Less than two years ago, Joe took Missy to her first NHL game. Neither of them could have predicted one would serve as their wedding venue. Once they considered the possibility, however, they knew it was the only way to go.
The couple tied the knot before the Flyers' game against the Washington Capitals in the hallway outside their Wells Fargo Center suite on Wednesday.
"I just knew he would love it and when he's happy I'm happy," she said.
"I was really surprised," Joe said. "It was Missy's idea, and to me, I just thought, this is another way Missy is once again contributing to my happiness and always wanting to be that special someone in my life and do something special for me. That's just the incredible woman she is, and it was an awesome idea and we started putting it together."
With two college lacrosse-playing sons, Missy took to hockey naturally when Joe introduced her to the game. The couple, who live in North Arlington, New Jersey, went to their first game together at nearby Prudential Center, where the New Jersey Devils played the Boston Bruins.
But Joe had a partial season ticket plan for the Philadelphia Flyers, so it wasn't long before she became a fan too.
"Joe is from Philly has always been a huge Flyers fan so he brought me to a couple games so I thought it would be a great place for a wedding," she said.
Their ticket agent, Cameron Lucas, ended up becoming their de facto wedding planner. Because while there have been plenty of wedding proposals at Wells Fargo Center, a wedding ceremony was a whole different matter.
The couple got a suite for the game because Joe knew it would be a great game, and because Missy's sons, Cade and Jack, would be home from college for winter break.
With 22 family members and friends in attendance, the suite was the perfect size. When they got there, there was an autographed Travis Konecny jersey and autographed pucks waiting for them.
"I was the first one in there, so I took the Wayne Simmonds puck because he's my favorite," Missy said.
About 15 minutes before the game started everyone gathered in the quiet of the hallway for the ceremony, performed by Joe's brother, Steve Keller, who became an officiant for the occasion.
"The staff blocked off the hallway and closed the suite doors," Missy said. "We did a short thing. We said our own vows and then just went right back in to get to it and watch the hockey game. It was a beautiful view."
During first intermission they took the two signs Missy made and took their turns around the ice.
"The Flyers couldn't have been nicer about everything," Missy said. "They let us bring our signs and wedding favors and every single employee somehow knew about it. They were like, 'You're the ones that got married! Congratulations!' It just was great. The refs were going by us when we were on the Zambonis and were giving us the thumbs up. The cheerleaders were taking pictures."
Joe even gave a big wave to Vice President Joe Biden, who happened to be in attendance.
The evening ended perfectly, with Simmonds scoring the Flyers' game-deciding shootout goal.
"We had some people there that never saw a hockey game before, and on top of that we got to take in the whole atmosphere," Joe said. "It was great because I love the Flyers and I love Missy and the special little details that she thought of like the Zamboni ride and the 'Just Married' signs, the whole thing was kind of overwhelming. It was hard just to take all of it in. And then the Flyers winning in the shootout was really cool."
