One Couple Gets Married at a Dallas Mavericks NBA Game

Most couples tie the knot at a luxurious hotel or the gardens of a historic home, but Ellyn Piatt and Reid Malone chose a nontraditional location for their nuptials: a Dallas Mavericks basketball game. During halftime, the couple traded vows in the middle of the court and in front of a packed stadium. In a video that Good Morning America uploaded on March 9, 2023, the bride and groom are shown standing in front of an arbor decorated with flowers, getting ready to make it official. While Piatt is wearing a strapless gown covered in floral appliqués with a sweetheart neckline and a matching floral-embroidered veil, Malone is clad in a gray suit and an electric blue tie.

When the time came to trade vows, the officiant said, “Reid, do you take Ellyn to be your wife? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only onto her forevermore?” After Malone responded, “I do,” the entire crowd cheered. The officiant then declared, “It’s my delight to declare you husband and wife. Reid, you may kiss the bride.” The spectators rejoiced while the groom gave his new wife a peck on the lips. “You’re like, ‘Oh, you can’t see them, but there are thousands of people here, and [it was] an adrenaline rush, but it was also really cool because it was almost magical,” Piatt recalls in an interview after the wedding. 

After the ceremony, financial service company Chime presented the newlyweds with a check for $7,000 to put toward their honeymoon. Based on the photos and videos, it appears that the couple even shared their first dance in the middle of the basketball court. The footage also indicates that the newly married couple celebrated with a reception afterward, where the bride changed into a silk strapless ruched gown, and the pair enjoyed a slice of cake.

Since Malone grew up as a loyal fan of the Dallas Mavericks, saying “I do” at a game was a dream come true. “So my whole family is Mavericks fans,” Malone shares. “I grew up kind of bleeding blue and green.” When Malone introduced Piatt to the team, she also became a supporter. “I was told when we started dating that I didn’t have a choice,” she jokes. “I had to be a Mavs fan, and I didn’t realize the extent of it until I went to his mom’s house, and she has a small bedroom just full of merchandise, and then I realized that if I rooted for any other team, it’d probably be a problem.”

Not only did the duo get married at a Mavericks game, but they also got engaged on the court. After Piatt told Malone that she thought public proposals were “cool,” he knew the perfect way to pop the question. During one of the team’s games, Piatt was chosen as a participant to play “hot and cold” while blindfolded. It was all part of Malone’s plan, which Piatt wasn’t privy to. “She was supposed to be going toward a signed Boban Marjanović jersey, and the crowd was going to cheer when she was getting closer and boo if she was getting farther away,” Malone explains. When Piatt neared the jersey, Malone grabbed her hand. Once she removed her blindfold, she saw her boyfriend on one knee, holding a ring. Malone then asked the ultimate question, and Piatt accepted the proposal before slipping the sparkler on her finger and kissing her new fiancé. The crowd cheered.

According to Good Morning America, the newlyweds will have a second wedding in June of 2023. For other individuals hoping to get married in the future, Malone has some advice. “One thing that I want people to take from us is know that person is out there who’s going to be your best friend,” he expresses. “We were so OK with Ellyn being Ellyn and Reid being Reid and just being together but ourselves in that. It’s out there. It’s out there with somebody, and your eyes will be opened up to so much of the future that you never, ever, ever thought would happen.”