Florida woman went out on a limb to save tree — she married it

FORT MYERS, FL (AP) — Karen Cooper was ready to go out on a limb to save her beloved, so she got married — to a tree.

Specifically, a giant ficus that’s shaded Snell Family Park in Fort Myers for more than a century.

The tree became the center of a neighborhood controversy when city staff began discussing cutting it down last year. Cooper, who lives nearby, began mobilizing to save it.

The News-Press reports effort that culminated with the waterfront nuptials Saturday, complete with flowers, music, a tree-decorated wedding cake and a canine ring-bearer named Little Bear.

Though rooted on city property, some of the Indian laurel’s 8,000-square-foot canopy and root system extends to a neighboring lot, for sale for $1 million.

In December, the city’s public works department OK’d the tree’s removal.