Kulani Nako threw a curveball when he asked his fiancée — a lifelong Red Sox fan — to make a cross-country trek from their home in Honolulu for their June wedding. At Yankee Stadium.
“Everybody loves to get married in a church, and I wanted to get married at baseball’s cathedral,” says Kulani, 33, who has supported the Bronx Bombers since he was a child.
His fiancée, Joyce, thought it was a cool idea because they’re both huge baseball fans, but she would only say “I do” on the Pinstripers’ field under one condition.
“I said, you have to wear a Red Sox jersey under your shirt,” Joyce, also 33, recalls.
Kulani balked at first: “Was I going to defile the cathedral by wearing a Red Sox jersey?”
He wouldn’t, but in the end they met in the middle: Taking the team name to heart, Kulani wore red socks instead.
The Nakos aren’t the only ones stepping up to the plate to exchange vows and rings at the city’s baseball meccas on non-game days. Since the new stadium opened in 2009, the Yankees have seen a rise in wedding ceremony and reception requests, according to Emily Hamel, director of non-baseball events. And Citi Field, which opened the same year, has also become a popular venue for Mets fans looking for a ceremony out of left field.
Many couples see the stadium as the perfect setting for beginning a new life together as a team.
“There’s a very strong level of interest for brides and grooms to make this a part of their life,” says Hamel. “It’s a place they can come back to, that they can have their kids and grandkids come back to and share in that spirit and passion.”
The celebration doesn’t come cheap. Wedding-ceremony prices start at $8,500 for Yankee Stadium; at Citi Field, the minimum cost is $10,000.
For some, that’s a bargain. Schoolteacher Jennifer Colello considered Disney World for her 150-guest wedding in June, but decided it was too expensive. (DisneyWorld’s “Wishes” package— best-suited for a party their size—requires a $20,000 spending minimum for Saturday weddings.)
In the end, Jennifer and her husband, Greg Colello, who live in Morris Park in The Bronx, decided to have a ball with a ceremony on the field at Yankee Stadium, followed by a reception inside.
“We were thinking of places that were memorable, different and cool for us, and Yankee Stadium was one place that kept popping up,” says Greg, who works as a scoreboard producer for the stadium.
The couple, both 27, were thrilled when a former Bomber showed up during the rehearsal the evening before the ceremony.
“Former Yankee legend Bucky Dent happened to be there and came over to congratulate us, wish us luck and introduce himself to our families,” says Greg.
On the big day, Greg faced center field as Jennifer stepped up to home plate in blue heels and a white gown and tapped him on the shoulder.
“I had been on the field before,” but this time family and friends were applauding “for us . . . the stars of the show, instead of Derek Jeter and A-Rod,” Greg says.
Guests got to be part of the adventure, too: As they entered the stadium on the big day, they were greeted by security guards and stadium ushers directing them to vendor carts, where they picked up table assignments and a stadium tour ticket as a wedding favor.
After the “I do’s,” the newlyweds and their guests headed up to the Delta Sky360 Suite for cocktail hour, including haute baseball food such as gourmet popcorn, corn dogs and sliders with the Yankee logo burned into the bun.
And as they stepped out onto the terrace for a breath of fresh air, they saw their names scrolling across the scoreboard.
Erica Mangone and her fiancé, Mike Daddona, from Rockville Center, LI, fell in love at a baseball game at Citi Field, and are now going to amazin’ lengths to create a ballpark-style wedding.
The couple, who met during the first exhibition game at the new stadium in 2009, didn’t initially envision a Mets wedding — but it quickly morphed into one after Mangone chose navy wedding dresses for her bridesmaids. At the wedding they will add burnt-orange roses and dark blue delphiniums to their look.
The couple’s wedding invitations look like baseball tickets and read: “You are cordially invited to the World Series of weddings.” Instead of a traditional guest book, the couple will ask guests to sign their names on a customized jersey.
“It started taking on a life of its own,” says Mangone, a 28-year-old nurse.
Other hits include Precious Moments figurines—wearing Mets jerseys—on top of the wedding cake, and the pillow in the ring box will be decorated with a baseball stitch, thanks to careful embroidery by Mangone’s aunt.
Perhaps most exciting of all, a very special guest has RSVP’d: The couple scored a cocktail-hour cameo from Mr. Met himself. (But he’s a pricey attendee: $600 per hour.)
When all is said and done, Mangone says she expects the nups to cost about $28,000— slightly higher than their budget.
But to her, it’s worth every penny.
“You only do it once,” she shrugs.
The ballpark figures: How much it costs
YANKEE STADIUM
A simple wedding ceremony at Yankee Stadium with 10 people on the field starts at $8,500.
There are 23 possible reception venues; costs range from $3,000 for the Party City Party Suite for 60 people to $10,000 for the larger, more upscale Legends Suite Club for 1,200 guests. Food and drink costs depend on the menu.
The total cost of the event will vary depending on the number of guests, security costs, the date and time of your ceremony and whether you use the stadium’s catering, among other factors. Discounts are offered to those looking both to wed and host their receptions at the stadium.
CITI FIELD
A simple ceremony with 10 people on the field starts at $10,000.
Reception rooms range from $7,000 for Citi Field’s Delta Sky360 Club to $8,000 for the stadium’s Caesars Club for 900 guests. The minimum cost of food and drink is $39 per person, but the average spent is $130 to $140 per guest, and you are required to use the stadium’s catering.
The price will depend on the number of guests, security arrangements, the date and time of your ceremony and other factors. Mets fans looking for a cheaper baseball venue can shell out $1,500 to get hitched at MCU Park, home to the Brooklyn Cyclones. Your bridal party gets complimentary use of the locker room for three hours (handy, if you need a pre-wedding pep talk!). Having both a wedding and reception at the park costs $2,500, plus the price of food.