Burger King picking up the tab for 'Burger-King wedding'

NEW BERLIN, Ill., April 7 (UPI) -- Burger King has offered to pay the wedding expenses for an Illinois couple whose last names combine to form the fast food chain's moniker.

New Berlin residents Joel Burger and Ashley King, whose engagement announcement heralding the "Burger-King wedding" went viral internationally after the couple posed with one of the eatery's signs, spoke with Burger King corporate officials Monday via Skype and were told the company would be picking up the tab for their July 17 nuptials.

"When we heard about the happy, Burger-King couple, we felt an overwhelming urge to celebrate their upcoming marriage," Eric Hirschhorn, Burger King brand spokesman, told the State Journal-Register newspaper. "On so many levels it felt like fate; they found each other and their story found us."

"We were just blown away," Burger said of when he and King were told the news.

The fast food chain said it will provide gift bags for the event containing items including customized Burger King crowns and personalized yo-yos -- a reference to the yo-yo slinging motivational speaker who gave the couple their "Burger-King" nickname in the fifth grade.