Drew Carey Will Perform a Mass Wedding on Friday’s ‘The Price is Right’

During a special episode of the long running game show, the affable host will marry dozens of couples

Photo: CBS

They’ll come on down – then they’ll say “I do.”

On Friday’s episode of The Price is Right, the audience will be full of engaged couples. At the end of the final showcase, host Drew Carey will do something that has never happened on the show before: he’ll perform a mass wedding ceremony.

When producers pitched the idea to Carey, he was immediately on board. “I thought it was funny, not crazy,” Carey tells PEOPLE. “It was a good chance for me to have a Reverend Moon moment.”

And lest anyone think this is just a gimmick for TV, Carey stresses that the contestants are legally tying the knot. “Someone in the production office got me signed up on theIinternet to do it,” he says. “And poof, I was authorized to officiate weddings!”

The episode, which taped earlier this year, went without a hitch. But there’s one thing Carey says he forgot: He’d have to personally fill out the paperwork. “I had to fill out each and every wedding certificate,” he says with a laugh. “That was a pain; there were so many of them.”

The Price is Right audience is usually energetic, but executive producer Mike Richards says that the taping was especially frenetic. “It was an amazing atmosphere,” he says. “Everyone was so excited, they almost didn’t care whether they won or lost their games. They were getting married!”

Producers are quick to explain that the audience will be full of longtime couples who are looking for a unique place to tie the knot. “These are real couples, and we were honored to be a part of their special day,” says Richards. “We weren’t going to punk anyone, and we wanted to make it exciting and fun, while respecting that these are people who are pledging their lives to each other.”

And what’s the perfect prize for a wedding day? “For a newlywed couple, I don’t think anything beats a great trip,” says Carey. “Preferably someplace sunny. And if you can’t get sunny, make it historic. But then, I’m always up for a trip. Don’t wait to get married to take one!”