Cassandra Virginia Skoufalos and Matthew Patrick Quinlan visited Delamar Greenwich Harbor while a wedding was happening, and it was so magical, the engaged pair wanted to host their own nuptials at the hotel. The space had Mediterranean details and is right on the water, so Cassandra, who comes from a big Greek family, felt as if she was in the Hellenic Republic. “We rushed to book a date and found out my mom had already reserved one for us, two days after we got engaged,” the bride says. “It was all meant to be!”
“I loved trying on wedding dresses but felt like a bride when I put on my dress,” Cassandra says. She landed on an embroidered and pearl-embellished Marchesa gown with a long train and continued the pearl theme with guests’ favors and bridesmaids’ earrings. To complete the ensemble, the bride also wore lace Manolo Blahnik shoes, her mother’s veil, and her great-grandmother’s and grandmother’s rings.
In accordance with the Greek tradition, Cassandra’s mother sewed an evil eye into the bride’s gown. “I love evil eyes and always wear one for good luck,” she says. The protecting symbols were also painted onto Cassandra’s nails.
In the same church that the bride’s cousins had said, “I do,” Cassandra walked down the aisle with her father to Matthew and the priest, who has known her family for years. As the bride explains, there are three parts to a Greek wedding and they are done thrice. The first part is the exchanging of rings, followed by putting on their stefana (crowns), and concluding with a walk around a table three times.
“Matt and I had watched the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding many times before our wedding, so he knew what to expect during the ceremony,” Cassandra says. “After we were married, we were swept into a small side room just the two of us, where we were jumping up and down from excitement that we were officially married.”
At the cocktail hour, live music entertained guests, followed by an American and Greek band. Guests sat down at tables with orange and pink florals in gold vases, and after the delicious dinner, homemade Greek pastries were served.
For their first dance, the newlyweds spun around to “Crazy Love” by Van Morrison, and the party continued on the dance floor. “By far my favorite moment of the reception was when we were all Greek dancing, and my mom snuck into the middle of the circle and began throwing dollar bills on Matt and me,” Cassandra remembers. “My grandfather was always the first to do the tradition at weddings. In his honor, my mom surprised us and everyone loved watching. All my Greek family joined in throughout the night covering the dance floor with money.”
Once the formal reception came to a close, the after-party kicked off at the outdoor bar. “We ordered from my favorite hometown restaurant, Garden Catering, and served our guests the most delicious chicken nuggets and french fries!” the bride says. For their exit, the couple intended on a sparkler exit but failed to get them all lit in time. A humorous end to the first day of married life!
