SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Burger King is paying the expenses and providing gifts for the wedding of an Illinois couple with an interesting connection to the fast food restaurant chain. Joel Burger and Ashley King accepted the company's proposal Monday.

Joel Burger is going to marry Ashley King this summer. Yes, it's the Burger King wedding! AND it's today's column: http://t.co/mczvO1wItZ — Dave Bakke (@DaveBakkeSJR) April 3, 2015

The State Journal-Register reports that the couple has been known as Burger-King since they were in the fifth grade together, in New Berlin near Springfield.

The couple announced their engagement this spring with a photo next to the sign at a local Burger King restaurant. Although a woman's name usually comes first in an engagement announcement, they decided to flip their names.

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

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The Burger-King nuptials will be held July 17 in nearby Jacksonville.