Baltimore couple celebrates anniversary of home opener wedding
A Baltimore couple is celebrating their first wedding anniversary today after getting married inside Camden Yards during last year's home opener.
Tassie Zahner and Timm Gillette are originally from the midwest. They grew up outside of Detroit in southeast Michigan, about 20 minutes away from each other, but it took a move to Baltimore for the two to meet.
They met in 2018 when Zahner's father was visiting town. She took him axe throwing and Gillette was their instructor. He asked her dad where he's visiting from and he said, "Ypsilanti."
"I looked at my dad and said, dad, how is this dude from Baltimore going to know where Ypsilanti is?" Zahner said.
Gillette responded by saying he was born in Ypsilanti.
"So it turns out we're both from the same relative area of Michigan," Zahner said. "Timm went to high school with one of my cousins. We used to drive past his house every time we visited my aunt and uncle for holidays and things like that."
Later that night, after axe throwing, she looked Gillette up on Facebook and messaged him. She invited him to the Orioles Hawaiian shirt giveaway game that weekend that she already had plans to attend.
"So our first date was with my dad and a coworker at the time," Zahner said.
Receiving the Facebook message was a pleasant surprise for Gillette.
"I was very happy to hear from her because I thought, well, A she was cute and B, we just got along well and we've pretty much not been separate since then," said Gillette.
Neither remembers the date of their first date, so every year, they attend the Hawaiian shirt game to celebrate their anniversary.
When they decided to get married, they knew they didn't want to do something traditional since they'd both previously been married.
"We wanted to do something Baltimore because you know, I've lived in the city for 15 years. He's lived here a little bit shorter than that and we both love the city," said Zahner.
They decided the 2024 Orioles home opener would be the day and planned it on their own. Instead of a dress and a tux, they wore their matching Hawaiian shirts from their first date. Their friend, wearing 1940's 1940s-style baseball attire, officiated and Gillette brought a big bouquet of orange and white flowers and a just-married sign.
Before the game started, they headed to the outfield standing area and asked the people around if they'd be willing to move a few feet to the side for 10 minutes so they could get married. People all around them made room and stood by, taking photos and videos to help them capture their ceremony.
"The people around us, it started a little game of telephone. Everybody knew what was going on and we had our own cheering section," Gillette said. "It shows you know how much the people of Baltimore really can band together. They band together just around us getting married."
After the ceremony, it was back to baseball.
"But the specialness is the O's and what they mean to us... and how they brought us together," Gillette said.
"And the city," Zahner replied.
They plan to celebrate their anniversary on opening day from now on because, much like their first date, they can't remember the date they got married.
"Opening day will always be our anniversary," Zahner said.