MARYSVILLE — Forget Armani and Vera Wang.
When David and Shelby Wallace look back on their wedding, they’ll more likely remember where they were married than what they wore.
The couple tied the knot Aug. 8, exchanging vows in front of their five children and about 60 guests over home plate at Marysville’s Cedar Field, the ballpark that hosts Marysville Little League on an almost-daily basis throughout the summer months.
David did not pop the question at a baseball game, somewhat surprisingly, but when the couple went on an early honeymoon, their destination was none other than Yankee Stadium. They visited in May to watch the Mariners play before the historic stadium is dissembled, adding a detour to Cooperstown to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The setting was the bride’s idea, David said. The couple have known each other almost their whole lives, growing up practically next door. Their families grew particularly close when Shelby’s brother Don Adams played on the same Little League team as David. Don and Shelby’s father Skip Adams coached the boys on team Pepsi.
But while David and Don were fast friends in the way that boys of the same age tend to be, David said he found Don’s older sister a little intimidating in the way a 14-year-old girl might seem to a 12-year-old boy.
“But I always had a crush on her,” he added.
And so years passed. David and Shelby married other people, having three and two children respectively. They were reunited unexpectedly several years ago when David attended his niece’s soccer game and discovered she was on the same team as one of Shelby’s daughters.
Sports, which brought David and Shelby together the first time, brought them together again.
And with a strong love of baseball in their families — the four girls all played softball and David coaches his son Noah on the minor league Mets — it just made sense for them to become one family in a place that already holds so many memories.
The groom’s attendants were his children Katie, Aly and Noah, while the bride was attended by her two daughters, Caitlyn and Shaye. The couple live in Marysville.
