- USWNT captain Lindsey Horan got married to Tyler Heaps on Dec. 28 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Their three-day wedding celebration featured a derby soccer game, an elegant rehearsal dinner, a fun welcome party and a scenic outdoor ceremony
- “Tyler is my person and I am his. We know what marriage means and we cannot wait for this next chapter,” the bride tells PEOPLE
Lindsey Horan, captain of the United States women’s national soccer team, is married!
Instead of scoring a goal, the soccer star tied the knot with her longtime love Tyler Heaps at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Saturday, Dec. 28. The couple was surrounded by 190 of their closest family and friends, including many current and former professional athletes.
“I have dreamt of this day since I was a little girl. It is quite a fairy tale to me,” Horan exclusively tells PEOPLE. “I think I imagined all of these things never working out or never finding the right guy and the fact that it’s all come together and is truly what I want — it’s a dream come true.”
The three-day wedding celebration kicked off on Dec. 27 with a bride-versus-groom soccer game in the morning, the wedding rehearsal during the day, and both the rehearsal dinner and welcome party that night. Following the Dec. 28 wedding, the couple held a farewell brunch on Dec. 29.
“We wanted to make sure we found a time for all of our loved ones to be able to come, which is difficult in pro soccer,” the bride says. “We wanted a big party and a three-day event to get everyone together and celebrate a very special love.”
Planning the wedding — which was designed and coordinated by Slater Events — was “not the easiest thing in the world,” considering Horan is based in France, Heaps lives in California, and the wedding was held in Colorado. But luckily, everything turned out better than the couple could have ever imagined.
The “modern” winter wedding with touches of greens and neutrals took place outside, allowing for scenic mountain views. Ahead of the ceremony, Horan did a first look with her father and fiancé. She tells PEOPLE that her moments with the most important men in her life was what she was most looking forward to on her big day.
Horan walked down the aisle with her father to James TW’s “Speechless.” Her hair and makeup was done by Bridal by Alexandria. She wore a long-sleeved wedding dress, which she found at Grace Loves Lace while shopping with her mother and friend Sara.
“It only took me three dresses to find the perfect one,” she says. “I knew I would want lace but was actually shocked with what I chose. I didn’t know if I’d go for long sleeve but I loved it. When I saw Sara and my mom’s face, I knew it was the one.”
Horan and Heaps exchanged heartfelt handwritten vows. The ceremony was officiated by Erik Bushey, one of Horan’s coaches at her youth club and “the best coach” she’s ever had.
“We are promising for life. We are promising to choose each other for the rest of our lives together,” Horan says. “Tyler is my person and I am his. We know what marriage means and we cannot wait for this next chapter.”
The ceremony was on the shorter side because the bride and groom didn’t want their guests to freeze, but Horan was especially excited for the reception because she had several surprises in store.
First, she changed into a second dress from Grace Loves Lace. Later in the night, she slipped into a party dress.
The newlyweds’ first dance was a shock to everyone but Horan. Wanting to surprise Heaps, she secretly organized for the artist CAL to come to their wedding and sing his hit song “Dressed Up in White” for their first dance. He performed two more songs afterward.
The couple nailed their choreographed first dance thanks to lessons from Wedding Dance Coach.
Following her father-daughter dance, the Olympian surprised her mother by sharing a dance with her too. She wanted to do this because “the mother of the bride doesn’t always get the recognition she deserves.”
Besides dancing to tunes played by a live band from Jordan Kahn Music Company, guests sipped on Coppola wines and enjoyed a plated meal with the choice of beef tenderloin, chicken or a vegan dish. For dessert, they had slices of cake with two flavors to choose from — a rich red velvet (Horan’s favorite) and a vanilla strawberry and cream (Heaps’ favorite).
The cake was topped with figurines of Horan, Heaps and their French bulldog, Ferguson. The couple wanted their fur baby to be a part of the big day, but because he couldn’t physically be there due to the traveling required they had to get creative. One way in which their pet was incorporated was by having his face featured on a customized napkin.
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The honeymoon is on hold for now, but the newlyweds hope to take a nice vacation together in the future when their schedules align. On the top of Horan’s bucket list is the Maldives, so she’ll be “doing some convincing” to Heaps.
Horan is off to Lyon, France, to play professional soccer and hopefully win some more trophies. Meanwhile, Heaps is heading to San Diego as San Diego FC’s sporting director and general manager. They hope to reconnect in February 2025 at the SheBelieves Cup, and later spend the summer together.
“Tyler and I are just looking forward to the days when we will not be in a long-distance relationship,” Horan tells PEOPLE. “We cannot wait to be living in the same place and coming home to each other every day. It’s challenging now because of our careers and where we are at, but there is a mutual understanding of my soccer and his future with his club and we would never take that away from each other.”
She continues: “It’s incredibly difficult to do long distance and not be with your person all the time or live in the same place, but I also think it’s truly very special when you find a couple that is able to make it work. I love that Tyler wants me to be happy and continue to reach for my goals and dreams in soccer. I also would never stop him from doing the same.”
Horan scored her perfect match off the field but still in the soccer world. When the two first met in 2016, she was playing for the Portland Thorns, and Heaps was working in analytics for the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Though Heaps originally focused on behind-the-scenes tasks such as reviewing video and data, he was soon asked to fill in as an extra training player and joined practice sessions, traveling with the team from 2017 to 2020. The two eventually became well-acquainted and when the COVID-19 pandemic happened, Horan was encouraged to use “persistent flirting tactics” after Heaps got involved in another project outside the Federation.
Eventually, the two began dating long distance. Heaps popped the question during a hike in Silverthorne, Colo., on June 16, 2023.
“He was a bit antsy that day because it was raining, but he stayed strong!” Horan recalls. “He wanted to propose to me prior to our World Cup to put me in the best place possible mentally. That was one of the sweetest things I’d heard.”
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