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Sisqó sang ‘The Thong Song’ at his wedding reception in St. Paul’s Landmark Center

l: Landmark Center (NatureNerd/CC BY-NC 2.0); r: Sisqó in 2010 (Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
l: Landmark Center (NatureNerd/CC BY-NC 2.0); r: Sisqó in 2010 (Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

by Hanna Bubser

August 20, 2018

It all started with a tweet, posted by Delane Cleveland of CCX Media, reporting that R&B artist Sisqó sang his 1999 hit "Thong Song" at a wedding reception on Aug. 17. But it wasn't just any wedding: it was his own, and it was in the Twin Cities.

Sisqó is a native of Baltimore, but has lived in Maple Grove for the past few years. He moved to Minnesota so that his now-wife Elizabeth Pham and their two young children could be closer to Pham's family.

The pair, who have been together for 15 years, were married in what Us Weekly (the first to break the story) touted as "an intimate Catholic service." The ceremony took place at St. Olaf Catholic Church in Minneapolis. The reception that followed was in a building described by Sisqó as "kinda like a castle-ish from the outside.” The castle in question is actually Landmark Center in St. Paul.

Members of Dru Hill, an R&B group that Sisqó co-founded, were in attendance. This included Tao, who's been a part of the group since 2008. He sang "A Ribbon in the Sky" as the couple lit their unity candle. Sisqó released six albums with Dru Hill between 1996-2017. He began releasing solo music in 1999 with his album Unleash the Dragon, followed by 2001's Return of the Dragon and 2015's Last Dragon.

Cleveland, via Facebook messages, described the wedding's atmosphere as "just a lot of fun. Sisqó and his Dru Hill crew sang a couple songs — 'Beauty' and 'Thong Song.' And the bride and bridesmaids did a couple of choreographed dances." Cleveland landed an invite because he went to high school with the bride.

Guests were not allowed to take photos. Us Weekly hasn't posted any yet, but they do have a publicity photo of the pair posing in the Guthrie Theater's Dowling Studio lobby.

In a 2015 interview, Sisqó said the couple's kids were "flourishing" in the "beautiful community" of Maple Grove, which he described as wholesome. "No thongs out here!"

Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment
This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.