Love is always in the air at a Dead show, but this past Saturday at New York’s Citi Field, the love was a little stronger than usual. Prior to Dead & Company‘s performance at the New York Mets’s stadium, guitarist and founding Grateful Dead member Bob Weir officiated a wedding for a longtime friend, real estate investor Billy Procida, and his bride, Kelly Lauerman.
This is not the first time Bob has officiated a wedding at a show. Last fall, Weir led the ceremony for Philly Live Nation head Geoff Gordon during a Campfire Band show in Upper Darby, PA last fall
According to a report from Page Six, the Citi Field ceremony took place in one of the stadium’s “backstage” VIP rooms, where 50-60 of the couple’s friends and family members gathered to celebrate Billy and Kelly’s marriage. Weir reportedly “came in and said a poem and the ‘I do’s’ and said beautiful things.”
While the ceremony lasted only 15 minutes, Weir mingled for a time afterwards to take pictures and chat with the wedding guests. Keyboardist Jeff Chimenti also attended the nuptials, standing next to the groom during his vows. Procida called the ceremony “beautiful and funny,” explaining that “at the end, [we] forgot to sign the marriage license. He was getting on a golf cart to go on stage and I had to chase him!” You can watch footage of the ceremony below, courtesy of Page Six:
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Following the wedding, the bride and groom came out to the stands and danced the night away with 2000 of their closest friends, for whom they bought out an entire section’s worth of tickets. Not that’s how you do a wedding right! Seeing the Dead with all your loved ones after Bobby officiates your marriage? After a wedding like that, we know Billy and Kelly’s love will not fade away! Congrats to the happy couple!
[h/t – Page Six]