For one B.C. couple that joined thousands of people strolling by tents selling cannabis products at Vancouver's annual 4/20 rally Friday, the celebration carries a special personal meaning.

Shawno Ashmore and husband Hugh came down from Mission for the weekend to celebrate their April 20 wedding anniversary. The pair got married on 4/20 two years ago, and say they've been celebrating the "high" holiday together for a decade.

The two originally met one night at a club in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Decades later, they crossed paths again in Vancouver and remembered each other. From there, they started dating.

"The first 4/20 rally I ever went to was with Hugh, and we had such a great time," said Shawno. "That's what kicked off our relationship, for sure."

The men say public acceptance of cannabis is important for them because they use it medical reasons.

"I'm a long-term sufferer from the AIDS virus [HIV], since 1989," said Hugh. "[Cannabis] has helped me a lot. It's really helped with my nausea. And I'm still here."

When choosing a day to get married, April 20 seemed like the obvious choice. They invited friends and had a small ceremony at a church in New Westminster.

They remember the day fondly, with just one hiccup: a bridesmaid who came down from Calgary ate too many weed-infused brownies and didn't make it to the ceremony.

Now, they say it's their routine to come to Vancouver every April for the pot festival.

"I hope the event becomes more of a mainstream kind of fun event. Not so much of a protest more just a celebration and getting together and enjoying," Shawno said.

As dozens of people sat on rolled out blankets to have a smoke overlooking the ocean and North Shore mountains, and even more browsed the cannabis soaps, candies and lemonades on offer, it appeared he may get his wish.

Hugh said he likes that police and the city are "cool with allowing this" even though recreational cannabis isn't legal yet and the rally doesn’t have a permit from the Park Board.

His favourite part, though, is spending the day with the man he loves.

"I really believe that marijuana should be legal. And I feel like this might be our very last time we have this celebration," he said. "So this is history."