FORT MYERS, Fla. (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.
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.
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