Ellen DeGeneres and her fiancé Portia de Rossi married on August 17, 2008. Defying the trend for lavish celebrity weddings, the couple held a small ceremony with friends and family at their home in Beverly Hills.Us Magazine: Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi Wed at Their Beverly Hills Home (August 17, 2008)

DeGeneres announced her wedding plans on air during a May, 2008 episode of her talk show, the Ellen DeGeneres Show.Access Hollywood: Ellen DeGeneres Wedding Announcement It was later reported that the wedding was scheduled for the weekend of August 16-17, 2008.US Magazine: Ellen DeGeneres and Fiancee Portia De Rossi to Wed This Weekend (August 14, 2008) The wedding occurred during the five month period during which same sex marriage in California was legal and prior to the passing of Proposition 8.http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/08/09/2010-08-09_portia_de_rossi_files_petition_to_legally_take_on_partner_ellen_degeneres_last_n.html

Ellen wore an all-white outfit, including pants, dress shirt and vest, while Portia wore a backless light pink dress.US Magazine: Ellen DeGeneres and Fiancee Portia De Rossi to Wed This Weekend (August 14, 2008) People Magazine reports that both of their outfits were designed by Zac Posen, their wedding rings by Neil Lane and floral arrangements provided by Mark's Garden, a florist shop based in Los Angeles.People Magazine: Ellen and Portia Get Married (August 17, 2008)

In August 2010, Portia de Rossi filed a request in a Los Angeles court to have her name legally changed to Portia Lee James Degeneres.http://news-briefs.ew.com/2010/08/09/portia-de-rossi-ellen-degeneres/ According to the court papers, her official reason for the change was to take on the last name of her spouse.http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/08/09/2010-08-09_portia_de_rossi_files_petition_to_legally_take_on_partner_ellen_degeneres_last_n.html The move came just two days after a California judge struck down Proposition 8, which banned same sex marriages in the state after Degeneres and De Rossi were married.http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/08/09/2010-08-09_portia_de_rossi_files_petition_to_legally_take_on_partner_ellen_degeneres_last_n.html The hearing for the name change is set for September.http://www.etonline.com/news/2010/08/89924/

This is the second name change for de Rossi, who was born Amanda Lee Rogers and changed her name to Portia de Rossi when she was 15.http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/08/09/2010-08-09_portia_de_rossi_files_petition_to_legally_take_on_partner_ellen_degeneres_last_n.html