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Newlyweds Johnny and Laura Benson, were taking post-ceremony photos at the Horsetooth Reservoir in Fort Collins, Colorado, on June 20, when a rattlesnake decided to have a little snack.
"I looked over and saw the snake sitting there, and it was rattling."
The couple were about 50 feet from the parking lot when the young rattlesnake jumped out onto the path and struck, their photographer Maddie Wilbur told BuzzFeed.
As luck would have it, a Larimer County Park Ranger was driving by at the same time, and Wilbur and the couple managed to flag him down.
The ranger elevated Benson’s leg while his wife of less than two hours called the paramedics to the scene.
And just like a good photographer, Wilbur caught the whole thing on camera once help had arrived.
“The whole situation was so surreal, and I couldn’t really help in any way except continue to do my job and capture the story of their wedding day,” she said. “I’m glad I got to tell their story!”
“Not knowing if the rattler had injected venom, the initial prognosis was pretty dire,” Wilbur said. “At a minimum, they said he could be in the hospital for several hours to assess the bite. At worst, if he needed anti-venom, he could be in the hospital for several days.”
The rattlesnake had injected no venom, and he didn’t have any swelling or symptoms of an infection.
All he needed was a tetanus shot and he was good to go.