Dominican and American Elements Blend Together in This Museum Wedding in Massachusetts
Paola Ozuna (28 and a nonprofit program manager) grew up in the Dominican Republic and Michael Pelletier (31 and a digital marketing manager) hails from the Boston area, so they knew they wanted a wedding that blended their two backgrounds. To channel that mashup, the duo asked their mothers to read a poem in both Spanish and English, served food with Latin flavors and danced the hora loca. Other thoughtful details included their invitations, which were illustrated by a friend in Madrid, and music by a Boston youth band. The newlyweds surprised guests with two first-dance songs, switching from “At Last,” by Etta James to a fast-paced merengue number, “La Dueña del Swing,” by Los Hermanos Rosario. “I knew I was going to do some serious dancing and wanted to be able to move easily,” Paola says of her decision to slip into a chic jumpsuit for the reception, where the couple served hot apple ciders, old fashioneds and gin and tonics. Brass candlesticks, vintage bottles and amber goblet decorated the tables at the 19th-century former textile mill on the Charles River while the couple donned an astrantia, viburnum berries and bay leaf lapel and a clutch of ranunculus, amaryllis, cosmos, carnations and ruscus.