Tailgating crowds all but drowned out the pre-game wedding vows. But newlywed Gloria Darlene Paige looked resplendent in white pantsuit, sporting a black-and-gold beaded headpiece in the Saints' colors.
She and groom Charlie Vanderpool, whose black rose boutonniere featured a tiny Saints helmet, kicked off wedded life Thursday on a packed parking lot near the Louisiana Superdome before New Orleans opened against Minnesota.
And not just for better or for worse — but for another Saints' Superbowl victory.
"I want us to two-dat," Vanderpool said, New Orleans-speak for a championship repeat.
Paige suggested a September wedding. Vanderpool, a lifelong Saints fan, chose the date. He sees many in the crowd only during football season but says, "They're family."
