More than FOUR HUNDRED couples from 24 states flock to football field to get hitched at exact moment the moon blocks sun during solar eclipse

A group of 400 couples said 'I Do' in a mass wedding at an Arkansas football court moments before the moon blocked the face of the sun in the rare celestial phenomenon.

Brides and grooms from more than 24 states made their way to Russellville, Arkansas, gathering at the city's football complex to tie the knot.

The event, titled 'Elope at the Eclipse,' started at 1:30pm and ended at 1:45pm, only minutes before the moon blotted the sun overhead on Monday. The eclipse lasted for about four minutes.

At the mass wedding, the celebrant pronounced the couples as husbands and wives, sealing their commitment to each other before they passionately kissed in the warm sunlight.

The crowd erupted into a huge cheer before they took out their eclipse glasses for the upcoming once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

Carlotta Cox and Matthew Holloway told local news outlet 40/29News that they traveled from Knoxville, Tennessee, for the eclipse wedding. 

'Our original destination was Maine. The totality there is like two minutes, and then we were looking for something where the totality was longer. 

'And it was here in Arkansas, and then we started looking at private events that were going on, and this is what we found,' they said. 

'It just seems like the coolest wedding that you could ever have,' Cox said, clad in her stunning wedding gown. 

 A groom said told the outlet that it's a 'spiritual experience' to get married under the total solar eclipse. 

'That's a once in a lifetime experience. Like whom better to spend something like that with than the person that you love the most?' 

'And what better way to honor that day than to ge6t married and see a total eclipse?' he said, as his bride nodded in agreement. 

Another bride said: 'We wanted to be married under the total totality - just pure dark and just stand there with my best friend and get married,' she said as her fiancé kissed her in the forehead.

According to NASA, Russellville is one of the best places in the country to observe the total solar eclipse. 

Shortly after the crowds pulled out their protective gear to witness the celestial phenomenon, they were plunged into darkness as the moon completely covered the sun. 

After the eclipse passed over, the couples cheered again, proceeding to cut cakes, toast champagne, and celebrate with their first dance. 

The event was a 'totally free wedding ceremony', according to the organizers, who also offered flowers, cakes, and drinks to the brides and grooms for free. 

The newly married couples were even reimbursed for the $60 marriage license fee, with the first 100 couples getting free wedding gift packages. 

'It was a perfect conclusion to our new lives. The sun and the moon and the earth have become one,' a groom told ABC after the wedding. 

'It's a great experience, I wish it could last for a longer time.' 

Total solar eclipses occur when the moon moves directly in front of the sun - not to be confused with the reverse occurrence, which would be a lunar eclipse.

Texas was the first to see the moon completely block the face of the sun, with the eclipse then extending across 15 states of the country.

More than 400,000 people traveled to Dallas to get themselves front and center for the solar eclipse - more than 1million eclipse tourists in the Lone Star State on Monday.

The DailyMail.com's Nikki Main in Dallas reported that most of the 'cosmic tourists' she interacted with had flown in from California, where the view of the eclipse was somewhat pitiful.

The eclipse sent animals at Dallas Zoo into a panic as the skies grew dark while crowds across the event's path cheered on the eclipse. 

As the eclipse passed its halfway point in the path across the U.S., areas that are past their portion of totality reported immediate traffic causing chaos on the roads. 

Crowds gathered on skyscrapers to watch the rare phenomenon as the Big Apple plunged into 90 percent darkness Monday afternoon. 

The grand finale was in Maine, where families took a break from spring to take it all in. The last partial eclipse was seen at 4.40pm.