Man wore a unicorn fanny pack to serve as flower girl in his friends' wedding


When his friends Amanda and Daniel DeDoncker first got engaged more than two years ago, Jake Clark jokingly invited himself to be in their wedding party. To his surprise, they took him up on the offer to be their “flower man,” which turns out to have been a brilliant move — at least based on the pictures getting rave reviews on Facebook this week.

“I don’t think he thought we were serious about it,” Amanda tells Yahoo Style of Clark, who’s been a friend of the couple since he started dating Amanda’s best friend years ago. “Our wedding was an adult wedding only, so it made sense for there to be a flower man instead of a little girl. It’s definitely our style to be different and funny and outgoing. We did not want a traditional wedding anyway.”

(Photo: Sarah Graybeal Photography)
(Photo: Sarah Graybeal Photography)

So, last Saturday, a gorgeous fall day outside of Dayton, Ohio, Clark walked down the aisle, sporting three fanny packs and tossing leaves into the air before delighted guests.

“I figured if I’m going to be flower man, I’m going to go all out — go big or go home,” Clark tells Yahoo. “I could have just carried around a basket, but I thought, ‘How could I make it a little more over the top?’ So I decided three fanny packs, not one. The showcase fanny pack was actually a unicorn fanny pack.”

(Photo: Sarah Graybeal Photography)
(Photo: Sarah Graybeal Photography)

During the rehearsal, Amanda thought the fallen leaves were pretty, so Clark decided to use them instead of flower petals. “Unfortunately, a lot of them were shredded when I pulled them out, and some people got some leaves to the face as well, which they seemed to be good sports about,” he says.

(Photo: Sarah Graybeal Photography)
(Photo: Sarah Graybeal Photography)

“Hands down the best flower girl ever ever everrrr. 3 fanny packs means serious business, y’all,” the couple’s photographer, Sarah Graybeal, wrote on Facebook, and the idea of having a flower man seems to be spreading already.

“Jake is an amazing person with a flair for the unconventional,” Daniel says. “He won our ugly sweater contest last year showing up in a nice sweater and only boxer briefs.”

(Photo: Sarah Graybeal Photography)
(Photo: Sarah Graybeal Photography)

Though the wedding also featured more standard elements, with four bridesmaids and six groomsmen, and the couple in traditional attire, the DeDonckers put their personal touch on other parts of the day too. Amanda walked down the aisle to an acoustic version of “Always,” by metalcore band Killswitch Engage, and their first dance was to the full version of the song.

Photo: Sarah Graybeal Photography
Photo: Sarah Graybeal Photography

They also featured the contribution of another member of the wedding party who owns a bakery called Cakes to Crowe About and made small cakes to serve as the centerpieces on each table.

The friends were part of another unexpected moment in the wedding too.

“There was a fire outside the venue,” Daniel says. “And the flower man and the cake guy ran over to put it out. The fire department showed up and everything!”

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