Among various traditions around the world, cannabis is used as a spiritual sacrament. While the religious or ritualized use of cannabis can be found everywhere from India to Jamaica, you need not look any further than Colorado to find people who have integrated the sacred herb into some of life’s most sacred ceremonies — in this case, marriage.
The International Church of Cannabis in Denver, Colorado, is now offering weed weddings. Home to Elevationist Ministries, the church recently began offering wedding ceremonies in a cannabis-friendly environment in response to the increasingly high demand to incorporate marijuana into matrimony.
“We thought there would be interest from people wanting to get married at the church, but we never expected such a response,” says Lee Malloy, church spokesperson.
For $4,200, couples can buy the “Elevated Wedding Package,” complete with a ceremony in a “magical place” that can hold up to 200 guests, along with lifetime church membership. Couples can use their own priest or other type of wedding officiant, or otherwise use someone from the church. Elevationist Ministries will also be offering a “Wedding Venue Giveaway” for those who can’t afford the regular price.
For many, using cannabis is a spiritual experience, evoking a connection to God or some other higher power. Likewise, marriage can also be conceived as a spiritual experience, a contract between the couple and higher power. Using cannabis during the marriage ceremony, or in the wedding environment not only elevates the marriage ritual and ceremony altogether, but may also help the bride, groom, and in-laws relax on the big day. Meanwhile, guests who would rather consume cannabis than alcohol now have the option in legal states.
In fact, cannabis weddings have become so popular that entire expos dedicated to them have been cropping up everywhere from California to Colorado. What with weed flower crowns, cannabis bouquets and centerpieces, bud bars and medicated treats, cannabis is becoming a central part of the entire wedding experience.
The International Church of Cannabis isn’t the only place where you can have a weed wedding. Other wedding chapels in Las Vegas, for instance, also offer 420-friendly nuptials. The Cannabis Chapel in Vegas’s wedding district offers “weeding” packages starting at $104.20, which are slightly more secular but just as fun as what you’d find in a cannabis church. They include “reggae wedding music, special vows and use of a silk pot plant bouquet and boutonniere for the ceremony,” the website reads. “In the future, the Cannabis chapel plans to have hemp dresses and tuxes, hemp rings, and other pot-related accoutrements. Vow renewals and pretend wedding photos are also available for those who like the novelty of the concept.”
