Spencer and Dustin Reeser-Stout — a couple from Salt Lake City, Utah — never expected that the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., would be their wedding venue when they ventured to San Diego two months ago to scout locations for their impending nuptials.
But that's exactly where the Reeser-Stouts found themselves on Sunday night, accepting congratulations on their union during the Grammys live show from the likes of Katy Perry and Beyonce.
Along with 33 other couples — young, old, gay, straight — the Reeser-Stouts were wed during hip-hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' performance of the anthem "Same Love," accompanied by featured vocalist Mary Lambert. Madonna sang "Open Your Heart" as Queen Latifah officiating the weddings.
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According to the New York Times, the idea for the weddings came from Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich, who sat down with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis to brainstorm performance ideas last fall. The duo, which reportedly had a history of marriage proposals at their concerts, agreed to raise the bar and perform a full wedding.
The Casting Firm, a casting agency in Los Angeles, contacted the Reeser-Stouts about the idea of getting married on national television while they were in San Diego, they said, though the firm was unable to say more until the couple was on board.
The couple had already had a brush with Internet-fame from their flash mob proposal video at Home Depot last September, embedded below. But they were still hesitant.
“At first we were unsure about it,” Dustin Reeser-Stout told Mashable. “It’s a personal thing and after we got so much hype about our proposal [video], we didn't want it to be like reality TV.”

The Casting Firm could not be reached for comment, but a casting listing still on their website said they were "seeking couples of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities and ages to participate. Straight and same sex couples are welcome!"

Image: The Casting Firm
Eventually, the couple agreed to explore the opportunity. After signing a confidentiality agreement, they were told that the marriage would happen at the Grammys, during the live telecast.
“[The casting agent] called telling us that it would be at the Grammys and we were like ‘Oh. Well, OK,’” said Reeser-Stout. “It was a bit of a shock. It didn’t seem quite real. Even up to the day of the event, we thought ‘Is this a joke? Is someone punking us?’ It was too fantastic to be a real thing.”
According to the Reeser-Stouts, the casting agency wanted real, engaged couples of all types and ages who had not been married yet. Among the 34 couples who wed were Ryan Lewis' sister and her fiance. He told New York Times that having her there took "it a whole other level of amazing."
While a televised ceremony with Queen Latifah as a legal officiant could raise questions about legality, the Reeser-Stouts stressed that the whole thing was legit. "[On Thursday] we had to go to a county clerk's office in California to get a marriage license so that the ceremony done on the show was valid and legal," said the couple in a follow-up email to Mashable. "In rehearsals, Queen Latifah wasn't even allowed to say the words of part of the ceremony — otherwise we technically would have been officially married then. There were a lot of 'blah blah's' while she rehearsed with us so when she used the language on the show, it was official."
We contacted the Grammys for comment, but they hadn't returned our request at time of writing.
“It is completely legal,” Dustin Reeser-Stout said of his own marriage. “We were all real couples that had real marriage licenses. Queen Latifah was ordained; I watched Queen Latifah sign our marriage license.”
A variety of couples were selected for the ceremony, but for same-sex couples like the Reeser-Stouts living in a state that doesn't recognize same-sex marriage, the union could present a few problems.
California recognizes same-sex marriage, but Utah — where the Reeser-Stouts are from — does not, for now. On Jan. 6, 2014, the Supreme Court put a stop to same-sex marriages in Utah while the state appeals a federal district court's ruling that had legalized them. This could put the Reeser-Stouts in a tricky legal situation, but it's not met without hope.
"We are patiently waiting to see what happens there and are allowing the process to work itself out," said Dustin Reeser-Stout. "We hope for a speedy decision so that those in our position can have some much needed peace of mind."