Ben Roethlisberger Marries Ashley Harlan in Private Ceremony

Amid airtight security, 29-year-old Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger married 26-year-old Ashley Harlan in Christ Church at Grove Farm,  a few miles outside Pittsburgh on July 23rd, 2011.  Reflecting the couple’s desire for privacy, details of the ceremony were not released, guests had to show IDs to get in, and the police kept the media, fans, gate crashers, and the curious away from the scene.

Although with the NFL lockout still going on and team owners and management not supposed to talk to the players, Steelers owner Dan Rooney did attend the ceremony.  He must have gotten special dispensation from commissioner Roger Goodell, or perhaps he said ” the hell with it, I’m seeing my quarterback get married”.

Later, the couple released photos from the event on Big Ben 7.com, and Pittsburgh Live.com reported that Roethlisberger and Harlan’s friend Jaime Cooper served as best man. Harlan’s friend Erin Telford was maid of honor, and her sister-in-law Susan Harlan served as matron of honor.

Roethlisberger has had accusations of sexual misconduct leveled against him in the past, and has acknowledged he needed to change his image.  He was suspended for four games at the beginning of the 2010 season following the last allegations.  After he returned, he was a better teammate and person, and surprised everyone with his engagement. Still, reaction to the wedding on twitter was mixed, with some twaters (twitter haters) leaving less than congratulatory comments with the hashtag #roethlisberger or #bigben.

Big Ben may be hanging out around the house for a while if there is no new NFL collective bargaining agreement.