Pepe's Does It Again.

The following article appeared in today's edition of the New Haven Register.....At iconic pizzeria, another joyful event occurs
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
By James Tinley, Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — Now that’s amore. In a wedding ceremony Monday, Gus DaSilva pledged his undying love to his new wife, Pamela, in front of the Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria brick ovens that cook the other love of his life: Pepe’s thin-crust pizzas.“We wanted to get married; we wanted to put two and two together, but to me, just being at Pepe’s means a lot, a lot of memories,” Gus DaSilva said.More memories were made Monday when Gus and Pamela said their “I dos” under the Pepe’s “The Original Tomato Pies” sign.The residents of Richmond, Ind., were in the state to visit Gus DaSilva’s son, who is about to be deployed to Iraq, and decided to “take a shot” at having the ceremony at DaSilva’s favorite restaurant.Gus DaSilva developed a love for Pepe’s pies while living in Waterbury before moving to Indiana about five years ago.While eating at Pepe’s the day after Christmas, DaSilva got the idea in his head to get married in the iconic Wooster Street pizzeria and asked his waitress.When the question was put to General Manager Steve Adkins, he said, “Why not?” — considering a wedding would be another first for the historic pizzeria.“The more I thought about it, the funnier it was,” Adkins said. “Everything has happened here. We’ve had a woman go into labor, (wedding) proposals, anniversaries and honeymoon visits. I thought, why not a wedding?”Pepe’s opened early Monday for the low-key affair.Gus DaSilva’s son Rui, and Rui’s girlfriend and son were the only invited guests. But several of Pepe’s staff took a break from stoking the coal-fired ovens to look on and snap pictures of the newlyweds with camera phones.Before becoming Pamela DaSilva, the newlywed had only been at Pepe’s once, and said she was a little incredulous when she first heard the idea of a pizza place marriage. But, she quickly came around.“It’s different, very different, but neat,” she said after the ceremony.Gus’ son said he too was taken aback at the idea of a Pepe’s wedding at first, but also quickly embraced the idea.“I was a little flustered at first, but it was what he wanted to do, and I support him and love Pamela like a mother,” Rui DaSilva said. “I’ve been coming here since I was a kid, so there are a lot of memories for me here, too.”In addition to being a new bridegroom, Gus DaSilva is expecting another grandson.Rui DaSilva’s girlfriend, Holly Thurston, could give birth at anytime. Her due date was Monday, the day of the wedding.Rui DaSilva, a private in the Army National Guard, is hoping the baby is born before he is deployed to Iraq in early January.But whether or not his baby comes before he has to leave, Rui still was able to enjoy a Pepe’s pie, on the house no less, with the new addition to his family before his deployment.

James Tinley can be reached at jtinley@nhregister.com or 203-789-5702 .