There are many choices new restaurateurs must make when opening a new restaurant. When Mark Pappas (Marianna’s Great-Uncle) opened Pappas Restaurant with the support of his brother Dimitrios (Marianna’s Pappou), both recent immigrants from Greece, one choice that came easily for them was to choose none other than the H&S Family of Bakeries, owned by John Paterakis Sr. (Shawn’s Pappou) as their bread supplier. The two businesses and families have been friends and loyal supporters of each other for over 50 years. Anyone that knows crab cakes knows that crab cake filling is just as important as the crab meat itself. Pappas Restaurants has won many awards for their crabcakes and the little filling the crab cakes do have has always come from H&S Bakery bread. Little did either family know that when they made the decision to come together professionally, that one day, generations into the future, we would all be united through marriage. The Pappas and Paterakis families have been friends and part of the same community at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation since the 1970’s and both families are thrilled to deepen their connection through Shawn and Marianna’s marriage.

Considering their families have been friends for decades, one would think that Shawn and Marianna would have crossed paths before they started dating. After all, they were both born and raised in Baltimore, and were both even baptized by the same priest (Father Constantine Monios) at the church where they’ll be married, the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation. Although they both lived in close proximity for most of their lives, growing up only 4 miles apart, they somehow evaded meeting until the time was just right. It would take a dating app, Hinge, for them to finally collide. They matched with each other in October of 2021, when Shawn asked Marianna to meet him for a drink on November 1st. A drink turned into dinner, sparking a beautiful friendship, which set the foundation for their inevitable love to grow. After dating for over two years, on November 18th, 2023 in Sedona, AZ while hiking Cathedral Rock, Shawn got down on one knee and asked Marianna to spend her life with him and adventure together forever. We cannot wait to celebrate our love and begin our journey of marriage with our village by our side in August!