Those happy bells you heard ringing on September 10 were actually wedding bells for our gal Bria Skonberg and Matthew Papper, the artistic director for Town Hall, a performing arts center in midtown Manhattan. The New York Sunday Times ran a glowing article about the couple’s three-year courtship leading up to their marriage. To capsulize a few of the highlights:
Matthew first became aware of Bria when he dropped in to hear Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks at Sofia’s Restaurant in the Hotel Edison, and she was playing in the band. They kept running into each other at various events, but it was all fairly casual until they exchanged phone numbers that led to Bria inviting Matthew to join her at a late night jam session at an uptown bar. At 2:30 a.m., the two decided to share a cab to their respective apartments, but the ride extended into a tour twice around Manhattan from Washington Heights to Battery Park and a $85 cab fare (plus tip), with the couple ending up for ice cream at 6:30am at a 24-hour restaurant.
With Matthew due to go to work in two hours, Bria, with her impish sense of humor, gave him a note for his boss, stating: “Papper can’t come to work today. He has typhoid.”
It was obvious the relationship was serious, and both were we
