A Florida couple’s wedding in Tennessee picked up a few uninvited guests when a mother bear and her two cubs wandered up behind the officiant in the middle of the ceremony. The bride says she noticed the animals about 10 minutes in and eventually had to interrupt the ceremony to warn everyone, according to People.
Fabiola Kasperek, 33, and her husband, Austin, who live in Fort Myers, Florida, tied the knot in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Fabiola told the outlet she picked the location as she wanted something unique and different from a typical Florida wedding. “We totally got that and more,” the bride said of the day, after the bears stopped right behind the officiant.
The couple had not been warned about bear sightings at the venue, she says, and none of the venue’s posted photos showed any bears. “I didn’t even think bears would want to be around people, music and noise,” Fabiola said. She admits she felt excited at first, then calm, and waited a few minutes before stopping the ceremony to let the officiant know.
Guests were split between panicking and pulling out their phones
The bride says the reaction from guests was mixed. Some were frightened and several gasped, while others stood up to snap photos of the animals while they lingered near the officiant. “Some people definitely freaked out,” she said. The bears stayed for roughly five minutes before the venue owner came out and scared them off, and the three of them left one by one.
“This will be remembered forever,” Fabiola said, adding, “I’ll never shut up about this.” The moment was captured by the couple’s photographer, Sarah Ormiston Photography, and her images of the bears accompanied the couple’s interview with the outlet. No one at the wedding was reported to have been hurt during the encounter.
Pigeon Forge sits just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which has the densest black bear population in the country, according to the National Park Service. Biologists estimate roughly 1,900 bears live in the park, or about two per square mile. Inside the park, it is illegal to willfully approach within 50 yards of a bear, as close encounters can disturb the animals.
Fall is a busy time for bears in the region, as they feed heavily on nuts and acorns to build up fat reserves before winter. Adult females usually weigh just over 100 pounds, while males average about 250 pounds in the summer, and both can nearly double their weight by fall.
Fabiola’s ceremony joins a long list of weddings thrown off by the unexpected, however, and not every interruption arrives on four legs. One couple found that out when their toddler objected at the wedding despite carefully planned naps, and the moment drew a similar wave of attention once the video was shared online.
The park service advises people who encounter a bear to stay calm, never run and slowly back away while facing the animal if it changes its behavior. If a bear keeps approaching, visitors are told to stand their ground, stay together and make themselves look larger. In this case, the venue owner’s quick response sent the family of bears on their way.
The venue has not publicly commented on the encounter. However, it is unclear whether future couples marrying there will be warned about possible bear sightings before their outdoor ceremonies.
Published: Oct 24, 2026 06:00 am