The animal, hired by the bride’s mother as a surprise for the wedding party, donned a dapper tuxedo for the special occasion
Many animal-loving couples include their dogs and cats in their wedding ceremonies — but a New York duo had a well-dressed llama hoof it down their aisle.
According to Llama Adventures at Buffalo Creek Llamas, the llama farm was recently contacted by the mother of a bride looking to make her daughter’s animal dreams come true.
Llama Adventures tells PEOPLE that the bride, Tara, wants to own a llama farm someday, so Tara’s mother thought it would be fun to surprise her daughter, her son-in-law Adam and the entire wedding party with a llama groomsman on the big day.
The bride’s mother arranged for a wooly, well-mannered llama named J to appear at the wedding, where he was a huge hit with the newlyweds and the guests.
In pictures from the event shared on the farm’s Facebook page, delighted guests pose with J, who wears a dapper tuxedo, complete with a pink striped bow tie and white gloves. The get-up was designed to make it look like the llama was standing on two feet like all the other weddinggoers.
“Thank you Adam and Tara for allowing J to be part of your big day. Congratulations on your nuptials! 🥂🦙” Llama Adventures captioned the Facebook post.
Llama Adventures says that J also made it into the wedding party. The bride wished to have J join the ceremony, so the llama stood in as a groomsman. Thankfully, he was dressed for the part.
Maison Albion, the historic mansion where the couple held their wedding in Albion, New York, also shared a series of photos of the llama groomsman on Facebook, including one capturing the bride reacting to his arrival. “Welcome to Maison Albion, where weddings are llama-zing! 🤣🤵💍,” the venue quipped in its caption, adding the hashtag #LlamasInTuxedos.
According to its website, Llama Adventure offers animal appearances that can “spice up” various events, including weddings, parties, parades, business promotions, Christmas photo sessions, and more. Nature lovers can also take a llama on a scenic hike in the woodlands of Wyoming County.
Animals continue to be an increasingly popular part of couples’ weddings. A 2022 poll revealed that nearly two-thirds of pet owners would include their dog in their wedding ceremony.
Last year, exotic animal veterinarians Ericka and Jay Johnson, who first met while doing a wild tortoise survey 20 years ago, felt it was only fitting for their beloved Sulcata tortoise, Tom Shelleck, to be part of their wedding celebrations.
The couple gave Tom the important role of ring bearer for their big day at Tohono Chul Botanical Gardens in Tucson, Arizona. To ensure the tortoise made it down the aisle, Erika and Jay had the walkway dotted with strawberries so the “always hungry” Tom could follow the snacks to the altar.
Despite initial concerns that he may nibble some painted toenails mistaking them for fruit, Tom was a great ring bearer and the “center of attention” at the wedding.
The 20-year-old reptile crept down the aisle with a floral basket holding the rings attached to his shell for the nuptials. Tom also posed with Ericka and Jay for their wedding portraits.
“He could have had the slowest walk down the aisle in history,” Erika told SWNS of Tom’s big moment. “We’d practice to see how long it would take, and we ended up having to have two songs played so that we’d have enough time, and we still almost ran out of songs.”
