Steve Schirripa is one proud father of the bride!
The Blue Bloods actor, 66, celebrated the wedding of his youngest daughter, Ciara Schirripa, on Sunday. Ciara, 27, tied the knot with longtime boyfriend Zach Binder at the Tribeca Grill in New York City, surrounded by family and friends.
Steve — who is best known for portraying Bobby Baccalieri on The Sopranos from 2000 to 2007 — tells PEOPLE that Ciara’s wedding was “a family affair.”
“We all planned the wedding togther. Zach has been with Ciara for seven years — they’re college sweethearts — and so he’s part of the family already,” the actor says.
“It was just one big party, and it was very emotional, of course, [because] it’s my youngest daughter. Now we’re real empty-nesters, me and my wife Laura,” he continues.
Though wistful about Ciara being married, Steve says he couldn’t ask for a better husband for his daughter. “Zach is … I’m very, very proud to have him as [a son-in-law]. He’s going to take care of my daughter,” he shares. “I’m not going to be here forever, and he’s a really good boy.”
The newlyweds met in 2014 while students at the University of Delaware. They began dating in 2016 and got engaged in October 2022.
Ciara says her wedding was “truly the best day” of her life. “From start to finish,” she declares. “Just my getting ready squad was amazing.”
The bride wore a strapless white Jude Jowilson gown with a bow in the back. After seeing Ciara in the dress, Zach — who donned a classic white tuxedo — gave his immediate seal of approval.
“He was like, ‘I knew it was going to be simple, but a little dramatic. That’s exactly how you are,'” Ciara recalls.
For her bridal beauty look, Ciara worked with makeup artist Melinda Medina, who helped create the soft, natural glam she was aiming for. “I’m not super big on makeup,” she explains. “I wanted to get that more natural look, while still looking and feeling really beautiful.”
Toni Coburn, who works on The Drew Barrymore Show, styled her hair. “I’ve known her forever. My mom, my sister and I all go to her to get our hair done,” Ciara says of Coburn.
When she walked into her wedding venue for the first time, Ciara was overwhelmed. “Everything was just absolutely perfect — the lights, the table settings,” she remembers. “Even on the way there, we were in a nice big limo, and I got to sit in the car and wait for everyone to go in. It was fun watching all my friends go inside.”
The Tribeca Grill has special meaning for the Schirripa family, as both Ciara and older sister Bria worked there while in college. Bria also hosted her own wedding there in April 2021.
During Ciara and Zach’s ceremony, Steve walked his daughter down the aisle to “Wildest Dreams” by Taylor Swift. Ciara says it was an emotional, happy moment.
“I was not nervous, and then as soon as the doors opened and I looked at my dad, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ I was so excited, I was crying,” she recounts.
Though Ciara described her and Zach as “low-key people,” she said the wedding was anything but. “Nothing about the wedding was low-key,” she joked.
The venue featured green and white accents throughout for a “whimsical, rustic” feel, with details such as greenery, twinkle lights, a disco ball, small vases filled with flowers, and floating candles.
In a nod to Ciara’s mother’s Mexican-American heritage, a five-piece mariachi group performed. A nine-piece band, Mari Entertainment (formerly known as NYC Swing), also provided music.
“We went to one of their showcases, probably back in January or February, and we just had the best time with them,” she says of the band. “We were like, ‘We need to book them now.'”
“The whole time it felt like a private concert,” she continues. “They sang everything from Motown, and ‘Build Me Up Buttercup,’ to ‘Empire State of Mind’ and Biggie.”
When it came to the food, everything was served family-style. The menu included short ribs, fried chicken, swordfish, vegetables, spicy rigatoni, butternut squash ravioli, and mac and cheese. There was also a big table of Italian antipasti with salami, different types of cheeses and fruit.
“It was all so good,” Ciara raved. “People throughout the whole night were just telling us how delicious the food was.”
The couple’s strawberry and whipped cream wedding cake was made by Veniero’s, a famous Italian bakery in the East Village. Guests also enjoyed cannoli. As Ciara reflects on her wedding day, she says she’s still pinching herself over how magical the occasion was.
“I wish I could just relive it all over again, just every single moment. It was just absolutely perfect,” she gushes. “Especially [because] every single human that I love and cherish was at the wedding.”