Photo: Maddie Mae
Rainy weather backup plan? Check. Stain remover for wedding dress spills? Check. Snake bite kit? Umm… What? This is definitely a wedding day emergency we wouldn’t have been prepared for! But a Colorado couple recently had to deal with the rudest wedding crasher ever when a rattlesnake sunk his teeth into the groom — in the middle of his wedding pictures! Not cool, snake, really not cool…
As much as you prepare for unexpected wedding surprises and pack your bridal emergency kit to its limits, this is definitely one couple who now knows that it never hurts to expect the unexpected. And we don’t mean an intoxicated wedding toast by your second cousin! After saying their “I dos” in a Fort Collins, Colorado church on Monday, newlyweds Johnny Benson and Laura Loretz headed to a nearby field with their wedding photographer to capture a few beautiful snapshots. Enter a wedding crasher rattlesnake who just had to get in on the fun…
Photo: Maddie Mae
As the newlyweds were posing, the snake slithered up and bit the groom on the ankle. Worst wedding present, ever. “I was like, ‘You gotta be [kidding] me. Did this really just happen?'” Benson told The Washington Post. Yup, it did. And their photographer, Maddie Mae, was there to capture what she’s calling her “craziest adventure wedding yet.” Yeah, that sounds about right.
Photo: Maddie Mae
“The only thing I could think of is we’re going to miss our big expensive party,” noted the groom. (We so feel you on that one, Benson…) After the snake slithered away, the trio waved down a park ranger who happened to be driving by. “He rolls down the window and we yelled, ‘He just got bit by a rattlesnake!'” the photographer shared with BRIDES. “The ranger, obviously not hearing what we said, yelled back, ‘CONGRATULATIONS!’ at the couple in wedding clothes.” Polite, but not exactly helpful.
Photo: Maddie Mae
After further explaining the situation, the park ranger finally called an ambulance to the scene. Usually a limo is a bride and groom’s big day transportation of choice, but these two took it all in stride, making jokes and posing for probably the most unique wedding photos we’ve ever seen!
Photo: Maddie Mae
At the hospital, doctors determined that luckily the snake hadn’t actually injected any venom into Benson’s ankle, and he was cleared to leave — and finally join his reception! “When we came up, everyone was jumping up and down, and cheering and crying,” the groom said of his and his bride’s grand entrance.
A guest even went out to buy rubber toy snakes for the wedding party, remembers the photographer. The hilarious couple even exchanged the traditional garter toss for a fake snake throw!
“We’ll tell our kids someday,” said the groom. “Maybe it’s good luck to get bit by a snake between your wedding and reception.”
Photo: Maddie Mae