When picturing a traditional church ceremony and plush backyard reception, one doesn’t often think of donkeys. But that’s the first thing Kathleen and Adam Storm’s guests saw as they arrived at the couple’s backyard bash in Carmichael: donkeys and mules were official greeters, and miniature burros, courtesy of one of Kathleen’s three brothers, added to the ambience.

Kathleen and Adam said “I Do” on May 30, 2009, at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Carmichael, the parish in which Kathleen was raised and Adam was recently baptized. Their traditional ceremony was followed by a very non-traditional reception in her parents’ nine-acre Carmichael backyard.

The donkeys and mules weren’t the only unique aspect of the backyard shindig. A 5,500 square foot tent held 37 guest tables and an enormous head table that sat 22. Guests danced the night away to ’80s tribute band Tainted Love on a dance floor built on top of a swimming pool. Male and female guests alike enjoyed aged Scotch whisky and cigars in the “Cigar Grotto” next to Carmichael Creek, which runs through the family’s yard.

“I would love to go back and be a guest, to see it all,” says Kathleen. “We wanted a crazy backyard party and that’s what we got.”