Weed wedding planners manage couples high expectations
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This joint is setting the bar high for weddings.
Cannabis loving couples say “I do” with a few added edible arrangements compliments of Irie Weddings & Events, a Colorado-based business with weed wedding planners adding some extra greenery to the big day.
“We’re a one-stop shop that helps canna couples find the right vendor and venues,” says Bec Koop, co-founder of Irie, who helps pot smoking partners — or, as she calls them, “canna couples” — toke with party guests. “There’s so many ways you can incorporate it.”
In 2014, Colorado’s legal marijuana market reached total sales of $700 million, and that’s when Koop started up Cannabis Concierge Events and Buds & Blossoms, devoted to incorporating weed into events and decor. She merged the two businesses as a one-stop cannabis wedding planning shop with Irie in 2017, an all-female run business in Denver working with a range of local cannabis-friendly vendors. They’ve planned weddings for people ranging in age from 21 to mid-60s.
“I’m a daily medical marijuana user and I was not going to go through one of the most stressful and exciting days of my life without the way that I manage my pain,” says Lauren Gibbs, who hired Irie last year to serve weed and provide the decor and flower arrangements at her wedding.
“Weddings create a really great opportunity for people to be exposed to cannabis in a really classy setting. People were so excited to try it, and it really created a festive atmosphere that I couldn’t have gotten with alcohol alone,” she adds.
Couples simply visit a dispensary of their choice and select and purchase cannabis in their favorite strains. An ounce of it can cost around $100 to $250 at Colorado dispensaries. Irie offers cannabis packages that will incorporate weed in bouquets, flower arrangements, centerpieces and cocktails, complete with bud-tending services. (That’s a weed bartender, btw.) Budtenders offer up strains to achieve ideal highs and serve up weed cocktails to enhance the experience. Couples can choose a build-your-own “Bud Bar” complete with joints, glass pipes, small vaporizes, and edibles.
If you’re unfamiliar with the kind of weed you want, Irie serves as a consultant helping customers create a customizable strain menu catered to the intended wedding vibe. For those looking to get a body high there’s “BC Height,” which is an earthy blend of vanilla and berry. “Cherry Lime Haze” gives off a more uplifting high that’s great for guests looking to party. Another more relaxing strain is “Good Medicine,” a sweet mango flavor that gives off more subtle high.
“Sativa is more uplifting. It’s going to make you get up and dance,” assures Madlyne Kelly, co-founder of Irie. “Indica is much more relaxing and has more of an effect on your body,” she explains of the two cannabis plant varieties.
Bud Bar packages cost between $250 and $500, not with cannabis but including lighters, cleaning materials and selected smoking apparatuses like bowls or bongs. For weddings with more than 30 guests, an additional budtender is required for $15 an hour. Planning packages start at $200 and cost as much as $5,000 depending on customization. The $3,000 O.G. Kush plan, for example, offers everything from coordinating vendors and the $420 Elopement Plan includes an officiant, photographer and dinner reservation for the couple. For a steeper $5,000 Irie will plan your entire event from venue selecting to floral arrangements, party favors and all other stressful logistics.
“Might as well enjoy it on the biggest and most stressful day of your life especially if it helps with anxiety and puts you in a better headspace for your big day,” says Koop.
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