Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson On Stepping In As Sarah Hyland’s Wedding Officiator At The Last Minute: ‘I Couldn’t Get Out Of It’

 From left to right: Jesse Tyler Ferguson on the Jennifer Hudson Show and Sarah Hyland in an interview about Modern Family.
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Both on and off screen the Modern Family cast really is a family, and their real-life love for each other was on full display at Sarah Hyland’s wedding to Wells Adams last summer. While Hyland and Adams’ wedding had many alums from the ABC comedy on the guest list, one person who had a really big job at the ceremony was Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who officiated for the couple. However, that was a last-minute decision after Ty Burrell had to step down, and the Mitchell actor joked that he “couldn’t get out of it.”

For some background, Sarah Hyland’s wedding was basically a Modern Family reunion, as Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Julie Bowen, Sofia Vergara, Nolan Gould and Ariel Winter were all in attendance. After working together for 11 years the crew grew very close, and are still very tight. One person who wasn’t there, but was supposed to be, was Hyland’s TV dad Ty Burell, who had a family emergency, and couldn’t make it. He was supposed to officiate the wedding, but when he wasn't able to Jesse Tyler Ferguson stepped up to the plate to help out, and he explained what went down on that day on the Jennifer Hudson Show, saying:

Ty Burrell was meant to officiate. I will let people know that. He had a family emergency, so I was his understudy. It came down like, 10 days before the wedding. I did not have any notice. And you can't say ‘no.’ She already knew I was going to the wedding, so it’s like it’d be like, ‘Oh, I’m busy that weekend. I couldn’t get out of it.’ I adore Sarah, so I was like, ‘This means a lot that she’s asking me to do this, but it’s a lot of pressure.’

Considering both the popularity of Modern Family and Sarah Hyland, plus the public’s love for her and her now-husband Wells Adams, who is the beloved bartender on Bachelor in Paradise, there were a lot of people who were excited to see all the photos, posts and videos from the ceremony. So, I understand why Ferguson may have wanted to jokingly get out of it at first, it’s a high-stakes event. However, he did officiate, and he did a great job.

He continued to talk to Jennifer Hudson about the ceremony, which also featured A-list guests including Shaun White, Nina Dobrev, Debby Ryan and more, noting how high profile the wedding was. Ferguson said:

It’s not just like a regular wedding, it’s a wedding that’s like, has paparazzi, helicopters flying above us. It’s going to be in Vogue magazine. I’m like, ‘Jeez, can I start with maybe a low-profile one? No! Right to the top!’ I’m very good now, so if anyone needs anything.

It was so adorable seeing Wells Adams well up as his “perfect person” walked down the aisle and Jesse Tyler Ferguson beamed in the background. Overall, it seemed like a beautiful ceremony, and to have Hyland’s beloved co-star officiate the wedding must have made it extra special. Plus, as the actor noted, now he can help out anytime since his first time officiating a wedding was at a pretty big one.

Both Hyland and Ferguson have been staying busy since this big event. While the Mitchell actor has been spending his time on Broadway in Take Me Out, he also just launched a podcast called Dinner's on Me. Meanwhile, the Haley actress recently starred in the Pitch Perfect spin-off Bumper in Berlin, which can be streamed with a Peacock subscription.