A Dominican, Haitian and Puerto Rican Fusion Wedding at 501 Union in Brooklyn, New York

Because Cesarina  is Dominican and Ramond  is Haitian and Puerto Rican, the chose to blend their respective backgrounds for their wedding. For example, guests found signs at the reception that read #FromQueLoQueToSakPase— an idea hatched because Dominicans greet one another with “que lo que” and Haitians use “sak pase.” And at the reception, the DJ played a mix of Spanish songs, reggae, reggaeton, salsa, bachata and merenge. “Our goal was to have everyone on their feet dancing,” Cesarina says. “We wanted to make sure everyone had a good time.” Afterall, everyone needed to cut loose: An unexpected snowstorm hit that November, forcing Cesarina and Ramond to delay the ceremony by two hours. “Just seeing that our guests made it, made the ceremony that much more special," Cesarina says. Cesarina changed into an Ines Di Santo gown for the reception that she scored for $800 and altered to better fit her style.  “We didn’t want anything over the top,” Cesarina says. “The extensive use of candles at the ceremony made the room feel like a modern-day fairy tale.”  “Throughout the wedding, we used geometric decorations that made the design feel unique,” Cesarina says. Tall centerpieces created with stacked rectangular stands were topped with cascading flowers and candles. The newlyweds dancedto “You and I” by John Legend because they attended one of his concerts back when they first started dating.The marble and gold cake had alternating layers of chocolate and Dominican cake with dulce de leche filling.