(Maddie Mae Photography)

The photo shoot got off to a smooth start.

Maddie Mae is a wedding photographer in Fort Collins, Colo. Her hometown is tucked into the foothills of Rocky Mountain National Park, about 100 kilometres north of Denver. It's rugged country — Boulder, famous for its skiing and rock climbing, is about an hour's drive away — and Mae's clientele appear to be the outdoorsy type, as the pictures on her Facebook page will attest.

Johnny Benson and Laura Loretz are no exception.

(Maddie Mae Photography)

As fast as a rattler's strike, things went sideways.

But while the trio were out shooting some wedding day portraits on Monday, natured reared its fanged head.

"A young rattlesnake jumped out and bit Johnny on the ankle," Mae recalled in a post on Facebook.

(Maddie Mae Photography)

The consummate professional, Mae kept the shutter clicking.

The snakebite happened about 15 metres from the parking lot at a picturesque reservoir on the edge of town, Mae said.

A park ranger happened to be driving by and the trio, with Johnny now on his back, flagged him down.

(Maddie Mae Photography)

The ranger yelled 'congratulations!' before clueing in.

Misinterpreting their calls for help, the ranger wished the couple well from his truck window before clueing in to the potential emergency.

Not knowing if the rattler had injected its potentially lethal venom into the newlywed, Mae says the initial prognosis was "pretty dire."

(Maddie Mae Photography)

Benson was rushed to hospital with Laura by his side.

Mae followed in her own car and caught up with the couple in the emergency room.

(Maddie Mae Photography)

(Maddie Mae Photography)

Luckily, Johnny didn't show any swelling or symptoms of any kind.

Save for the tiny holes in his calf, the symptom-free groom was cleared after about 20 minutes and the couple made their reception. (Only an hour late.)

(Maddie Mae Photography)

These images have been making the rounds on social media.

"The whole situation was so surreal, and I couldn't really help but continue to do my job and capture the story of their wedding day. It's my craziest wedding story to date," Mae said.

(Maddie Mae Photography)