A Classic Summer Wedding at the Ocean House

Ten years after a chance meeting in a Manhattan elevator, artist Susan Chen and James Palten exchanged vows by the sea at Ocean House in Watch Hill, Rhode Island — a place woven with family memories and personal history. The venue had been a beloved summer retreat for James’s 101-year-old grandmother, Joy Palten, and Rhode Island marked Susan’s first American home when she attended Brown University. Their celebration blended heritage, art, and coastal elegance in unforgettable ways. Painterly details abounded: gouache-painted invitations and cocktail napkins sketched with their dog Monaco by the bride, and a gallery-style escort wall featuring golden-framed art historical wedding portraits by artists like Frida Kahlo, Paula Rego, and Marc Chagall, alongside Susan’s own self-portrait of the couple. Bridesmaids wore custom soft-pink silk qipaos designed by her cousin from Hong Kong, while Susan paired a macramé Maison Signore gown with jeweled Simone Rocha Crocs. Guests dined on lobster rolls and halibut, toasted with signature cocktails and Laurent-Perrier champagne, and ended the evening dancing to Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable” — a full-circle love story transformed into a living work of art.