The proverbial count was three and two. This last swing was going to be it—no matter what happened. After having no success with an online dating site, Jenn decided to send one final message before closing her account. James had only been on the website for 24 hours (his friends coaxed him into it), before a message appeared from the woman who would soon be the love of his life.
The two hit it off immediately, bonding quickly over their shared devotion to family and love of baseball. Jenn is a devout fan of America’s favorite pastime and James played for 10 years, even considering a career before deciding on another passion and becoming a chef. A few weeks after their first message, he took her out to a ballgame—Giants vs. Marlins in San Francisco—and though the Giants lost, it didn’t put a damper on their budding romance.
They dated for about two-and-a-half years, during which time they suffered a devastating loss—a fire claimed their shared apartment and nearly all of their possessions, which included a large collection of baseball cards that James had been planning on using as a “ring fund.” Thankfully, “with a lot of help from friends and family, we were able to come back as a stronger and more resilient couple,” Jenn recalls of the difficult time.
Despite the setbacks, he proposed over dinner at one of their favorite restaurants—and their supportive family and friends were all too excited when they received vintage baseball ticket-inspired invitations to the wedding.
The pair knew right away that they wanted to incorporate lots of baseball-related details, but one of those personal touches caused a bit of fuss on their big day. “We had planned to have the rings brought down the aisle by the ring bearers in a baseball attached to a baseball mitt that [my] father had put together for us,” Jenn remembers. “In the final hour leading up to the ceremony, it was discovered that the mitt had gone missing, but through a desperate collaboration of friends and family, it was located back at the hotel in our car and delivered minutes before the ceremony began.”
After their short and sweet ceremony, the newly minted Mr. & Mrs. were ready to celebrate in style with their reception in the Cresta Blanca Room at beautiful Wente Vineyards. Guests found their way to tables that perfectly blended sporty details and polished elegance with chic candelabras and charming pennants bearing the names of famous ballparks, rather than traditional table numbers.
Several particularly memorable moments came from the toasts—one when James’ father recited a poem in Choctaw (James is a member of the tribe), and another when the maid of honor recited a playful original poem with plenty of nods to the couple’s history.
The happy couple recently bought their first home together and is looking forward to starting a family. They’re well on their way to confirming the Yogi Berra quote featured on their invitations, too. “Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.”
—Jennifer Resnicke
