Above: Hagar and Julien chemali
At a dinner party of mutual friends, Hagar Hadi Hajjar found herself sitting across the table from Julien Bechara Chemali. She was smitten from the get-go. The two didn’t start dating for another year, but once they got together, everything just clicked. When Julien decided to propose, he surprised Hagar with a trip to Little Palm Island in the Florida Keys. Before sitting down to a private dinner on the beach, a photographer, posing as the resort’s photographer, snapped a few shots of the couple. Before dessert, the photographer returned and captured the moment when Julien got down on one knee and asked for Hagar’s hand in marriage. The next day, Julien arranged for a dinner with Hagar’s closest friends to celebrate the engagement. The Reverend Robert Culp of Round Hill Community Church and the Reverend Dr. James Lemler officiated at the ceremony held at Christ Church in Greenwich. A reception followed at the Westchester Country Club. An after party was held at 42 at the Ritz in White Plains, where everyone danced until the wee hours.
The bride, daughter of Mirella and Hadi Hajjar of Greenwich, graduated from Greenwich Academy and Barnard College. She received a master’s degree in international affairs at Columbia. Hagar is the director for Syria and Lebanon at the National Security Council at the White House in Washington, D.C.
The groom, son of Aida and Bechara Chemali of Beirut, Lebanon, graduated from Louise-Wegmann College in Beirut and the University of Maryland College Park. He is a senior financial analyst with Vertis Communications in Washington, D.C.
Following a honeymoon in Napa Valley, Bora Bora and Tahiti, the newlyweds returned home to the nation’s capital.
Photograph: Anthony Vazquez