Baldwin couple weds at Citifield

Tricia Parides, a teacher at Plaza Elementary School and a resident of Baldwin, exchanged wedding vows with Mike Wilder last Friday at the first marriage ceremony at Citifield, home of the Mets.

"My fiancé, Mike, and I are huge Mets fans," Parides told the Herald before the wedding.

The origins of the ceremony were almost as exciting as the event itself. Parides explained that every summer, she and Wilder go to an out-of-town Mets game and stay in the same hotel as the players.

Last summer, they were staying at the same Philadelphia hotel as the Mets. That was where "Mike got the help of third baseman David Wright for his proposal to me," Parides recounted. "Mike went to a David Wright Foundation event and asked David for his help. He graciously said yes, and a week later I was proposed to with the help of my favorite Met player. Then and there, we knew we would be having a Mets-themed wedding. We contacted Citified and booked our ceremony."

Several of Parides's former students sang during the ceremony.

Since it was a game day, the couple couldn't have their reception at the ballpark, but the reception they did have might as well have been: It included Pizza Pass, seat upgrades, the "kiss cam" and more Citifield touches.

"Our invitations were made to look like Mets tickets," Parides said. "Our centerpieces were large baseballs made out of flowers. My dress has a Mets' blue sash, the girls [wore] Mets blue and carried orange flowers."

Wilder even wore a Mets vest under his tux.

Parides's friend, Kelly Conlan, loved the ceremony and reception. "This wedding was truly amazing — not a detail was missed," Conlan said. "From the bride's bouquet adorning a small golden catcher's mitt to the T-shirt launchers and mini-helmets to make-your-own-sundaes, hot dogs, Cracker Jack, nachos, [and] popcorn toward the end of the night."

Conlan said that they even had the recorded voice of Mets P.A. announcer Alex Anthony, and played it throughout the evening.

Comments about this story? JOConnell @liherald.com