Fatima & Kevin's Wedding on the Field at Maimonides Park


Some weddings need a theme. Fatima and Kevin's came with a built-in one: baseball. High school sweethearts and together for fifteen years, they got married in front of home plate at Maimonides Park in Coney Island. Their wedding happened at the end of a Brooklyn Cyclones game, as part of National Love and Marriage Day, an event built around one of the more ambitious ideas I've photographed: dozens of couples renewing their vows on the same field, on the same night, aiming for a Guinness World Record.


A full-circle trip back to Coney Island

Fatima and Kevin's story has always run alongside the game. She played softball, and baseball has been part of their relationship from the start. Eight years ago they brought their oldest son to Coney Island to celebrate his first birthday, during which Kevin proposed. Getting married at Maimonides Park wasn't a random choice of venue, it was a return trip to the place where this chapter of their life actually began, this time with three kids in tow, old enough to stand up in the wedding party as ring bearers.


July 8 wasn't a random date either. It's the same ballpark where Dave and Carrie Kerpen, who founded National Love and Marriage Day, got married twenty years earlier. Their event has grown into an annual night at the Cyclones' home field where engaged couples get married and already-married couples renew their vows together, this year co-hosted with Love Island USA winners Hannah and Marco, and aiming to set a Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous vow renewal.

Joyful bride in a white strapless gown holding a bouquet twirls with her groom in a navy suit in front of a roller coaster in Coney Island.

Getting ready

I wasn't there for this part of the day, but Fatima and Kevin got ready at 1 Hotel Brooklyn before heading to the field for portraits. Fatima's dress came together under real time pressure: with just over a week to go and no gown yet, she was matched through Bria, a new app built to pair brides with designers suited to their style, with Rebecca Schoneveld, whose custom-made gown she wore down the aisle. Rebecca was on hand in person that day to help her get ready, which is not something most brides can say about their dress designer.


Between the ceremony and the game itself, Fatima and Kevin also spent part of the day in custom jerseys with their last name across the back, a detail that fit the setting better than almost anything else could have.

Bride and groom kiss on the Brooklyn Cyclones' baseball field at night while bridesmaids in blue dresses and groomsmen look on.

The ceremony

Fatima and Kevin were married in front of home plate while their guests watched from the stands, alongside a stadium full of regular game-goers who got an unexpected front-row seat. The wedding party walked out of the dugout, Fatima entering from the opposite side, and lined up along the baseline to watch. The ceremony leaned personal rather than traditional: the officiant spoke to their fifteen-year history, Fatima and Kevin exchanged their own vows, and their three sons, dressed in matching "Ring Security" outfits, carried the rings down to home plate. There were real tears, the kind that happen when fifteen years of history gets said out loud in front of the people who lived through it with you.


Right after, the vow renewal portion of the night began. In the stretch of field around Fatima and Kevin, roughly thirty other couples renewed their vows alongside them, some newly married, others coming up on thirty years together, all part of the larger push across the stadium toward a new world record for the most couples renewing vows at once. Being in the middle of that, newlyweds surrounded by decades of other marriages being recommitted to, made for a genuinely moving scene to photograph.



After the ceremony

Rather than a traditional reception, Fatima and Kevin's family and friends watched the rest of the game together from a box, then gathered for food afterward. It kept the day loose and true to the setting: a wedding built around a ballgame didn't need to turn into a formal sit-down dinner to feel complete.


Their wedding team

Fatima's gown was custom-made by Rebecca Schoneveld, matched through the Bria app. Hair and makeup came from Elite Bridal Beauty, and the Brooklyn Cyclones hosted the day at Maimonides Park.

FAQ

What is National Love and Marriage Day?

It's an annual event at Maimonides Park in Coney Island, founded by Dave and Carrie Kerpen, who married at the same ballpark twenty years ago. Engaged couples get married on the field during a Brooklyn Cyclones game, and already-married couples renew their vows together, with organizers aiming to set a Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous vow renewal.

Can you actually get married at a Brooklyn Cyclones game?

Yes, through events like National Love and Marriage Day. Couples interested in a similarly unconventional wedding should look into the event directly for how to take part in a future year. You can also contact the team or Maimonides Park to see if you can host your wedding here on another date, too.

Bride in a white gown and groom in a dark suit walk hand in hand with two young boys across a baseball field during a wedding photo shoot.
Two young boys in matching light blue vests and pants run toward a white base on a baseball field on a sunny day.
A groom in a navy suit and bow tie kisses his laughing bride in a white strapless gown on her wedding day.
Smiling bride in a white ball gown and groom in a navy suit sit on a bench with three young boys in blue vests playfully posing.
Bride in a strapless gown and groom in a tuxedo walk with two young boys on a baseball field in front of empty stadium seats.
Bride in a white gown and groom in a suit embrace on a stadium terrace with blue seats, city skyline and a mascot statue behind them.
Bride in a flowing white gown and groom in a navy suit embrace on a ballpark terrace with the Parachute Jump tower and ocean behind.
A bride in a flowing white strapless gown twirls her skirt beside a groom in a navy suit and bow tie on a sunny ballpark rooftop.
Bride in a white ball gown laughs with four bridesmaids in light blue dresses among stadium seats at a ballpark wedding.
Smiling bride in a strapless white ball gown poses among empty green stadium seats at a ballpark wedding portrait session.
Black and white photo of a bride in a white gown embracing an older woman in a dark dress in an empty stadium during a wedding.
Smiling woman in a white dress lifts a giggling baby in a white outfit above her in a stadium with empty green seats.
Two smiling women in dark satin dresses dance joyfully together on an outdoor terrace in a black and white celebration photo.
Smiling boy in a light blue vest and bow tie opens a black carrying case filled with headphones and audio equipment at a table.
A smiling baseball mascot with a yellow beak, blue cap, and red shorts stands on the warning track in front of stadium seating.

Planning a wedding that doesn't look like everyone else's?


I'm a wedding photographer based in Westchester County, working with couples across NYC, the Hudson Valley, and Fairfield County who want their day to actually look like them, whether that's a ballroom or a ballpark. If you're planning something a little unconventional, I'd love to hear about it. Reach out through my contact form.