Providence Mayor Taveras marries in surprise ceremony

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and his fiancée were wed on Saturday in a surprise ceremony, his spokesman said.

The 42-year-old mayor married Farah Escamilla, 33, the mother of his daughter Farah Rose Taveras, during a private party celebrating the one-year-old's first birthday. The bride will take his surname.

The Taverases got engaged earlier this month and decided their daughter's birthday party would be a fitting occasion to tie the knot, mayoral spokesman David Ortiz said.

The ceremony was officiated by R.I. District Court Judge Rafael Ovalles, the mayor's uncle, and was attended by about 100 of the couple's family members and close friends, including Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, who attended Classical High School with Taveras.

"The mayor and Mrs. Taveras extend their deepest appreciation for everyone’s well wishes, and request that the media respect the privacy of their family and their home as they celebrate their union," Ortiz said in an email.

The mayor's office said Mrs. Taveras has decided to become a stay-at-home mother. She previously worked as a legal assistant at the Providence law firm Pannone Lopes Devereaux & West LLC.

Taveras, a first-term Democrat, is considering a run for governor of Rhode Island in 2014.