Like most brides, Caroline Conley Buckingham wanted to be surrounded by her loved ones when she walked down the aisle on her big day.
Buckingham says her wedding wouldn’t have been complete without one honorary bridesmaid — her favorite cow. And, no, that’s not a fat joke.
The Jonesboro, Tenn. native has a self-proclaimed “cow obsession” and she couldn’t have imagined saying, “I do,” this June without her favorite cow, Roxie, by her side. Buckingham loved her cows long before her husband, Ethan, came into the picture.
Buckingham grew up on a dairy farm, so it came as no surprise to her family she wanted to involve Roxie in her wedding.
“My family’s reaction was pretty interesting,” Buckingham told Progressive Dairyman. “Some people thought it was neat and others hated it. I heard all the normal comments. ‘What if she throws a fit and won’t walk? What if she moos throughout the whole wedding?’ It was hard to convince people that everything would be fine, but I just never gave up.
Buckingham continues.
“In time, the family all came around, and even if they were skeptical about it, they put a smile on their faces and were excited about it for me. Afterward, many people told us it was one of the classiest, most beautiful weddings they had attended – and there was a cow in the wedding party! So, everything worked out just fine.”
Although she can’t wear a dress, Roxie donned a wreath of flowers around her neck as she accompanied Buckingham on her wedding day. And while the bride’s trusty four-legged friend didn’t saunter down the aisle along with the rest of the wedding party, Roxie did stand to the side of the altar during the ceremony.
Buckingham says Roxie was on her best behavior – that is, until she got hungry.
“At one point during the ceremony, my husband and I did start laughing because Roxie had gone behind the hay bales that were up for decoration and started eating.”
Source: Wide Open Country
