“We started dating during the pandemic, so it was pretty much 11 months, all day every day together, and we knew that this was it,” Sara Ruth Halperin says of her relationship with Alex Lavayen. They decided to wed in a “party no one would forget” and chose Oracle Park as the venue, since Sara Ruth grew up going to Giants games with her father.
“As far as the aesthetic, we really wanted something that was both formal and festive,” Sara Ruth shares. For the venue, a major part of the reason we chose the stadium is because it so beautiful and unique. It sits on the water, and the field is amazing.” Something Blue Productions brought their vision to life, while Christina McNeill was behind the lens.
The dress code matched the early autumn day’s design. “We encouraged everyone to wear that ‘one item in your closet you’ve always wanted to wear,'” the bride explains. “Our guests really brought it and it made it so special.”
Sara Ruth also took her chance to wear something she was excited to put on from Vivienne Westwood. “I have always loved Vivienne’s crazy corsets and necklines and figured this was my one chance to get a dress that was extravagant and fitting to me,” the bride says. For the after-party, she changed into a feathered dress from a local boutique, paired with a pearl necklace from Wolf & Badger.
On September 24, 2022, the wedding ceremony began semi-privately in the clubhouse with the Ketubah signing. Then, Sara Ruth walked down the stadium steps to “Wild Thing”—”a fun little deep-cut baseball reference,” she laughs—and onto the dugout. The father of the bride officiated the ceremony under a chuppah made from the same cloth that Sara Ruth’s parents and brother were also married beneath.
After announced as officially married, the newlyweds’ party on the field began. “Since we were at the ballpark, we made sure to serve hotdogs, and it was a smash hit,” Sara Ruth explains. “We also had a mustard bar, s’mores, and—as an ode to San Francisco—served Ghirardelli sundaes.”
Seeing everyone get to enjoy the ballpark in a way most people had never dreamed of was a favorite moment of the bride’s day. “People were on the field late at night FaceTiming with their dads, grandparents, etc.,” she recalls.
For entertainment, Sara Ruth gave each of their DJ friends a decade to play a set with—from ’70s disco to the Aughts. “They were all so sweet and crushed it,” she states. The after-party seamlessly continued at the speakeasy connected to the field for more revelry until the early hours.
