Home run: Couple weds at Capaha Field in honor of veteran Capaha

Baseball fanatics Matt and Sarah Schellingerhout tied the knot Sept. 21, but it wasn’t the typical venue some may imagine for a wedding.

In honor of Sarah’s late father, Ron Michel, Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau was chosen as the chapel. Michel played for the Cape Capaha’s from 1971 to 1979. He also played minor league baseball from 1961 to 1964 with the Minnesota Twins organization.

“I grew up on that baseball field,” Sarah said. “Since my father passed away in 2001, I didn’t have him there for my wedding day, so I wanted to incorporate him somehow. Every young girl dreams about their father giving them away on their wedding day. I didn’t get a chance to have that.”

Sarah said everything she and Matt do within their lives “can kind of fall back on baseball.”

“I did it for Sarah,” Matt said of choosing the wedding location. “Mainly because I know how much Capaha (Field) meant to her and to her family.”

And right outside the field is where Matt said he proposed to Sarah on May 14, 2017.

Matt said acquiring approval for the wedding location was no easy task. It required the go ahead — a three month process — from the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department, State of Missouri, Southeast Missouri State University and the Southeast baseball coach.

“My nephews were vendors at the ‘game,’ serving popcorn and peanuts. It was an actual baseball atmosphere,” Sarah said. “We eventually carried that over as we said our vows on home plate.”

Landon Schnurbusch served as organist for the ceremony, performing baseball-themed melodies before the service, she said.

The wedding ceremony ended with a friendly one-inning baseball game between the groomsmen and bridesmaids, Sarah said. It was followed by a baseball-themed reception at the Knights of Columbus in Jackson, with a feast of ballpark favorites, including hot dogs, nachos and pretzels and soft-serve ice cream instead of a wedding cake — “because you don’t eat wedding cake at a baseball game,” Sarah said.

“A lot of people will get good ideas from our wedding, but I don’t know if I set a trend,” Matt said.

Sarah added, “We like to do our own thing. ... I just want people to understand they need to be who they want to be, and it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks about it.”

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