When Bad Bunny took the stage at Levi’s Stadium on February 8, 2026, more than 128 million people expected a spectacle. They got something no one — not even the couple at the center of it — could have fully prepared for. Midway through a 13-minute celebration of Puerto Rican culture, music, and community, a real wedding unfolded on live television. Two people said “I do” in front of the largest American TV audience of the year. And every detail, from the dress to the marriage certificate, was completely, legally real.
Who Got Married at the Super Bowl Halftime Show?
The couple at the center of the Bad Bunny Super Bowl wedding moment are Eleisa “Elli” Aparicio and Thomas “Tommy” Wolter, both with deep roots in Southern California. Elli is a Covina High School graduate, and Tommy is a registered nurse who earned his BSN from California State University, Fullerton in 2021. The two began dating in February 2023, celebrated their one-year anniversary with heartfelt Instagram posts, and got engaged in October 2024 at Cannon Beach, Oregon — a proposal captured by Portland wedding photographer Nate Meeds.
Like many couples planning a wedding, they had leftover invitation envelopes. Unlike most couples, they decided to send one to Bad Bunny.
“They were like, ‘Why don’t we send one to Bad Bunny? Lots of people send wedding invitations to him, so why not,'” Super Bowl halftime show director Hamish Hamilton told Variety. The couple figured, at best, they might receive a signed photo in return.
What they received instead changed their lives.
How the Super Bowl Wedding Actually Happened
Bad Bunny’s team reached out to the couple after receiving their invitation. Rather than attending their planned wedding, the Puerto Rican superstar offered them something far larger: a chance to get married during his Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show performance, in front of the entire world.
The couple accepted. A non-disclosure agreement followed, keeping the surprise intact until the moment it aired. Sacramento pastor Antonio Reyes officiated the ceremony — and he, too, had no idea what he was agreeing to at first. He revealed that it was surprise performer Becky G who initially contacted him on behalf of Bad Bunny’s team. “They called me and said, ‘Hey, this couple wants to get married. We don’t know if he’s a celebrity,'” Reyes later shared in an interview. He only learned the full scope of the event after signing his own NDA.
“We were trying to make it as official as possible,” he said, “because that’s what was asked of us.”
Bad Bunny himself served as a legal witness, signing the couple’s marriage certificate. The ceremony was not symbolic or theatrical — it was a fully binding legal marriage, confirmed in a press release from Bad Bunny’s team following the show.
The Wedding Moment, Minute by Minute
Approximately five minutes into Bad Bunny’s 13-minute performance, the stadium’s energy shifted. The high-octane opening — featuring “Tití Me Preguntó,” “Yo Perreo Sola,” and “VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR” amid a stunning recreation of a Puerto Rican neighborhood complete with domino tables, sugar cane fields, a barber shop, and a casita — gave way to something more intimate.
Elli and Tommy appeared center stage, surrounded by dozens of dancers dressed in white. An officiant — Pastor Reyes — stood before them. Vows were exchanged. They were pronounced husband and wife in Spanish. They kissed. The crowd roared.
The couple then moved to a towering three-tier wedding cake, cut a slice together, and fed each other in front of 70,000 people inside the stadium. As they shared their first dance, Lady Gaga appeared for a surprise cameo, performing a stunning salsa-infused rendition of “Die With a Smile” — her hit with Bruno Mars — alongside Los Sobrinos, a live Puerto Rican salsa band from Bad Bunny’s latest album and concert residency.
The newlyweds danced off into the celebration as Bad Bunny continued the performance, the moment seamlessly woven into the fabric of the show’s larger narrative.
That night, Elli shared a video of the wedding on her Instagram Stories: “My heart is so full. This experience has been nothing short of amazing.” Tommy posted on Instagram the same evening: “An unforgettable dance with the love of my life. Cannot thank @badbunnypr enough for this beautiful opportunity of a lifetime.”
The Wedding Dress: Hayley Paige’s “Becoming Jane”
The bridal moment immediately sparked questions about who designed Elli’s wedding dress. The answer: Hayley Paige, the celebrated bridal designer who had only relaunched her brand six months before the Super Bowl.
A stylist named Joleen Garnett — a friend of Paige’s sister and producer Megan Gutman — reached out to Paige roughly two weeks before the performance with a deliberately vague request: a dress for “a really important event.” The project was confidential. Paige provided gowns, originally assuming they might be for a background dancer.
The dress Elli wore is called “Becoming Jane,” from Paige’s new Twice Upon a Time collection. It’s a study in versatility: a fitted lace-on-lace base with a thigh-skimming slit, a dramatic overskirt that can transition from sleek silhouette to full ball gown in seconds, and optional half sleeves or a detachable bolero for layered styling. Critically for this occasion, it features a stretchy lining designed to move with the body — ideal for dancing through vows in front of 70,000 people.
“I saw during the show they were dancing and having fun,” Paige told TODAY. “To have a moment like that, and it actually be a real bride, I think made it even more special because the message is, ‘Love wins.'”
After the halftime show, Paige reached out to the bride personally — and told her she could keep the dress.
For Paige, the moment carried added weight. She had spent years fighting a legal battle to reclaim her own name and brand. Watching one of her creations walk into one of the most-watched moments in television history felt, she said, like a full circle.
What the Wedding Symbolized: Latin Culture, Love, and a Message to America
The Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show wedding wasn’t just a viral moment. It was a carefully layered act of cultural storytelling.
