bthesite.com | blog

For the past four years, Baltimore Ravens tight end and special teams specialist Daniel Wilcox has hauled in passes, made tackles and thrown blocks on the turf at M&T Bank Stadium. But on Saturday evening, he did something no Ravens player has ever done at the stadium — he exchanged his wedding vows.

Wilcox married Shauna Chin on the 50-yard line in front of friends and family, becoming the first Raven to get married at the stadium and the first wed on the field.

“It was something that just kind of happened. We were looking for venues and couldn’t find anything, so we ended up going to the Ravens to work out a deal,” said Wilcox. “To me, Baltimore is home. I’ve got a lot of love for the city and love for the Ravens, so getting married at the stadium means a lot to me. … I work my butt off there on Sundays.”

Despite being held where giant men sweat, swear and slam into one another on Sunday afternoons, the unconventional wedding turned out to be beautiful. “When they were looking for places, I kept saying ‘Why don’t you do it at the stadium?’ and they looked at me like I was crazy,” said Sandra Zabaneh, Chin’s mother. “It ended up being fantastic.”

After the guests filed into the rows of white chairs and the bridal party took its on stage, Chin arrived in a Cinderella-esque horse-drawn carriage, her childhood fantasy. She fought off tears as she walked down the aisle in a stunning white wedding gown — with a slight sparkle, an eloquent touch — from Israeli designer Pnina Tornai. With the setting sun peaking over the upper level of the stadium, casting long shadows of Daniel, Shauna and the white pillars surrounding them, the couple exchanged vows and Pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant pronounced them man and wife.

“It didn’t even feel like the stadium once everything got started,” Wilcox said in a phone interview the day after. “It felt like we were at a church. It turned out to be very romantic.”

The reception, held upstairs in a spacious lounge, meshed Southern American and Belizean tradition and cuisine, from mac and cheese and sweet potatoes to a sushi bar. A calypso band pounded on kettledrums while the guests dined and later two DJs took turns spinning. Camera crews from the Ravens, the Style Network and the NFL Network filmed the couple all evening.

The couple first met on a group trip to Puerto Rico with mutual friends in 2005, but failed to make a connection. A year later, they randomly bumped into one another in a Belize nightclub and have been together ever since. “We believe it’s destiny we met,” said Chin earlier in the week.

A few months later, Wilcox took Chin to see his alma mater, Appalachian State in Boone, N.C. He decorated a condo with a trail of roses and handwritten notes that led to a balcony overlooking the mountains. When she got to the last note, Wilcox dropped to a knee — a three-point stance if you will — and popped the question. “I didn’t think he was going to propose,” she said. “I was crying. It was beautiful.”

Daniel Wilcox: NFL tight end and hopeless romantic? Not quite, he says, but he’s working on it. “I’ve always said to myself, if I’m going to get married to someone, I have to treat that woman ten times better than any woman I’ve ever been with,” said Wilcox. “I work hard to try to be romantic for her.”

It’s a testament to his caring, dedicated nature. Wilcox is also known for his role in the community. He created a foundation that benefits disadvantaged youth and hosts charity events like an annual paintball tournament and a spelling bee. “He’s a titan amongst the charity circles because he likes to give back to people,” said Ravens linebacker Bart Scott, a wedding guest. “The wedding is symbolic of the great person, the great player and the great friend he is.”

After months of planning, the couple leaves for a much-needed Maui honeymoon today. “We definitely need some relaxation time after all this,” Wilcox said.

Matt Vensel is a content creator at b. E-mail him at matt@bthesite.com

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.