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A FedExField First: Couple Gets Married Before Game

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Before the first regular season game of the season even began, records were being broken at FedExField.

For the first time a wedding took place in the Redzone Lot outside the stadium, joining together a Redskins fan and a Steelers fan before the two teams faced off for the first time in four years.

The groom, Justin Henderson, is a lifelong Redskins fan, while the bride, Wendy Henderson, has been a Steelers fan her whole life. The pair have been together 16 years after meeting when both were attending Mercy College in New York. The two played basketball and bonded over their love of sports.

"Sports is what we do, I think it's what really did bring us together, even in college. It wasn't just basketball, but it was, 'Oh, you're watching the game. Can I come watch? And we would just hang out," Wendy Henderson said.

For this family, getting married before a football game fit perfectly.

While they had originally planned on marrying at the beach last year, upon realizing their teams were meeting up for the 2016 season, an opportunity arouse that they could not miss.

"We are both diehard sports fans. Our teams play once every four years, this just seems like the right thing to do," Justin Henderson said. "It's definitely different from the norm, so why not?"

The wedding took place in the afternoon, giving the families plenty of time to celebrate before heading over to the game. About 20 family members and friends were present, including the pair's nine-year old daughter and the groom's brother, who presided over the wedding.

The idea had started with simply emailing the Redskins about getting on the jumbotron and grew from there.

"(The Redskins) said 'Hey, you're getting married, we'd like to be a part of it.' It went all from there, it was really cool," Wendy Henderson said.

The pair even bought new jerseys, a Sonny Jurgensen No. 9 for the groom and Terry Bradshaw No. 12, to spell out the day of their wedding.

The ceremony concluded with the groom leading the crowd and participants in singing "Hail to the Redskins."

"It works for us. It's us, more than getting dressed up all nice," Wendy Henderson said. "And we had the perfect day for it. It's awesome."

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