£6,000-worth of marijuana served at California couple's wedding - and it was in everything from the cotton candy to the goodie bags

'Everyone was happy'

Chelsea Ritschel
in New York
Wednesday 14 February 2018 21:37 GMT
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Dani dabbed after saying "I do"
Dani dabbed after saying "I do"

Dani Geen said “I do” to Zak Walton in front of 70 of their closest friends and family this past summer in a picture perfect wedding set on a California beach.

However, there was just one slight shift from tradition; the newlyweds sealed their marijuana-themed union with a dab of cannabis in front of wedding guests that were all slightly stoned.

When Dani, 32, and Zak, 31, decided to tie the knot, they knew they wanted to incorporate marijuana - and they did, around $8,000 to $10,000 ( £5,716) worth of the stuff appeared in the decor, food, and goodie bags.

According to Dani, she wanted the wedding to be classy and elegant. She told The Independent: “I really wanted to show you could have a classy cannabis wedding,” - and from the pictures, it is clear she pulled it off.

Featuring meticulous attention to detail, the pair made it official on the beach, at which point all the guests raised a joint to the happy couple, before continuing the party at the reception - held in a vintage house in Monterey, California.

And the reception offered wedding guests more cannabis-themed goodies, including a "budtender" tending the dab bar, medicated cotton candy made fresh, in flavours rose and lavender, which Dani said was “amazing,” and table arrangements and bouquets created with roses from David Austen farms and marijuana flowers.

The newlyweds first bonded over a shared love of cars, cannabis, and the beach

But the inclusion of marijuana in their wedding most-likely came as no surprise to the guests who know of the couple's passion for the plant.

The wedding flowers featured buds of marijuana 

The couple, who started dating 12 years ago, on Valentine’s Day, have been pretty much inseparable since they met.

Dani said: “We were brought together from a mutual friend, one of my best friends from childhood, who knew Zak and said ‘Hey you are moving from San Diego to Oakland I need you to meet my friend, she is a total cannabis girl and you will get along great.’”

And they did, as the pair share a “love for cannabis, cars, and the beach,” according to Dani.

A dab bar replaced a typical bar at the California wedding

She said: “We are best friends and we get along really well. We smoke together and it brings you closer. It is a wonderful plant.”

While the couple fell in love when they both enjoyed marijuana recreationally, Dani feels a significant part of the closeness in their relationship now stems from the use of cannabis medicinally - as both struggle with serious medical conditions.

“Our passion became a necessity for our well-being with health issues,” she said.

Zak uses cannabis to treat his chronic pain 

Dani suffers from fibromyalgia and Cushing syndrome, the result of adrenal tumours, and Zak suffers from chronic pain due to a herniated disk that shattered and left him with no sensory nerves in half of his body.

Dani said: “Cannabis is a saviour for both of us. It means not having to deal with prescription medication.

“Not a lot of people understand the emotional pain that chronic pain can take on your body. Cannabis has really been there for us.”

So when the pair decided to tie the knot, they knew the plant would be part of their big day - as “it just brings everyone together.”

Dani wants the stigma around marijuana usage to end

As neither are heavy drinkers, Dani ditched the typical open bar in favour of "a wedding where I knew I was going to have fun. I knew I was not going to drink and get wasted. I was just going to smoke weed.”

And smoke they did - alongside their guests.

At the reception, guests “could partake if they wanted,” or they could indulge in the cannabis-free goodies like cupcakes or the “gluten-free organic cake which was non-medicated.”

Cannabis cotton-candy was a hit at the wedding

For the guests who did wish to indulge in the cannabis theme of the party, the options were seemingly endless.

In addition to various delicious-sounding edibles, guests could also pick from the stocked outdoor dab bar - which Dani placed where a smoking area would typically go.

Her thought process was a dab-bar was “Way better for the air and for everyone to enjoy.”

And “dabbing or vaporising, when you are just smoking vapour, isn’t going to smell as much as smoking flowers,” a condition that appeased the venue.

The wedding cake was gluten-free and organic

Unsurprisingly, “only a handful of people didn’t partake,” according to Dani, “But most people did, even if it was their first time.”

“That was exciting for them to try something that maybe they didn’t try. People in their 70s and 80s were trying it and were so excited. They were like ‘This is amazing!’”

As for Dani’s own usage during her big day, she said she was actually surprised she didn’t partake more.

Apart from the “joints at the beach, I do to a dab, one glass of champagne, and then just dabs throughout the night, being the bride” meant she had to spend her time talking to wedding guests and mingling.

However, the after-party was a different story. According to Dani, the little bit of cannabis that remained after the reception was brought up to her hotel room where she continued the celebrations with friends.

The bride and groom said "I do" to a dab

Overall, the pair’s August wedding featured “70 grams of hash, joints for each guest, and every guest got two cartridges in their goodie bags,” Dani said.

But luckily the newlyweds didn’t have to shell out for the party favours. Dani, who works in the marijuana industry at Harborside Farms, said: “We were very lucky that I had stuff donated to me. It was a lot.”

And apart from some minor details, Dani said: “The wedding was perfect. It pretty much went the way I wanted it to go. Everyone was happy.

“Maybe if it was just a little bit longer. It just went by so quick.”

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