Moose Crashes Out-Of-Towners' Colorado Wedding
ESTES PARK, Colo. - An Illinois couple traveled to Colorado to tie the knot. During their ceremony at Rocky Mountain National Park, an uninvited guest made an appearance.
"Weddings are predictable in that they're unpredictable," said Jane Gorman, officiant and owner of Jane's Personalized Weddings.
"Dogs have been at ceremonies and ran at me, having a moose is just amazing."
Gorman's officiated hundreds of weddings, but this is the first time one's been crashed.
"The moose did not object!" laughed Gorman.
A cow moose was the only guest at the wedding.
"They were very explicit about just wanting it to be the two of them. They were very grateful not to have family and friends around because that would make them nervous," said Gorman.
Weddings can be nerve-racking, but the moose allowed the couple to shift their jitters to something else.
"They were definitely leery and frightened. They couldn't stop looking at the moose!" said Gorman. "Sarah was able to catch an image of the moose walking through the water. It was beautiful."
Their photographer, Sarah Goff, made sure to respect the animal's space and kept her distance. As it turns out, the moose didn't mind their company. She kept coming closer and closer.
"She was posing!" laughed Goff, owner of Sarah Goff Photography.
Goff has photographed wildlife during engagement shoots, but never during a ceremony. Goff says the couple was hoping to see a few animals, but never expected this.
"They wanted mountain views, which we didn't get because of the snow. The bride said if it all possible, we'd love pictures with wildlife," explained Goff. "We got it."
The couple had never seen a moose before that day. It was the only thing that could take their eyes off of each other.
"I told them to look at each other and go in for a kiss. They were so excited they held onto each other and just looked at the moose! So, that was the shot we got," said Goff.
It's a guest they never invited and one they'll never forget.
LINKS: Jane's Personalized Weddings | Sarah Goff Photography