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Fast-Food Chain to Pay for the Wedding of Mr. Burger and Ms. King It only seems right that Burger King foot the bill for the wedding of Joel Burger and Ashley King after their engagement announcement went viral.

By Kate Taylor

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Joel Burger and Ashley King

After years of enduring jokes about their names, Joel Burger and Ashley King are getting some love from the famous fast-food chain itself.

The Illinois couple started hearing fast-food jokes back when they were in fifth grade together. When they got engaged, they decided to get in on the joke themselves, posing next to a Burger King logo and announcing the "Burger-King" wedding, reports The State Journal-Register.

The engagement announcement went viral. Soon, even Burger King had heard about the couple that shared a name with the chain. On Monday, the burger chain skyped Burger and King to let the couple know the company wanted to pay for their wedding.

Related: 5 Tips on Pitching Your Food Concept to Investors

In addition to paying for the couple's July nuptials, Burger King is providing personalized gift bags, Mason Jars and Burger King crowns. Also, as the couple's Burger-King name was bizarrely first assigned to the duo at a fifth-grade assembly featuring a motivational speaker who utilized yo-yos, the chain will provide personalized yo-yos to the wedding guests.

Funnily enough, this is far from the first time a fast-food chain has become a partner in customers' weddings. This Valentine's Day, McDonald's got a great free advertising opportunity when a customer proposed to his girlfriend, inspired by the chain's 'Pay with Lovin'' campaign. Meanwhile, at Fazoli's, any couple that gets engaged while at the restaurant on Feb. 14 wins a year's worth of free spaghetti.

Restaurant chains, often plagued with bad press and PR nightmares, welcome the chance to partner with a happy couple. When an opportunity as perfect as the Burger-King wedding comes around, how could Burger King resist getting involved?

Related: An April Fool's Day Prank Led This Burger Chain to Start Selling Milkshakes Made With Crickets

Kate Taylor

Staff Writer. Covers franchise-related trends and topics.

Kate Taylor is a staff writer covering franchises for Entrepreneur.com. Related areas of interest include chain restaurants, franchisee profiles and food trends. Get in touch with tips and feedback via email at ktaylor@entrepreneur.com or on Twitter at @Kate_H_Taylor. 

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