She dreamed of a wild wedding in a zoo — then a lion showed up to witness her vows

It's not every day that we see couples exchanging wedding vows at a zoo, right? But a Florida couple who recently went viral after an unexpected guest photobombed their wedding photos are built differently. Tara, an event operator at Brevard Zoo, and Tommy Beers became the first to get married in the venue's new lion enclosure in January 2025. Their decision to celebrate their wedding at the wildlife haven was made even more special when a lion named Ruaha was photographed watching them say their vows.

In the gorgeous pictures captured by Nick and Lauren (@nickandlaurenphotos on Instagram), wedding photographers, a magnificent male lion was caught attending the ceremony from behind a large glass wall. In one of the pictures, Ruaha could even be seen sitting on his hind legs, while placing his front paws on the glass window. Lauren, Tara's friend-turned-photographer, revealed that the bride had worked closely with the lions that attended her wedding. She wrote in the caption, "They couldn’t help but stay close during the ceremony and make sure Tara knew they approved of her wedding."

While in most weddings the bride and the groom take the center stage, Tara's was anything but ordinary, and she had no complaints about it. In fact, Tara always wanted to capture the lions in her wedding pictures, and that's exactly why she wanted her get married at the zoo. "She absolutely loved it. That was one of the reasons why she wanted to do it down there, so we could try to see if some of the lions would be in some of the photos. It worked out better than either of us ever could have imagined," Tommy, her husband, said.

Even when Tara walked down the aisle, everyone was busy gazing at the big kitty cats, except for her beloved husband. "I was looking at the bride. It was very distracting, though, "Tara's husband shared with PEOPLE. In an interview with Fox 35 Orlando, the couple revealed that the zoo where they got married was also the place where they first met each other. Working as an event coordinator at Brevard Zoo, Tara had arranged for countless weddings there, and the thought of tying the knot at a new place just made her excited. 

"It was absolutely a dream. We didn't know how they were going to react. We found out very quickly that they love wedding dresses. And they love anything with a train or sparkles or moving fabric, just like kitty cats," she said, recalling the lions' reaction. Not only Tara and Tommy, but their guests also had an amazing time, witnessing the wedding of a lifetime. When Lauren, the photographer, was asked if the wedding guests were overwhelmed or scared by the lion's presence, especially when he put his paws up, she denied it. "Everyone was laughing. We felt like we were in a Snow White moment, but at the zoo," Lauren shared.

Meanwhile, reacting to the pictures, @diordesuka asked, "Do they know there's a lion behind them? These are amazing! You’re so great at capturing the big moments." Similarly, @serotonin_salon_suite wrote, "I’ve never seen a cooler wedding! Omg!" @aubreyaunt said, "Look what he did to the glass with his claws. Eeee! But fabulous shots."

You can follow Nick and Lauren (@nickandlaurenphotos on Instagram) for more wedding content.