Amar'e Stoudemire Marries Alexis Welch

USMagazine, Thursday, December 13, 2012, 7:15am (PST)

Amar'e Stoudemire will forever remember the day he married longtime love Alexis Welch: 12/12/12.

"12.12.12 now has a special & spiritual meaning for us," the New York Knicks basketball player tweeted Wednesday after walking down the aisle with Welch, the mother of his three children, in a secret sunset ceremony in New York City.

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The New York Daily News reports that the couple tied the knot on the roofdeck of their apartment in the city's Greenwich Village neighborhood. Their nuptials were attended by just 12 guests -- including their kids -- in keeping with the day's numerical theme.

"They decided to do this because of the date, and they wanted to do something spiritual and private for themselves," an insider told The News, adding that the newlyweds intend to hold a larger ceremony this summer so that Stoudemire's teammates can attend.

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Together since 2002, Stoudemire and Welch got engaged in Paris in June, when the athlete presented her with an 8 1/2-carat Afshar diamond.

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After swapping vows Wednesday, the couple made their first public appearance as Mr. and Mrs. Stoudemire at NYC's 12-12-12 Hurricane Sandy benefit concert at Madison Square Garden.

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Amar'e Stoudemire Marries Alexis Welch