Groom Gets Bitten By Rattlesnake While Posing For Wedding Photos (But Makes It To The Reception)
It's not the kind of wedding gatecrasher you expect—and it's definitely not one you want. A groom in Colorado was bitten by a rattlesnake while posing for his wedding photos, and the photographer captured it all so the newlyweds have a memento of the unusual occurrence.
Laura Loretz and Johnny Benson from Fort Collins, Colorado decided to head to Horsetooth Reservoir for some wedding photos after a ceremony at nearby St. Joseph's Catholic Church.
Their photographer Maddie Mae, who happens to specilize in adventure wedding photography, was snapping some photos of them walking along a trail when Johnny felt a bite at his ankle. It was a rattlesnake.
“I felt this bump against my leg and, and I wasn’t sure I got bit or not. But I felt it. I looked down, and there it was, rattling,” he told The Washington Post. “I was like, ‘You gotta be [kidding] me. Did this really just happen?’ ”
Next thing Johnny was lying on his back, leg in the air after a park ranger was notified and came to his aide. It then required a trip to hospital but fortunately he was soon released after getting check over, so he made his way to the reception to finish celebrating the day.
The wedding guests had heard about what had happened and when Johnny stepped in the room they cheered his arrival.
As for his new wife she kept a calm head about her throughout the entire ordeal. "She didn’t freak out at all. She was very cool and collected and she kept her wits about her,” Johnny said. “I knew she was like that — she’s good in a crisis. She’s a teacher, and a raft guide.”
Throughout the episode photographer Mae kept snapping away, capturing the fallout from what happened—she was also the one who flagged down a passing park ranger.
It's meant that the couple now have a series of wedding photos unlike any others, a souvenir from that day that also has a crazy story behind it too. “We’ll tell our kids someday, can you believe that actually happened? What are the chances?” Johnny noted.. “Maybe it’s good luck to get bit by a snake between your wedding and reception.”
Maybe, but considering a rattlesnake bite can be lethal it's probably not something anyone would recommend.
Check out some of the photos below.
