Have you heard about the latest Instagram wedding trend? Because it is cute, fluffy, and it has four legs.
Yup, it’s llamas. Couples are renting them for their weddings, and you just have to see it.
(Yes, some of these cute guys are alpacas, not llamas. Let’s just go with it.)
So, what’s with the llamas?
“The llamas were a surprise for our guests and were a HUGE hit. Yes, so Portland of us. Instead of traditional photo booths, we wanted guests to take photos with the llamas,” blogger Stephanie Truong wrote of her wedding.
Some llamas have a few jobs.
“They are actually service animals here in the Portland area, and are now gaining a ton of popularity for weddings.”
She was right — that is so Portland, but it’s also so cool!
The Portland llamas do a lot of charity work.
Hiring them for your wedding enables their owners, Shannon Joy and Lori Gregory, to provide free services to those in need, like nursing homes, special-needs schools, rehab, and memory care facilities.
They run Mtn Peak Therapy Llamas & Alpacas during the week!
For one llama owner, it started as a bit of a joke.
For Celia Gaze, her llamas wound up in bow ties because her dad left his behind after his divorce from her mother.
“Mum said ‘What am I going to do with all these?’ and I joked that I’d put them on the llamas,” she said .
The llamas and alpacas that are chosen are very special animals.
They’re the ones who stick out from the others because of their personalities.
Basically, if they’re social butterflies with gentle dispositions, and they’re pretty happy to be getting the amount of attention they do from wedding guests.
RELATED STORIES
They’re great at their jobs!
“Our animals are ‘pros’ when it comes to parties and special events,” Mtn Peaks’ website says. “Always decorated to compliment, our llamas can easily handle all ages, and any size of crowd!”
And the owners keep a close eye on who they pick to meet people.
“Not all llamas and alpacas are meant to be used in this capacity, which is why Lori and Shannon take seriously the search for llamas and alpacas with special dispositions, keeping an eye out for those who prefer to be around humans over their herd and are confident being alone and social,” their site says.
This couple was dying to meet Rojo the alpaca.
“I’ve always wanted to meet the Rojo the Llama (the handsome one in the hat). He was even better than I could have imagined! He even purred when I hugged him, which kind of startled me because it felt and sounded like a phone vibrating.” They wrote .
Llamas + kids = wholesome.
“How precious is this moment?? We llove how animals bring joy to those both young and old and everyone in between,” the Wedding Llamas wrote on Instagram.
It’s neat that they can type with their little hoofs.
This couple loved them so much that they used them twice!
The first time was at their actual wedding in 2017.
They loved them so much that they decided to rent them out for their anniversary the next year. I love that!
You have to see them in action.
The bride and groom each put treats in their mouths to feed to the animals!
Rojo is such a little ham — look at him going in again and again for more treats!
Some couples deck the llamas out to fit their themes.
For llamas Smokey and Napoleon, the bride handmade them pom-pom necklaces to wear!
“They’re such a perfect touch for a Peruvian-themed wedding… outside of having camelids as guests ;),” they wrote .
Other couples dress them up more traditionally.
Rojo sported a cute bowtie and a little hat, while Napoleon was dressed in flowers and white fabric.
I would watch a llama wedding. I would go to a llama wedding.
Rojo is a photobombing king.
Look at his crooked teeth hamming in up in the background!
If you want more Wedding Llamas (and alpacas), you can follow them on Instagram. And search for any wedding llamas that may be available near you!
