A Michigan couple beat over 15,000 couples to win a $40,000 weed-themed wedding from a local dispensary. The Greenhouse of Walled Lake, the first fully licensed medical and recreational dispensary in Oakland County, announced the wedding giveaway in March as part of efforts to normalize pot.
Danielle Geralds and Nile Hunt were selected by the judges to receive a wedding reception and ceremony with all expenses paid up to $40,000. “They had a great story,” Greenhouse owner Jerry Millen, one of six judges, told IndyStar. “They weren’t just looking to get a free wedding. They were like, ‘We want to normalize this.'”
Couples were invited to enter the contest by filling out an online form with a short message stating why they wanted to win. Geralds and Hunt will with the help of a professional wedding planner tie the knot in front of 50 friends and relatives at The Greenhouse of Walled Lake on October 5. At the wedding, cannabis-infused cuisine and cake will be served, with guests tossing marijuana leaves, instead of rice, at the couple, the dispensary said.
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Geralds and Hunt met while Hunt was in the U.S. Navy. He served in combat in Afghanistan and sustained injuries in a 2010 bomb blast there that led to post-traumatic stress disorder. Cannabis helped him heal physically and emotionally, and so his wedding suit color is green, matching the plant that helped him heal, he told IndyStar.
His bride and his family have also used cannabis to treat cancer, appetite problems, and other illnesses. “This is a wonderful and incredibly deserving couple, and I could not be happier for them,” Millen said. “It was a difficult decision and I wish we could have awarded an all-expenses paid wedding to all entrants.”
Several states across America have legalized marijuana cultivation and use for recreational as well as medicinal purposes. Despite the liberalization of the industry, it is still dominated by Whites with Blacks participating little in the marijuana economy.
Meanwhile, the cannabis industry in the United States is estimated to pomp up to $130 billion on an annual basis into the U.S. economy by 2024, according to Marijuana Business Factbook.
