Woman 'Marries' 100-Year-Old Tree During Fake Wedding To Stop Its Removal

A Florida woman "married" a century-old ficus tree during a ceremony Saturday hoping to protect the city from chopping it down.

Karen Cooper, a resident of Valencia Terrace in Fort Myers, Florida, took action after she learned that the city’s parks department planned to remove the 100-year-old ficus tree in Snell Park located inside her community.

Cooper and others decided to hold an unofficial wedding in the park, which included flowers, music, a tree-themed wedding cake and a dog named "Little Bear," who acted as a ring bearer.

The tree sits on city property, but its 8,000-square-foot canopy and root system encroach a next-door lot currently up for sale for $1 million. Potential buyer Jeff Romer inquired about the lot and what he could legally do to the tree once he purchased the land.

"All I was doing was my due diligence on the lot," he told the Fort Myers Beautification Advisory Board, according to the Associated Press. "If I'm allowed to touch the tree, trim the tree, prune the tree ... because I don't want to be liable if the tree falls over onto the neighbor's house."

Proceeding a December site inspection by the city, the parks department approved the tree’s removal and notified the board, which included plans to spend $13,000 to cut down the tree and replace it with smaller Geiger trees, according to News-Press.

Once the project went public, concerned neighbors began protesting and handing out fliers. Cooper and others took it a step further by "marrying" it in the park.

She claimed her inspiration came from activists in Mexico, who protested deforestation by marrying trees.

"So I saw that and I thought, 'Oh we should marry the ficus tree — kind of giggle, giggle — but everyone said it's a really good idea, so I said, 'OK, let's do it,'" she said.

Cooper’s efforts came just before the Beautification Advisory Board scheduled meeting Tuesday to decide whether the tree stays or goes.

The faux wedding drew over 50 people, including Ward 5 Councilman Fred Burson, who announced his support of the landmark.

"If we don’t get it settled at the Beautification Board meeting, I’ll take it to the City Council," Burson said.

City spokeswoman Stephanie Schaffer said in an email to News-Press that the "city is moving forward to save the Snell Park ficus tree" and that "everyday city employees care for the trees and plants that give our city a sense of community and shared history."

Cooper explained that the tree’s existence remained up in the air.

"It's still not saved," she said. "It's still not decided, and that's what I don't understand. If the arborist says it can be trimmed and if ... Jeff Romer stood up at the last meeting and said I never asked for the tree to be cut down, and if we all in the neighborhood don't want it to, why are we still talking about cutting the tree down?"