A California couple's wedding photos have gone viral after they celebrated their marriage by having a "first toke" together.Coral Reefer and her husband Mio lit up their custom "Mr and Mrs" bongs for some smoke-filled wedding pictures taken by photographer Rachel Artime.Coral told Insider that cannabis played a major part in her wedding day, even appearing in her bouquet.The couple also had an RV where a "professional budtender" was on hand to help guests who wanted to light up or take a bong hit.Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.From the bouquet and party favors, to the officiant and bride's entrance song, just about every element of one California couple's wedding incorporated cannabis.And when it was time to take their wedding photos, cannabis blogger Coral Reefer and her husband Mio knew they didn't want to go the traditional route. Instead, the couple celebrated their new union by having a "first toke" together, lighting up custom "Mr and Mrs" bongs for some smoke-filled wedding pictures taken by photographer Rachel Artime.Insider learned the story behind the viral photos from the Santa Cruz wedding.Coral and Mio first met in kindergarten and were best friends for years before they moved to different schools.They had mutual friends throughout junior high and high school, but it wasn't until 2015 that Coral and Mio actually reconnected.Mio had invented a cannabis product and his partners reached out to Coral about promoting it on her popular YouTube channel, which has more than 100,000 subscribers."I was much more interested in getting some alone time with Mio," she told Insider. "We announced our relationship in January 2016. Both of our families were overjoyed to hear that we had reconnected and fallen in love."Mio proposed to Coral on a beach in Davenport, California, in October 2018.Coral said Mio had insisted that they spend the day searching for sea glass, one of her favorite activities."While I was looking in tide pools, he got down on one knee and pulled out the ring," she recalled. "He called over to me that he had 'found the best one!' and I rushed over to see what sea glass had washed up.""Instead I found the perfect solitaire diamond ring in a ring box, with Mio asking me to be his wife."Coral and Mio always knew that cannabis was going to play a big part in their wedding day.Coral said she had been writing about cannabis for 10 years when she realized that there was a "severe lack of positive cannabis representation for women." So, she decided to start her own YouTube serieswhich she dubbed "Stoney Sunday"in 2010."I spoke for cannabis enthusiasts and patients who felt afraid to use their own voice, and I asked questions about cannabis news, laws, and research," she said.While she now works as an independent glass artist, Coral said cannabis still plays a huge part in her and Mio's life."My husband has used cannabis medicinally for years and years, and I've also found so much relief from PTSD symptoms by medicating with cannabis," she said. "I couldn't imagine the stress or celebration of our wedding without toking how we were most comfortable.""We've taken smoking photos on nearly all of our trips and biggest and best days together so far, how could we skip our wedding day'"Coral and Mio found photographer Rachel Artime on Instagram and thought her "moody and expressive style" would fit in perfectly with their cannabis wedding."I knew I wanted to book her right away," Coral said. "Literally less than a month after we got engaged, and before we even had our venue, we booked Rachel and set up our engagement photo shoot."About halfway through that first shoot, the couple asked Artime if they could light up a few joints for some of their engagement photos."Those photos became some of my favorite from the day, and sealed the deal on the notion of taking time for weedy wedding photos," Coral said.When Coral found out that Mio had ordered custom "Mr and Mrs" bongs, she knew she wanted to incorporate them into their wedding photos as well.The couple decided to use their new handmade RooR bongs during their "first look" moment."We wanted the elegance and aesthetic to be cohesive with the rest of our wedding plans, and Rachel was onboard with our vision," Coral said."I always say that your wedding photo is about you and your love story," Artime told Insider. "So I am team for anything! I loved the uniqueness Coral and Mio brought to wedding photos. Wedding photos can get repetitive, I loved the new twist!"The "first toke" photos were Coral's "absolute favorite moment" from the entire day.After posing with their bongs for a few shots, Coral and Mio lit up."The smoke made the photos look moody, romantic, and slightly haunting," Artime said. "I was very into it. But I only had one chance to get the shot!"Coral said the moment was extra special because it was the first time she and Mio saw each other on their wedding day."We typically spend mornings getting ready together, and I just missed him so desperately that day with all the hustle and bustle of getting ready for a wedding," she said. "I was so eager to get back to him, and so excited to show him my wedding dressit had been a hard secret to keep!""Rachel scouted a great location for our 'first look' moment," she added. "The serenity of being surrounded by trees while we had a few moments together before the ceremony began was priceless."Coral said cannabis was a part of the wedding from start to finish. It even appeared in her bouquet and Mio's boutonniere."My bouquet had fresh cut nugs and leaves of Kush Cake and Grape Ape tucked into roses, and Mio's boutonniere was a big fresh cutting of the Kush Cake," Coral said."Our guests kept telling my husband how great he smells!"The couple also had a parked RV that their wedding guests could step into if they wanted a "bong hit, toke from the pipe, or a dab of cannabis concentrate" during the day.Coral said there was even a "professional budtender" in the RV to answer any questions that the guests might have had."We wanted our industry friends to be comfortable celebrating how they know we usually do, and we still wanted it to be welcoming for first-timers, like a former law enforcement family member and even a grandparent or two!" she added.Coral even walked down the aisle to a "cannabis-infused love song."She made her entrance to an acoustic version of "Bowl for Two," by the Expendables.Coral and Mio also selected comedian Ngaio Bealum, a "cannabis community celebrity," as their officiant."He joked about losing the rings at the altar and only finding weed in his pockets," she said. "Our guests loved it!"Coral and Mio's wedding photos have since gone viral, racking up tens of thousands of views as well as headlines across the globe."I'm so happy so many people are getting joy from our wedding photos!" Coral said. "It's surprising, but I think people are getting a kick out of our photos because it's something they've wanted to do too!""People around the world have celebrated with cannabis for generations and generations, but we've been led to think it's something to be ashamed of," she added. "We didn't have to roll a joint so there was no glass as evidence. We got to enjoy our wedding day exactly how we wantedand I think a lot of people are celebrating that with us."Artime believes the photos have also gone viral because they break with the usual tradition and structure of a wedding."I think the shock of seeing a bong at a wedding caught people's attention," she said. "My goal as a photographer is for each couple to feel captured and seen, and for viewers to feel the couple's personality.""I hope in 50 years, when they look back at my photos, they think 'Yup, that's us! That's what our love feels like."'Coral said seeing people's positive reactions to her and Mio's wedding photos "really means so much to us.""I'm so glad the conversation around cannabis worldwide can be positive," she said. "And even a bit romantic."Read more:2 brides lifted a 253-pound barbell together after exchanging vows to celebrate their marriageA couple used a bird of prey as the ring bearer for their adults-only castle wedding, and the photos are going viralA couple got married in the middle of the California wildfires, and their photographer calls it the 'new normal for wine country'A bride and groom ordered $450 of Domino's pizza for their wedding meal because they 'couldn't decide on food
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