Bear Crashes Wedding At Colorado's Ridgeway State Park

Who Invited You? Bear Crashes Wedding

Guests at Neal Erickson and Anna Schmalz's Colorado wedding last weekend included the bride and groom's family, friends, and one 300-pound black bear.

After an uneventful ceremony at Ridgeway State Park on Colorado's western slope, guests attended a nearby pavilion for a reception and dinner.

"While we were enjoying ourselves at dinner, we looked out across the river and saw the bear," said the bride's mother Marianne Schmalz to 7News. "You could see that bear clearly."

Enticed by wedding cake (and dancing, no doubt), the bear crossed the river and entered the area's parking lot.

At that point, reports the Grand Junction Sentinel, rangers were notified. A member of the wedding party was also a park ranger and helped keep guests away from the inquisitive creature.

Rangers dispersed the bear with bean bags and ushered guests away from the area.

In August 2011, CBS reports bears disrupted a wedding in Taos, New Mexico, but they were tranquilized and the wedding continued as normal.

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