CLEVELAND — Why go to a chapel when you can get married at the Muni Lot?
Two Cleveland Browns super fans, Charles Bevel Jr. and DeSiree Wheeler, decided to say their "I do's" in the heart of the Browns fandom Sunday morning ahead of Cleveland's home opener.
"With the potential that the Browns could be moving to Brook Park, it just seemed like kind of a way to help close it out," Wheeler said.
The couple, also known as "Brown Spider" and "First Lady," met through an online Browns fan group and wanted their wedding to reflect their shared love of the Cleveland team.
"When Charles proposed, I don't think even he realized it, but he made the joke, 'We're getting married in the Muni Lot,'" Wheeler said. "Everybody chuckled, but it kinda snowballed from there."
So, the couple and their families worked through the Sunday morning rain showers to get to their big day.
When the clouds cleared, the groomsmen donned 'Here We Go Brownies' shirts. The bridesmaids were dressed in orange, brown and white dresses.
Bevel Jr. tied the knot in an orange and white suit with a bedazzled spider on the back. And of course, Wheeler wore white with a hint of Browns' orange as the Browns Batman officiated the wedding.
Friends and family were present, but thanks to the power of social media, a crowd of fellow fans gathered around the wedding.
"The fact that it was the first game," Fan Orlando Meredith said of the wedding. "Everything is Browns colored. I loved it."
While plenty gathered to celebrate the newlyweds, not every Muni Lot fan was sold on the idea. Erika Eppinger said that while she hopes to meet her future soulmate at the Muni Lot, she would not be marrying there.
"I'm coming down here to meet my husband at the Muni Lot," Eppinger said. "We won't get married here, but I'm going to be here because he might be in the audience."
As Bevel Jr. and Wheeler start their new chapter together, they, along with their fellow fans, hope the Browns start their new chapter with a win.
