• by Erik Oster , November 27, 2023

What do you get when the entire wedding party is made up of wedding crashers?

Hard Mtn Dew -- the beverage marrying the sugary caffeinated rush of PepsiCo’s Mtn Dew with alcohol -- has the answer, as the brand recently threw just such a wedding for the winning couple of a brand sweepstakes.

The Hard Mtn. Dew-sponsored wedding came complete with a neon green and black aesthetic the brand described as “unmatched” (that’s one way to put it). There was one other major twist: only wedding crashers were invited to attend. 

Sacramento, California “"HARD DEWlywed" couple Alina Ibarra and Nicholas Enriquez won an all-expenses paid trip to Mtn Dew's birthplace -- Knoxville, Tennessee --  to get married during fall wedding season, with the  brand also providing a stipend to purchase their own dress and tuxedo.  Hard Mtn Dew received over 400 RSVPs, with the first 60 wedding crashers (are they still wedding crashers when they RSVP?) admitted.

During the event, one wedding crasher purportedly stepped into the maid of honor role by making an impromptu speech -- possibly influenced by the drink at the center of the celebrations -- toasting the couple and brand alike.

Of course, there were the kind of Hard Mtn Dew accessories you’d expect from this type of branded bash: from candelabras and a centerpiece made of Dew cans to custom veil and pocket square. There was also an open bar stocked with all varieties of Hard Mtn Dew. And the cake, naturally, was an on-brand black and green.

Some less expected touches? The Hard Mtn Dew-themed veil and pocket square, and the man officiating the wedding: Hard Mtn Dew Marketing Director Ryan Dunn, decked out in light green with a black cutoff denim jacket embroidered with the brand logo.

It’s not the first quirky wedding stunt from the brand. Last year, it held a contest resulting in one fan marrying a can of Hard Mtn Dew. Hard Mtn Dew Senior Brand Director Erica Taylor said the brand’s fans are “are known for their outrageous, over-the-top fandom,” and such marketing events celebrate “their ridiculous passion.”

Taylor described the “DEWlywed” event extending the reach to more fans of the brand (and wedding crashers), and capturing “the fun absurdity Hard Mtn Dew is all about.”

Now with consecutive annual entries, Hard Mtn Dew is seemingly vying to become the official brand of marital marketing stunts -- with a little competition from Cinnabon and Slim Jim, which earlier this year were joined in unholy matrimony.