Ages: 29 Occupations: He’s an offensive lineman for the Cleveland Browns; she’s a former project manager for a supply-chain company. Location:Chicago Planning: The couple chose a spring date to accommodate the NFL schedule and avoid the extreme temperatures of winter and summer. Guests: 370, including most of the Cleveland Browns and their significant others. “The priest said it was the biggest turnout for a Mass he’d ever seen,” Eric says. Wedding dress: A strapless column gown with a sweetheart neckline and fluted skirt embroidered in crinkle-chiffon roses. Unique accessory: A pair of white wedge flip-flops Caroline slipped into at the reception. “You couldn’t see them at all,” she reassures. Special touches: Eric hired a white 1939 Packard to transport the couple from the church to the reception and arranged for 500 White Castle hamburgers to be delivered to the reception hall at midnight. “They were gone in minutes,” he recalls. Where they met: In a Chicago bar on Jan. 21, 2005. Eric was with a buddy whom Caroline recognized as a college friend’s brother. The two discovered they actually had met twice before through mutual friends. Her first impression of him: “He was pretty tall, and he had a T-shirt on that was too long for his body.” His first impression of her: “I was surprised that she made a comment that my shirt was too long. A lot of girls wouldn’t have the courage to walk up and say that. But I liked it.” Proposal: May 2, 2008. Eric popped the question the night before the Kentucky Derby. The couple had driven to Louisville in an RV with Browns offensive lineman Ryan Tucker and former offensive lineman Seth McKinney and their wives. After they checked into their hotel room, Eric dropped to one knee and began his proposal, but Caroline thought it was a gag. “Eric liked to joke around about proposing before we actually got engaged,” she explains good-naturedly. “He had some false alarms.” The ring: A round diamond in a platinum band set with smaller diamonds.
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