You could say newlyweds Morgan Bauhofer and Ethan Demaree struck while the iron was hot—it just happened to be during their September 2014 wedding ceremony. A tradition amongst many ranching families, the bride and groom took a red-hot branding iron and seared an interlocking double horseshoe, their wedding date and the last name they were about to share onto a keepsake bench after their vows at Silverbow Ranch in Chiloquin, the bride’s hometown.
Stretching back seven generations on the groom’s side, the cattle brand is the second oldest registered in the state of California and is still placed on every calf, cow, bull (and occasional bench) his family owns. “We wanted to keep up the family tradition and have the brand become a part of our household,” says the bride. The bench is now prominently displayed in the couple’s San Lucas, California, home.
