Mendl Weinstock teased his big sister Riva for years about bringing a llama to her wedding — long before she was engaged or even had a boyfriend. Now, five years after the joke started on a long car ride, Riva is married, and Mendl has made good on his promise.
He brought a handsome black-and-white llama — dressed for the occasion in a proper llama tuxedo, complete with bow tie and yarmulke — to Riva’s wedding.
It all began on a five-hour car ride from their home in Ohio to Indiana when the siblings were teens. “My sister was talking about her wedding as if it were tomorrow when she wasn’t even dating anyone at the time,” Mendl told Insider. “Just to make her mad and get a reaction, I told her if she makes me come to the wedding, I am bringing a llama with me. After a few minutes of arguing, she tried to use reverse psychology on me and said, ‘OK, the llama is invited to the wedding.'”
Uh-oh. The llama was officially on the guest list. Big sisters everywhere know what that means. “Those were the magic words,” Mendl told the Huffington Post.
However, it seems Riva still couldn’t believe it was happening when the time came. Mendl posted the photo that captured the moment on Reddit, and the look on Riva’s face tells you exactly why this photo of the three of them — Mendl, Riva and Shocky the llama — is going viral.
5 years ago I promised my sister I would bring a llama to her wedding from pics
Ha! She looks, ahem, displeased to say the least. Though she told Insider, “That’s pretty much my face constantly when I look at my brother.” Mendl, of course, looks completely delighted by his prank. (As he should be. It’s an all-time great.)
Riva got engaged in October, and Mendl started shopping for a rental llama from a farm. One of his co-workers sewed a tuxedo for Shocky the llama. Hey, all wedding guests should be properly dressed for the occasion!
The wedding photographer shot a quick behind-the-scenes video and posted it to Instagram. In the video, you can hear Riva saying to her brother, “I hate you so much.”
The llama rental cost Mendl $400. Shocky and his handler stuck around for half an hour so people could snap pics with him. And who wouldn’t want to get a selfie with this handsome fellow?
It turns out wedding llamas are a thing. There’s even a hashtag for them on Instagram: #weddingllama. Of course.
In the meantime, brides-to-be, be careful handing out those wedding invites.
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for other great tips and ideas to make the most out of life.
