A Couple Got Married for Free at Fenway Park Today

Oh, and planned the wedding in six days.

By Rachel Kashdan· 12/11/2019, 5:35 p.m.

Photo by Billie Weiss/Red Sox

How do you top a picture-perfect proposal at Fenway Park? An all-expenses-paid, pop-up wedding at the Green Monster should do the trick. That’s exactly what Shannon and Drew Lanthier experienced this afternoon when they tied the knot at the ballpark as part of the Red Sox’s #GiftOfSox day, an annual event where the team’s digital media staffers take to Twitter to grant fans’ wishes by the hundreds, from free Dunkin’ doughnuts delivered to nearby offices to a surprise meet-and-greet at the stadium with Sox players and adorable puppies.

For its sixth year, the staff wanted to do something more ambitious than ever before and came up with the idea to throw a pop-up wedding at the park. So just last week they reached out to couples who had recently gotten engaged at Fenway by email, and asked if they would be interested in getting married the following week in an intimate ceremony at Fenway for #GiftOfSox day. “I thought we wouldn’t find anyone who wanted to get married in a week in a suite at Fenway, but it turns out a lot of people wanted to. We got like 15 responses in 24 hours,” says Marissa McClain, senior manager of Art Direction for the Red Sox, who took the lead on planning the lucky couple’s nuptials.

McClain chatted with a few of the interested couples by phone, including Connecticut residents Shannon and Drew. After just over four years of dating, the two had gotten engaged at Fenway Park on opening day in April, when the players received their World Series rings. “As soon as Drew knew that the Red Sox won the World Series in 2018, [he told me] when the Red Sox got their rings I was going to get mine,” the bride explains. The pair stood out to McClain right away. Drew is a longtime Sox fan, and when he started dating Shannon, she fell in love with the team, too. Now, they’re currently awaiting the chance to take their newborn son to his first game at Fenway next season. “They are just die-hards and really bonded over the Red Sox, so I thought they were the perfect couple to get married here,” McClain says. Plus, when Drew first proposed, Shannon hoped they could have their wedding at Fenway. “I asked him if we could get married here and he laughed and brushed it off, so when [we got the email] I said, ‘We have to do this,'” Shannon explains. In fact, the offer arrived in their inbox just before Shannon was about to put down a deposit on another venue. “I couldn’t believe it,” she says. “It still doesn’t really feel real.”

So on a snowy Wednesday afternoon, after rushing to pick up an expedited marriage license, the couple laced up their New Balance sneakers and headed to Fenway with 12 friends and family members to say “I do.” The ceremony took place in a suite on the third floor of the ballpark with views down the first base line, where the two exchanged rings provided by Lux Bond & Green in a ceremony officiated by Justice of the Peace Carol J Merletti. Shannon, who donned a full-length wedding gown, carried a bouquet of red roses, eucalyptus, and greenery provided by Kinship Floral. The rest of the décor for the ceremony space came from McClain’s home, the ballpark, and HomeGoods, which donated gift cards for a shopping spree. Guests even sat on the park’s classic red stadium seats. After swapping vows, the couple cut into a cake provided by Aramark, the park’s food vendor, and enjoyed tunes from TJ Connelly—the official DJ for the Red Sox, the Patriots, and the Bruins. “Everybody was so helpful and wanted to make sure this day was really special for them,” McClain says. “Seeing it all come together today was really, really great.”

Peek inside the day below!