Jesse Tyler Ferguson Jokes About the 'Pressure' of Officiating Sarah Hyland's Wedding: 'You Can't Say No'

Ferguson, who stepped in for Modern Family costar Ty Burrell, said of Hyland's ask to oversee her vows 10 days beforehand: "She already knows I'm coming, it's not like you can say, 'Oh, I'm busy'"

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 10: Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson (L) and actress Sarah Hyland attend the Lakers Casino Night fundraiser benefiting the Lakers Youth Foundation at Club Nokia on March 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/WireImage)
Photo: Allen Berezovsky/WireImage

A consummate professional, Jesse Tyler Ferguson stepped in to fill his Modern Family costar Ty Burrell’s role when Burrell had a last-minute conflict. The role in question: officiating their costar Sarah Hyland’s August 2022 wedding to Well Adams.

“He had a family emergency, so I was his understudy,” Ferguson, 47, said on The Jennifer Hudson Show Wednesday.

Only having a matter of days to prepare worried the father of two.

“It came down like, 10 days before the wedding. I did not have any notice,” Ferguson lamented. “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.”

He pushed through because of his love of Hyland, 32. “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,” the Dinner’s on Me podcast host said.

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 18: Actor Ty Burrell attends iHeartRadio ALTer EGO presented by Capital One at The Forum on January 18, 2020 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images); LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 29: Jesse Tyler Ferguson attends Netflix's "Ivy and Bean" Los Angeles premiere at Harmony Gold on August 29, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
JC Olivera/Getty Amy Sussman/Getty

Ferguson owned up to feeling nervous ahead of Adams and Hyland’s big day.

“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,” Ferguson said. “I’m like, Jeez, can I start with maybe a low-profile one? No! Right to the top!”

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Being thrown into the deep end of wedding officiating allowed Ferguson to sharpen his skills fast, and he quipped, “I’m very good now, so if anyone needs anything….”

Hudson, 41, joked that the actor “could marry anybody at this point.”

While wishing Ferguson a happy birthday on Instagram in October, Hyland referred to him as “the best officiant of all time” and called being married by him “a dream and a privilege.”

“Our wedding truly would not have been as special without you,” the actress captioned a video from her wedding ceremony.

In the video, Ferguson can be seen referencing the Bachelor franchise in which Adams, 39, appeared.

"This is the final rose ceremony," Ferguson joked as he started the ceremony, earning a laugh from both bride and groom as well as many of the guests. Ferguson also deemed himself “Reverend Jesse Tyler Ferguson.”

Ferguson and Hyland’s Modern Family costars Julie BowenNolan Gould, Sofia Vergara and Ariel Winter also attended the nuptials that took place at California vineyard.

“I’ve known Jesse since I was 18 years old. I remember his first date with his husband Justin,” Hyland told Vogue, referring to Ferguson’s husband Justin Mikita. “So we’ve been through so much. Jesse and Justin and Wells and I have traveled together, just the four of us. So it was really special to have him up there.” 

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