Meet the married couple at the Indianapolis Colts-Baltimore Ravens Monday Night football game

BALTIMORE – Lamar jackson isn’t the only one making memories at M&T Bank Stadium these days, thanks to a few newlyweds.

Amala Okafor and Candace Congress tied the knot at halftime of the Baltimore Ravens–Indianapolis Colts game on October 11. This would be the first marriage at stake at the 24-year-old stadium.

With the bride dressed in a white Colts jersey and the groom in a white Ravens jersey, both with “Okafor” on their backs, the couple rose from their seats and got married under the lights of the Monday Night Football. The Ravens’ cheerleaders served as a witness and bridesmaid. Surrounding fans took photos and then congratulated the newly married couple.

“Well, for me, a woman who has been planning her wedding since she was 16, it was not my marriage, ”Candace said.“ But, I assure you, it was the best marriage I could imagine because it permeated everything that matters to me. I got to express my creativity, I got to marry the man of my dreams, and we were seated in the best seats possible for a big game. It was more than just eating cake and then going to bed. We have so much to talk about. “

Weddings in stadiums have already taken place. In September 2019, a couple in Buffalo became the first married couple on the field at halftime of an NFL game.

What made this month’s event different is that Amala and Candace aren’t fans of the same team. Candace lives in Indiana and has long been rooted for the Colts. Amala is from Illinois and has been cheering for the Ravens since they drafted Jackson in 2018.

“He started talking about Lamar and he wouldn’t stop to date,” Candace said. “I’m like, we have to go to a game. The Colts-Ravens game was just the last week I was going to be in Baltimore for work. We had no idea this was going to become our wedding date.”

Candace is a surgical technologist who had taken a health care trip to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Amala is in warehouse management. They met online in June and got engaged in September.

Amala and Candace struggled to find a place to get married as many places were too expensive and the lighting in the courthouse was not going to be enough. So, Candace brought up the idea of ​​having the ceremony at M&T Bank Stadium.

“To be honest, I thought it was going to be impossible,” said Amala, who had never attended an NFL game before. “But the more we talked about it and the more his plans came to fruition, it became more and more possible. If someone had told me I was getting married at Ravens Stadium, I wouldn’t believe it at all.”

Amala and Candace have selected rings with the logos of their favorite teams. Their cake topper featured the bride standing in front of a Colts backdrop and the groom in front of a Ravens backdrop. Candace’s bouquet was filled with purple and blue flowers – a bridal tribute to the Ravens and Colts – as well as a leather football rose of real soccer balls.

Candace reached out to Moe Shoots, the Ravens’ guest experience manager, to see if they could get married during the game. Shoots eventually took online classes to become their officiant. Shoots thought about joking during the serve: “Don’t leave it in the middle of the night like the Colts did.” It would have been a slight blow against the Colts who moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984.

Congratulations to the happy couple who got married at half-time of last night’s game!

(But especially the groom) pic.twitter.com/SMbzKYfmxI

– Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) 12 October 2021

“I decided not to put that one in there,” Shoots said. “It might go a little too far.”

At halftime of Monday night’s game, the Ravens inducted Haloti Ngata into their Ring of Honor. Then it was time for Amala and Candace to exchange their rings.

They broadcast the wedding online for family and friends to watch. In 6 and a half minutes, they crossed the marital goal line.

“I swear it felt like it was meant to be because they said ‘yes’ and kissed just as the ball was thrown to start the third quarter,” Shoots said.

After sharing the cake with the fans sitting around them, Amala and Candace decided to leave at the end of the third quarter as they had left their marriage certificate at the hotel and wanted it signed. The Colts had what looked like an insurmountable 22-9 lead at that point.

By the time they returned to the stadium, Jackson had completed the biggest comeback of his career, throwing the winning 5-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Brown in overtime. They watched the fourth quarter and extra time Victory of the Ravens 31-25 on Amala’s phone.

“I was talking a bit of nonsense here and there,” Amala said. “But when we finally won, I said, ‘I love you, baby, but we won.'”