Animal lover Linda Haley wanted something unique for her impending wedding to fiancé Brennan Reid.
When the residents of Tucson, Ariz., who live in the desert with two black Labrador dogs and a “Chi-weenie,” (Chihuahua), decided to combine nuptials with a visit to family in Kelowna on their summer vacation, Reid began searching for a unique location.
He found it in the Kangaroo Creek Farm, the popular attraction on Old Vernon Road by the Kelowna Airport.
“When I found the kangaroo farm, I asked her if she was sure about getting married there,” laughed Reid, an Amazon warehouse worker. “She couldn’t have been happier.”
Added Haley, a building permit specialist for the City of Tucson: “I wanted the most unique place possible. When he asked me if I was sure (about getting married at a kangaroo farm), I said, ‘it’s animals. How am I not sure?’”
The pair tied the knot Wednesday morning, Aug. 9, prior to the farm’s official opening for the day, before three family members as witnesses (including sisters of Reid’s deceased mother), and in front of the farm’s koi pond. An officiant from Vernon married the couple - a first for him at the animal farm.
Then, they walked around the farm and posed for many pictures with the marsupials.
It’s the first marriage for both and will give them quite a story to tell upon returning home.
“Linda has FONSO - Fear of Not Showing Off, so we can say we went to Canada, got married and happened to have kangaroos at the wedding as well,” said Reid.
The pair have been together for six years, meeting at a going away party.
“It’s pretty special,” said Haley. “If it wasn’t for the friend’s party, we likely never would have met.”
Haley and Reid were bound for Vancouver Island from Kelowna for the next part of their joint family visit/honeymoon.
But they left the kangaroos behind.
“If it was an option, we’d try to smuggle one past customs but I don’t know how that would go over,” chuckled Reid. “We haven’t worked out the details.”
It’s believed to have been the first wedding in the kangaroo farm’s 13-year history.
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roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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