A Michigan-based dispensary is helping one lucky couple achieve their dreams of a “high”-class wedding by offering a cannabis-themed wedding package worth $30,000, complete with a cannabis bar and budtenders.
Greenhouse of Walled Lake has partnered with cannabis manufacturer Choice Labs to offer the prize, which will be held at the dispensary-turned-wedding venue with the help of a wedding planner to make sure the event goes on without any issues. In addition to the cannabis bar stocked with Choice products, the wedding will also feature a custom-made infused chocolate wedding cake and the throwing of cannabis leaves instead of rice.
“We’re seeing a generation choose weed over booze, even when it comes to traditional celebrations like weddings. Move open ‘open bar,’ hello ‘bud bar,’” said Greenhouse owner Jerry Millen.
The contest is open to anyone old enough to obtain a marriage license with the winner being announced in early May. Interested couples have until the end of April to fill out a form online and explain why they want to win the cannabis-themed wedding package.
The continuing spread of cannabis legalization across the country and the subsequent reductions of the stigma surrounding cannabis use are giving way for people to celebrate their love for each other and love for cannabis in different ways as the cannabis-themed event industry continues to rise and take shape.
Companies like WeedBar LA have seen their businesses boom over the past few years as recreational cannabis becomes more readily available. WeedBar offers smokeless glass pipes, drinks, edibles, and a rolled flight tasting with “teeny tiny mini joints” with everything micro-dosed so guests are able to partake in the wedding festivities without fear of going overboard. Experienced budtenders are also an important piece of the process in order to gauge how guests are reacting and scale back should it be needed.
“It grows exponentially each year,” said Cat Goldberg, the founder of WeedBar in Los Angeles, when asked about the popularity of cannabis bars. “People are going to events where they see that people are using cannabis and not drinking alcohol and they’re like, ‘I want this energy at my wedding.’”
NBA star Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors made waves during the Summer of 2022 when pictures of the “blunt bar” at his wedding went viral, featuring a special “Hazel Haze” strain—a blend of Biscotti and ZKittleZ strains—named after his new wife, Hazel Renee.
While some people seek out and would like a cannabis-themed wedding, it is important that all guests attending are aware of and also consenting to the possibility of consuming cannabis.
A Florida woman filed a lawsuit last year after attending a wedding where cannabis-infused food was served at the reception, claiming she “became immediately ill” after eating food that was laced with “poisonous” amounts of cannabis. A police report filed after the wedding revealed the food was sent to a lab for testing and the lasagna and bread served at the event tested positive for THC.
Virginia Ann Taylor-Svoboda filed a lawsuit against Joycelyn Bryant and her company, Joycelyn’s Southern Kitchen, claiming that she didn’t know the food was infused with cannabis. The lawsuit accuses Bryant of negligence and seeks over $30,000 in damages. Both Bryant and the bride, Danya Shea Svoboda, were arrested and charged with violating Florida’s Anti-Tampering Act which “covers tampering with food as well as tampering with certain types of drugs, devices, or cosmetics.”
“(Bryant) knew, or should have known, that allowing the food served by (Joycelyn’s Southern Kitchen) to be laced with marijuana was reasonably likely to cause injuries and damages to wedding guests,” the lawsuit maintains.
