Honestly, if you were expecting a massive Hollywood gala with a hundred-tier cake and a guest list full of A-listers, the wedding Chris Ivery shared with Ellen Pompeo would have been a massive letdown.
It was fast. It was quiet. It happened in the basement of a New York City government building.
While most TV stars use their nuptials to land a glossy magazine cover, the Grey’s Anatomy lead and her music producer husband took a different route. They went for total secrecy. We’re talking "sneaking through tunnels" levels of secrecy. Looking back at it now, in 2026, their 2007 ceremony remains one of the most underrated power moves in celebrity history.
The NYC City Hall Escape
Let’s set the scene. It’s November 9, 2007. Ellen Pompeo is at the absolute peak of her fame. Every tabloid in the world is trying to figure out when she’s going to say "I do."
Instead of a cathedral, they chose Manhattan City Hall.
They didn't just walk through the front doors, though. To avoid the paparazzi, they were escorted through a series of underground tunnels that run beneath the city’s municipal buildings. It sounds like something out of a spy movie, but it was basically the only way to ensure the wedding Chris Ivery wanted—one with zero cameras—actually happened.
The ceremony took only a few minutes. No flowers. No bridesmaids. No "McDreamy" in the front row.
A Mayor for a Witness
You usually need a witness for a legal marriage. Most people pick their best friend or a sibling. These two? They had Michael Bloomberg.
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The then-Mayor of New York City served as one of the two legal witnesses. The other was First Deputy Mayor Patti Harris. Bloomberg and Ivery actually shared a bit of a connection; they’re both from the Boston area (Ivery from Cambridge/Boston, Bloomberg from Medford).
It wasn't a long-winded service. A city clerk performed the rites in a small ceremonial office.
The Dress Nobody Saw
If you search for photos of Ellen Pompeo’s wedding dress, you’ll find... basically nothing. There are no professional portraits. No "getting ready" shots.
But we do know what she wore.
Ellen actually bought her dress in Paris the summer before the wedding. It wasn't white. It was a black Yves Saint Laurent cocktail dress. It’s a choice that perfectly fits their "we don’t care about tradition" vibe. She later joked that they just wanted to get it done and go get lunch.
And they did. Right after the ceremony, the newlyweds went to Lupa, an Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village, for a quiet lunch. No reception. No speeches. Just waffles and pasta.
Why the "Secret" Approach Actually Worked
Most celebrity marriages that start with a $2 million ceremony end in a $2 million divorce. Chris and Ellen have been married for nearly 20 years.
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Ivery has often been the "quiet" partner in this relationship. While Ellen was busy becoming one of the highest-paid women on television, Chris was working in the music industry (he has a writing credit on Rihanna’s "Cheers (Drink to That)") and later moved into the fashion world with Sergio Tacchini.
There’s a specific reason their dynamic stays solid: Chris doesn't watch Grey’s Anatomy.
He’s admitted in interviews that it was "better for him" not to see his wife in romantic scenes with Patrick Dempsey. It kept their real life separate from the Meredith Grey machine. That level of boundaries is probably why they’re still together when so many of their peers have split.
Confronting the Rumors
It hasn't always been perfect. You can't be a high-profile couple for two decades without the tabloids trying to tear you down. Over the years, there have been whispers and cheating rumors, specifically back in 2009 and 2012.
But they never played the "public statement" game.
They didn't do the "we are united" Instagram posts or the "exclusive interviews" to debunk gossip. They just kept living their lives. Ellen has often credited their success to the fact that they were friends first. They met in a Los Angeles grocery store in 2003—Whole Foods, to be exact—and didn't even start dating until six months later.
The Life They Built Since 2007
The wedding Chris Ivery and Ellen Pompeo had was the foundation for a very private family life. They now have three children: Stella Luna, Sienna May, and Eli Christopher.
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Even the way they grew their family was low-key. They used a surrogate for their second daughter, Sienna, and kept the news a total secret for two months after she was born to protect their privacy.
Key Facts About the Ivery-Pompeo Union
- The Proposal: Chris proposed on Ellen's 37th birthday with a 3.5-carat emerald-cut diamond ring by Tacori.
- The Date: Friday, November 9, 2007.
- The Location: A small office in New York City Hall.
- The Guests: Zero family members were present. Just the couple, the clerk, and the witnesses.
- The First Public Appearance: Two days later, they were spotted at a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden.
Expert Take: What We Can Learn
There is a lesson here for anyone obsessed with the "perfect" wedding. The Ivery-Pompeo nuptials prove that the scale of the event is often inversely proportional to the longevity of the marriage.
By stripping away the "Hollywood hoopla," they focused on the legal and emotional commitment rather than the performance. If you're planning a wedding, the takeaway isn't necessarily that you need to find an underground tunnel in Manhattan. It’s that you have permission to ignore the "rules."
You don't need a white dress. You don't need 200 people. You don't even need your parents there if you'd rather just have the Mayor.
The wedding Chris Ivery chose was about intimacy. In an industry built on being seen, they chose to be invisible for a day. That choice seems to have paid off in the long run.
If you are looking to emulate this "stealth wealth" wedding style, start by looking at private dining rooms in your city rather than traditional venues. Skip the formal invitations and go for a "redeye flight" approach where the focus is on the meal and the company rather than the production. Focus on the paperwork and the person, and let the rest of the noise fade into the background.