This is not your typical halftime entertainment at an NBA game.
A wedding took place during halftime of the Mavericks-Timberwolves game at American Airlines Center on Monday night.
Reid Malone and Ellyn Piatt, who are diehard Dallas fans, tied the knot on the team’s center court logo in a ceremony that was officiated by Mavericks play-by-play announcer Mark Followill.
“Reid and Ellyn will now exchange rings as a symbol of love and commitment to each other,” Followill said during the ceremony. “It is the seal of the vows you have just taken to love each other without end.”
The couple then repeated the vows and placed their wedding rings on each other’s hands.
“By the power vested in me and with 20,000…as witnesses, it’s my delight to declare you husband and wife,” Followill said before the bride and groom shared a theatrical kiss as the crowd cheered.
Malone had proposed at a game in 2021, and the Mavericks later reached out to the couple at the end of last year about the idea of tying the knot at a home game, according to WFFA Dallas.
The bride was escorted to the court by a male in a grey suit, while the couple’s bridesmaids and groomsmen were also present at the makeshift altar. The wedding included floral arrangements and a podium for the officiant.
Reporters at the game couldn’t believe that an actual wedding ceremony took place during halftime.
“Been working NBA games for 16 years,” Michael Grady, a Timberwolves broadcaster for Bally Sports, tweeted. “Seen a number of engagements… This is the first halftime wedding I’ve ever seen.”
The newlyweds also had their first dance at center court after the ceremony.
The Mavericks were defeated by the Timberwolves 124-121 on Monday night. Dallas visits Denver on Wednesday.
