Marijuana and weddings. Getty Images // Marijuana and weddings. Getty Images (Marijuana and weddings. Getty Images)
“We’re going to start thinking of cannabis like alcohol.”
Jane West is founder of Edible Events Co. a Denver-based company that specializes in private BYOC (bring your own cannabis) events. While Jane hasn’t planned a cannabis-themed wedding yet, she is working with a handful of brides to help them incorporate weed into their bachelorette party and bridal showers. “We’re going to start thinking of cannabis like alcohol, and we’re moving towards regulating cannabis like alcohol and normalizing its consumption,” West says. “It’s the new wine. I think Colorado will see a lot more destination weddings for this reason.”
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And with companies like DixieElixirs (which Edible Events uses as their dispensary) that specialize in creating cannabis-infused products like marijuana-infused sparkling pomegranate beverages couples can actually find more discreet and creative ways to incorporate marijuana into their weddings. “It’s a second wave of cannabis users because a lot of people don’t want to smoke out of a pipe,” Jane says.
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“My fiancé wanted to have an area for vaporizing.”
Bride to-be Christianna Lewis works for "The Hemp Connoissuer" magazine based in Denver, Colorado and both she and her fiancé knew that they wanted cannabis to be apart of their wedding, especially because most of their guests also work in the industry. “Initially my fiance wanted to have an area for vaporizing, but because of the venue we chose it won’t be at the actual wedding,” Christianna says. “We even thought about trying to do something in our bouquets because it’s how we met, even if we’re not smoking at the wedding.” While she hasn’t finalized plans, she and her fiancé have decided to throw a co-ed bridal shower with a variety of weed sweets and edibles involved.
“It’s a chance to demonstrate how classy it can be and hopefully calm some nerves.”
Jennifer Gargotto and her fiancé founded the site cannabase.io. The idea of having hemp at their wedding came to Jennifer after having attended a traditional Las Vegas bachelorette party. “I didn’t want a traditional bridal shower,” Jennifer says. “But I did want to play all of the games and it’s [weed] a great way to expose my friends to the industry, and the way we see it. It’s a chance to demonstrate how classy it can be and hopefully calm some nerves and help people get to know each other before the wedding.”
“Everyone knows what we do and it’s our biggest goal to not make anyone feel uncomfortable.”
While both brides have a large number of guests who happen to work in the cannabis industry, they also recognize that some of their family and friends are not comfortable around marijuana. “We’re trying to be mindful and respectful of their feelings, even though they’re supportive of what we both do,” Christianna says. And this hits at the core of why both brides to-be aren’t planning to serve marijuana at the actual wedding. “Everyone knows what we do and it’s our biggest goal to not make anyone feel uncomfortable, which is why it would be fun to do it beforehand,” Jennifer says.
“It may not be a larger liability than it would be to serve alcohol, but we’re still researching it.”
It’s safe to say that for reception venue owners in Colorado and Washington, the laws and policies are vague. Generally speaking, the new laws allow smoking on private properties and venues with the owner’s permission only. ”I had one bride who wanted to have a “hemp bar” instead the traditional bar to replace alcohol,” says Roxie Ellis, owner of Ellis Ranch and Event Center in Loveland, CO. In the end though, Roxie turned down the wedding. “It’s all so new for us. We want to accommodate all of our brides and give them what they want, but until we can figure out the liability part we have to hold off for a bit,” she says. “It may not necessarily be a larger liability than it would be to serve alcohol, but we’re still researching it.”
We’ll continue to report on the topic as more unfolds — but what do you think about all of this? Are you in favor?