a bespoke Turnbull & Asser tuxedo, black Belgian loafers, and his grandfather’s vintage Rolex.

The couple married at St. Ignatius Loyola on Park Avenue, where Lewis Miller Design, opens in a new tab worked with the existing architecture rather than overwhelming it. Camellia and smilax ivy garlands interspersed with billowing white garden roses dressed the entrance, while urns filled with branches and white blooms framed the aisle and altar. Julia carried a teardrop-shaped bouquet of peonies, hellebores, clematis, and roses.

A full choir, string quartet, harp, trumpet, and piano filled the space as Julia walked down the aisle to “Trumpet Tune in D Major.” Despite the scale of the moment, both remember feeling surprisingly calm—so much so that they accidentally kissed before they were supposed to. “Once we were married, I felt overwhelmed with happiness and emotion,” Julia says, recalling the happy tears that followed as they exited together.

Photographer Sydney Marie, opens in a new tab and videographer Noah Densmore of Densmore Films, opens in a new tab documented the day as the celebration moved from Park Avenue to the couple’s reception at a private New York club. There, Lewis Miller Design shifted the floral story into something richer and more enveloping. Rectangular tables were covered in green velvet and set with beige Ginori 1735, opens in a new tab chargers beneath tall candelabras, while round tables layered green undercloths with gold mesh floral overlays, gold Ginori 1735 chargers, low compotes, and flickering votives.

Even the smallest details held a story. Ceci New York, opens in a new tab created the stationery as well as custom zebra-print matchbooks inspired by Gino of Capri, the New York Italian restaurant once owned by Chris’s family. The restaurant was famous for its zebra wallpaper, originally commissioned by Chris’s great-grandfather from Flora Scalamandré—a design that would eventually become one of Scalamandré, opens in a new tab’s most recognizable patterns.

After an extended cocktail hour with caviar, sushi, and charcuterie stations, Julia and Chris entered the reception and danced to The Temptations's “My Girl.” From there, Love Supreme of Element Music Group, opens in a new tab kept the room moving with Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, and, later, a little Beyoncé.

One particularly emotional moment came during Julia’s father’s welcome remarks. Reflecting on getting to know Chris over the previous eight years, he ended by telling his daughter, “As your dad, I can never really say goodbye.” The sentiment led directly into their father-daughter dance to The Jackson 5’s “Never Can Say Goodbye.”

The night was not without its less formal moments. During “Shout” by The Isley Brothers, Julia ended up on the floor in her wedding dress alongside her family—a tradition, she explains, at every wedding they attend. “Being on the dance floor all night, surrounded by family and friends,” was ultimately her favorite part of the reception. “We kept reminding each other how special the moment was and to truly soak it all in.”

Before the after-party, there was one final fashion change. Grace had spotted velvet anemones at Markarian during Fashion Week and suggested incorporating them into Julia’s Maya mini dress, a clever reference to the black-and-white anemones used throughout the floral design. Julia paired the customized mini with black patent Khaite d’Orsay pumps.

After a cake cutting set to “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” the newlyweds moved into another room with their guests for espresso martinis, sliders, chicken fingers and fries, grilled cheese bites, and a DJ playing everything from deep house to early-2000s favorites. Outside, a winter storm was on its way.