Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard have gone and surprised everyone by not only getting married out of the blue, but by doing it on the spot in shotgun courtroom wedding.

The 'Veronica Mars' actress and the 'Parenthood' actor tied the knot at the Beverly Hills County Clerk's Office in Los Angeles California, in a no-frills ceremony yesterday, but it still proved to be emotional for Kristen as she cried throughout.

Eye witnesses told TMZ the couple only went to the clerk office to get their marriage licence but a court employee suggested they could get hitched straight away, so they agreed and the ceremony took place at a nearby courtroom. A photographer was said to be present at the ceremony.

Bell and Shepard - who have seven-month-old daughter Lincoln together - first announced their engagement back in January 2010 but they decided not to tie the knot until gay marriage was legal in California. Following the US Supreme Court's decision in June 2013 to recognise legally married same-sex couples in the state, Dax popped the question to the 33-year-old star again later that month.

Kristen has previously expressed a desire to have an intimate wedding in a courthouse, saying: 'I feel like we get enough attention in our daily lives and we just want something sort of private that involves pen and paper.'