In a ceremony blending baseball nostalgia, Detroit history and community spirit, Tom Derry and Sarah Aittama said "I do" at home plate where the Tigers played until Sept. 27, 1999.
The old ballpark site is a field of marital dreams for Tom and Sarah Derry, married there by Michael Copado. (Facebook photos)
Sunday afternoon's event at the old Tiger Stadium site was "the most incredible wedding I think I will ever do," Michael Copado of Fraser posts on Facebook. He's a minister at the Spiritual Life Center of Ferndale and -- more importantly -- is among Navin Field Grounds Crew volunteers who maintain the former ballpark site. Derry formed the group in 2010 and his wife is among its loyalists. (Navin Field was the stadium's name from 1912 until the mid-1930s.)
"What a magical day it was," Tom Derry says Monday night in a Facebook message to Deadline Detroit.
This description is from his crew's Facebook page:
More than 150 people came out for this special event. The groom wore a 1920 Detroit Stars uniform. The bride rode in from centerfield on the crew's John Deere riding mower. The flower girls passed out peanuts and Cracker Jack, while the trumpet player performed "Take Me Out To The Ballgame."
The wedding also included a bridal couple circuit of the basepath, past a lineup of players in vintage-style uniforms. They were from the Wakoo Base Ball Club of Royal Oak and the Union Base Ball Club of Dexter, teams that played after the unusual pregame festivities.
The groom and bride, who's using her husband's last name, had their reception at the Gaelic League Irish American Club -- four blocks down Michigan Avenue from their field of marital dreams.
The accompanying photos by spectators are from the groom's Facebook page. Professional photographer Rick DeLorme of Lapeer, a member of the Navin Field group, snapped official photos -- 18 of which are posted without text at the Metro Times site. A gallery of 50 images by DeLorme is at Copado's Facebook page (50).
Sarah and Tom walk to the altar . . . er, home plate.
Players in vintage-style uniforms flank the basepath Sunday afternoon in Corktown.
