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Couple reflects on Rays-themed wedding
As the Tampa Bay Rays chase a championship, a Winter Haven couple is looking back at their own big day at the ballpark – when they hosted their wedding reception at Tropicana Field in 2009. Fox 13's Ariel Plasencia reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - As the Tampa Bay Rays chase a championship, a Winter Haven couple is looking back at their own big day at the ballpark – when they hosted their wedding reception at Tropicana Field in 2009.
Their love story
The backstory:
Aaron Doll, a lifelong fan who grew up in Seminole, introduced Kathleen to the Rays when they started dating.
Kathleen quickly fell in love with the franchise. And in 2008, she was studying at USF St. Petersburg during the team's first World Series run.
"She had a front row view down there, and we went to all the watch parties," Aaron told FOX 13. "And we were at the airport when the Rays flew back the night they clinched."
So when it came time to plan their wedding in 2009, they decided a traditional, sit-down reception just didn’t seem right.
"We wanted something that reflected our fun nature and something that was important to us," Kathleen said. "And so we decided to share that with all of our friends and family."
And just like that: Their wedding reception was going to be at the Trop.
"I was like, why not? Let's do something different," Aaron said.
Their wedding day
What we know:
After tying the knot at a church in Seminole, the couple bought 150 tickets to the Rays game. The Rays organization even sent a wrapped team SUV to chauffeur the newlyweds to the ballpark and also provided full media credentials for their wedding photographer.
"Our wedding favors were cowbells. Wedding colors were dark blue, light blue. And then we both had custom jerseys made for the game," Aaron said. "So she wore a dress. I wore my tux. And so, about halfway through the game, we both pulled our jerseys on after that."
The wedding party and guests took over what is now the SkyDeck in left field.
"Everybody's like, ‘Oh, what's the food, what’s the food?’ Hey, go help yourself. It's open bar, open food — just open your wallet first, and buy me a beer on your way back," Aaron said, chuckling.
It also happened to be USF Night — a perfect nod to Kathleen's alma-mater — and rock band, Daughtry, played a concert after the final out.
The reception also gave the couple a chance to show out-of-town guests why Tropicana Field means so much to them, including a literal mark they left on the stadium. During the 2008 playoff run, the couple banged cowbells against a brick wall in right field, leaving permanent scratches that they still visit and photograph to this day.
"It was one of the fun things about the wedding. Like yes, it was our wedding, but we had a lot of people that had never been to a Rays game that were from out-of-state flying in for the wedding," Aaron said. "And it was a great experience to celebrate that with all our family and friends."
Present day
What they're saying:
Aaron and Kathleen recently celebrated 17 years of marriage.
Their message for the Rays as the team chases a 2026 championship?
"Just get it done," Aaron said. "Let's get a championship for the Rays, especially with momentum going into the new stadium, the new ownership group. It's exciting times."