The entire performance was designed as a love letter to Puerto Rico and Latin identity. The set recreated a vecindad — a vibrant Puerto Rican community — with food stands, a barbershop, a liquor store, and the iconic casita (a nod to Bad Bunny’s beloved Puerto Rico residency). Ricky Martin performed “Lo Que Le Pasó A Hawaii,” a reference to Hurricane Maria’s devastation, seated beside an empty chair — a symbol of those lost. He then joined Bad Bunny for “El Apagón,” a track about Puerto Rico’s prolonged post-hurricane blackouts.
Celebrities including Cardi B, Karol G, Pedro Pascal, Jessica Alba, and Alix Earle were spotted dancing inside the casita. The performance closed with dancers carrying flags from across the Americas as Bad Bunny held up a football with a clear message printed on it: “Together, We Are America.”
A banner displayed during the show read: “Lo único más poderoso que el odio, es el amor” — “The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate Is Love.”
Within that context, the wedding was not incidental. It was the emotional centerpiece: a real act of love, performed publicly, framed as a community celebration. As wedding industry commentator and Aisle Society founder wrote: “Bad Bunny centered love, commitment, and celebration in a space typically dominated by masculinity, competition, and spectacle. He layered Latin culture, community, and romance into one of the most traditionally ‘American’ broadcasts. He did it unapologetically.”
The wedding also carried specific musical meaning. The couple had originally planned to use Bad Bunny’s song “BAILE INOLVIDABle” — which translates to “Unforgettable Dance” — as their first dance song. Bad Bunny performed exactly that song as they cut their cake and danced. The title, as it turned out, described the night perfectly.
The Show’s Broader Performance: Bad Bunny’s Full Halftime Set
For those who want the complete picture of the Super Bowl halftime show 2026, the performance ran approximately 13 minutes and featured:
- “Tití Me Preguntó” — opening the show amid domino tables and community scenes
- “Yo Perreo Sola” — performed on the rooftop of the casita with celebrity cameos
- “VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR” — a rally anthem for Puerto Rican pride
- The wedding ceremony — timed during the emotional heart of the set
- “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” — the couple’s first dance song, played as they cut the cake
- “Die With a Smile” (feat. Lady Gaga) — a salsa reimagining with Los Sobrinos
- Ricky Martin — “Lo Que Le Pasó A Hawaii” and “El Apagón” with Bad Bunny
- “DTMF” — closing the show with fireworks and a full stadium dance floor
Bad Bunny performed the set just days after winning Album of the Year at the 2026 Grammy Awards for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, making the halftime show the culmination of one of the most celebrated years of his career.
Why This Wedding Went Viral — And Why It Mattered
The super bowl wedding moment resonated for reasons that go beyond entertainment. People who watched it weren’t just watching a performance trick. They were watching two real people — a nurse from Southern California and a woman who graduated from Covina High — make a lifelong promise to each other, in the middle of a football game, surrounded by dancers and watched by more people than could ever fit into any venue on earth.
It was absurd and intimate at the same time. It was Latin and universal. It was planned for months but felt completely spontaneous. The FCC later reviewed the performance and found no violations of its rules — but what stayed with viewers wasn’t controversy. It was the kiss. The cake. The first dance.
As wedding trends go, 2026 may be the year that couples started asking themselves a question they never thought to ask before: What if we made it unforgettable in a way no one expects? The Bad Bunny Super Bowl wedding didn’t start a trend so much as it reminded people that a wedding is, at its core, a celebration — and celebrations don’t need to be small to be real.
Quick Facts: The Bad Bunny Super Bowl LX Wedding
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Date | February 8, 2026 |
| Venue | Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA |
| Bride | Eleisa “Elli” Aparicio |
| Groom | Thomas “Tommy” Wolter |
| Officiant | Pastor Antonio Reyes |
| Witness | Bad Bunny (signed marriage certificate) |
| Wedding Dress | Hayley Paige “Becoming Jane” (Twice Upon a Time collection) |
| First Dance Song | “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” — Bad Bunny |
| Surprise Performer | Lady Gaga (“Die With a Smile” — salsa version) |
| Viewers | ~128 million (U.S. broadcast) |
| Engagement Location | Cannon Beach, Oregon — October 2024 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Was the wedding in Bad Bunny’s halftime show real? Yes. The ceremony was a legally binding marriage. Bad Bunny’s team confirmed it in an official press release. Bad Bunny himself signed the marriage certificate as a witness.
Who got married during the Super Bowl halftime show? Eleisa “Elli” Aparicio and Thomas “Tommy” Wolter, a Southern California couple who had originally invited Bad Bunny to their planned wedding.
What dress did the bride wear at the Super Bowl wedding? She wore “Becoming Jane” by Hayley Paige, from the Twice Upon a Time collection — a versatile lace gown designed to move freely, perfect for dancing.
Why was there a wedding during Bad Bunny’s performance? The wedding was the emotional and thematic centerpiece of a show celebrating Puerto Rican culture, community, and love. It reinforced the performance’s core message: love is more powerful than hate.
What song played during the Super Bowl wedding first dance? Bad Bunny performed “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” — which translates to “Unforgettable Dance” — as the couple cut their cake and shared their first dance. It was also the song the couple had originally planned to use as their wedding first dance.
Who officiated the Super Bowl halftime wedding? Sacramento pastor Antonio Reyes officiated the ceremony. He was brought into the project by Becky G on behalf of Bad Bunny’s team and signed an NDA before learning the event was the Super Bowl.