'Atlanta Thrashers' Newlyweds Plan Hockey-Themed Honeymoon

Did you hear the one about the avid hockey fans from Georgia who recently tied the knot in the middle of a National Hockey League game?

Well, now the newlyweds are going into overtime planning a hockey-themed honeymoon.

Last Thursday, die-hard hockey fanatics Cyndi and David Pritchard were married on the ice at Philips Arena in Atlanta during the first intermission of the Atlanta Thrashers versus Boston Bruins game.

The best part: The bride was escorted down the aisle by a giant bird in a tuxedo -- "Thrash," the energetic, big-beaked Thrashers mascot.

AOL News got the chance to catch up with the blushing bride, who's currently drumming up a way to keep with the hockey wedding theme by incorporating her favorite sport into their honeymoon.

"We're planning some sort of hockey-related road trip to another state for our honeymoon to watch a game. Maybe we'll catch a Thrashers away game in Chicago, since both myself and my husband have family there. Whatever we decide to do, hockey will be involved because we're huge fans. We just love it," Cyndi told AOL News.


Cyndi said their honeymoon will probably happen sometime in early February, smack-dab in the middle of the NHL season so they have plenty of games to choose from.

Clearly, their passion for the puck runs deep.

Cyndi said she and her husband have season tickets to Thrashers games and have been frequenting hockey arenas since they began dating six years ago.

She confessed that it had always been her dream to get married on the ice during intermission, so she reached out to reps from the Thrashers, who helped make her wacky wedding possible.

Her main makeshift "wedding planner" was Andy Labesky, the Atlanta Thrashers game presentation manager who handles all of the team's in-game entertainment.

Labesky told AOL News that planning the wedding –- which was held in front of more than 17,600 fans -- was fairly stressful, but he was pleased with the results.

"We've had countless proposals happen at our games but never a wedding, so this was exciting. We were on very strict time restrictions from the NHL, and the biggest challenge was pulling off the whole wedding in five minutes, but we made it work," he explained.

"This was a real marriage, not a publicity stunt, so we wanted to do things perfectly."

Labesky said the couple stuck to quick vows to meet their time limit. To add a little flare, the entire Thrashers crew got involved with the wedding ceremony.

The team's video production staffer, Mike Deuel, also happens to be an ordained minister, so he united the happy couple in holy matrimony.

The Thrashers' "Blue Crew" ice girls served as bridesmaids –- clad in sweaters and hot pants -– and one of them even caught the bride's bouquet.

Meanwhile, Labesky said members of the hockey development staff stepped in as groomsmen, and in-game host "J. Bird" was the best man.

After the happy couple were married, they walked through an arc of hockey sticks held by their bridal party as staffers fired T-shirt guns into the stands.

Apparently, nothing says love like an air cannon.

The newlyweds then rode off into the ice on a Zamboni and helped touch up the rink for the remainder of the game.

Cyndi said hopping on the Zamboni was both romantic and extremely "exciting," although nothing beats the thrill of being walked down the aisle by Thrash.

"I've always been a fan [of the mascot], so it was surreal to walk arm-in-arm with him. I was honored to have Thrash in our wedding. He looked great in his tux," said Cyndi with a laugh.

As for the bride and groom's attire, Cyndi said her husband wore a Thrashers jersey while she opted for something a little more formal and unique.

"I wore a white blouse and a Thrashers-themed skirt that I designed out of a Thrashers team blanket. It had the phrase 'Become One in Blueland' on it, which was perfect because we did become one. I wanted to wear something that was comfortable, sporty and elegant. I felt beautiful in my skirt."

Although their friends and family weren't part of the quickie ceremony, Cyndi said many of their loved ones were in the stands cheering them on as they said "I do."

For her, the fact that the Thrashers won 3-2 against the Bruins that night in an exciting shootout was the icing on top of the wedding cake.

"Our family got to see how exciting hockey can be. Many of them had never been to a game, but now they understand why we love hockey so much. It was a wonderful night that we'll never forget," Cyndi said. "We really couldn't be happier."

Although Labesky said he's been flooded with requests for more mid-game weddings since the Pritchards' ceremony, he notes there won't be another Thrashers wedding for some time.

"We don't want this to become some novelty that we do all the time," he said. "This was a special occasion. It was more stressful for me than my own wedding day, so I probably won't plan another one for a while."

Thrash's tux must be a rental.

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