"Modern Family" star Ty Burrell helped celebrate a modern Utah family last week when he served as a witness in a surprise lesbian wedding.
A group was commemorating the legalization of same-sex marriage in Utah at Bar X in Salt Lake City on Dec. 27, when a lesbian couple decided to get married on the spot. Anne Anast, an executive director at Transgender Education Advocates, and her partner, Lindi Marie Inman, asked Burrell, who co-owns the bar and who was hanging out at the establishment at the time, to serve as their witness.
"Ty was hanging out and the woman just came up to him and asked him to be her witness and he agreed," a source told E! News of the surprise nuptials. "They chatted for a bit afterward. Everyone was just really happy and excited and the next thing I heard was someone just got married!"
He signed the marriage certificate as the official witness, according to TMZ, and then posed for a photo with one of the newlyweds. Anast shared the pic on the Tie The Knot (celebration of marriage equality) Facebook page, writing: "Wonderful night for a wedding! Thanks for hosting us and thanks Ty Burrell for being one of our witnesses! ♥♥♥."
A federal judge struck down Utah's same-sex marriage ban on Dec. 20, saying the 2004 ruling violates gay couples' right to due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment, the Associated Press previously reported. The state, known for its significant Mormon population, is attempting to appeal and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block any ongoing same-sex marriages.
Burrell, who plays Phil Dunphy on the hit ABC comedy, also attended the same-sex wedding of his co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson this summer. Ferguson married his partner, Justin Mikita, in New York City in June.
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