A wedding at Fenway Park. What else can you say? While the Red Sox were in the Bronx taking on the Yankees, Jim and Sally were holding down the fort back home, along with nearly 150 of their closest friends and family.
Why Fenway Park? Simple. It’s where they met. The two discovered that they were reading the same book, conversation began, and the rest is pretty much history. And since Fenway is such an important part of their lives, they incorporated it into every aspect of their day, including the ceremony itself which, I might add, took place in the seating area behind home plate. As reference for the Fenway Faithful, guests were seated in Sections 127 and 128. Sally came down the aisle (the steps leading down from the Grandstands) to a raucous rendition of “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” with guests clapping their hands and stomping their feet at her arrival. I get chills when I think back to that moment. I mean, come on, I’m cranking out The Dropkick Murphy’s at Fenway Park! And for such a huge day to this very fun couple. If you can’t get excited for something like that, it’s time to put away the laptop.
Oh, and about that ceremony. Their Justice of the Peace was Carol J. Merletti, who opened with, “Ladies and Gentleman. Boys and girls. Welcome to Fenway Park, America’s most beloved ballpark, for this afternoon’s wedding between Jim and Sally…”
Their reception was held upstairs in the EMC Club where the fun continued. Fenway franks were included among the hors d’oeurves, cupcakes decorated to look like baseballs were substituted for wedding cake and the centerpieces consisted of small buckets filled with candy bars, bubble gum, peanuts, Cracker Jack and a Boston Red Sox Pez dispenser. Guests had been invited to dress casually, and to feel free to wear sports attire from their favorite team (as long as it’s the Red Sox!) In actuality, there were not only Red Sox fans in attendance, but also those who cheer for the Yankees, Indians and a few other teams. One of their close friends had even flown in from London just to be there for the wedding.
To Jim and to Sally, thank you. There was a lot of work that went into your day and it’s one that I will truly never forget. I hope you have a blast in Ireland. The only thing that I’m sorry about is that the Red Sox lost to the Evil Empire, 5-2.
Now, any Celtics fans out there who want to get married at The Garden?
