Forget horses on carriages at weddings, there is a new trend of donkeys making there way into weddings.
Called “beer burros” (burro is a southwestern term for pack donkeys), couples in Texas and California are hiring donkeys to serve drinks or snacks to guests on their special day and to appear in plenty of photos, of course, Business Insider reported.
Through their event planning company Texas Hill Country Events, Alisha Randig provides the beer burros out of Texas, though they travel across the state for events, too.
Alisha told Insider that it all came about when she received a call from a local BBQ joint asking her to consider starting a beer burro business because they had corporate clients that had requested them for an event.
After deciding to give it a go, she found her first two donkeys, now called John Wayne and Annie Oakley, on classifieds site Craigslist.
“We went to pick up John and saw Annie and fell in love with her,” she said. They didn’t realize Annie was pregnant at the time and their heard has now grown to eight.
The burros arrive at an event to greet guests and “mix and mingle,” passing out drinks or snacks. She said each donkey will carry six to 12 beers in their pack at a time. She added that the donkeys are usually used in group photos. The bride and groom walk around with them to take pictures, too.
“They have custom-made pack saddles, about waist-high, with baskets,” she explained. “They’re small, we don’t put a lot of weight on them, they’re more for the aesthetic.”
For weddings, the donkeys are usually the first thing guests see when they leave a ceremony and enter the cocktail hour.
The company’s website reads: “They have a beautiful neck wreath that they wear or you can provide any props you have to go along with the theme of your event. They can also be a walking photo booth for your event, just add the Polaroid package to your contract.”
The beer burros are hired for events other than weddings, too. “Some clients don’t want alcohol, and for kids parties, we’ll use popcorn bags,” Randig said.
The fee for the donkeys is $575 (Kshs 58, 195), though there’s an additional cost if the event is occurring more than 30 miles away from the ranch.
The donkeys live on her 88-acre ranch and are bathed each week and before an event. She said that donkeys are “companionship animals” and actually seem to enjoy the attention.
