What started as an ‘in’ joke about a love of dinosaurs, ended up being the inspiration for Sam & Stew’s wedding, which took place in South Africa last September. “Neither of us can really remember where the dinosaur thing started,” Sam explained, “but it is now well and truly an inside family joke – the fact that Stew and I are ‘dinosaurs-for-life’. I found the plastic models at Pollocks Toy museum in London, and added the little details to turn them into our very own bridasaurus & groomasaur, cake toppers (by far and away the groom’s favourite part of the decor!)”
The couple knew they wanted a casual wedding, one that screamed ‘them’ and one that all their friends and family would enjoy. ”The idea of a formal wedding day, frankly – scared me!” the bride continued, “Giving ourselves permission to go ‘off script’ and make our day more FUN than formal made all the difference! My Mom (who never believed I’d get married) used to joke that if the day should ever arrive, she’d stretch the budget as far as the local hamburger joint, and treat everyone to a milkshake and fries. So, that’s just what we did! Our caterer was wonderful, and created a gourmet five star ‘Build Your Own Burger’ feast that included salads, homemade relish, a choice of filling and even a veggie patty – made from chickpeas.”
“We also opted for a lunchtime wedding – unusual in South Africa, because we wanted to relax with our close friends and family after the more official part of the day was over….which we did, looooong into the night!”
“Our day would not have been the same without the help from our families,” she concluded. “My amazing and beloved 92 year old Grandpa hand made all our blackboard signage, and allowed us to raid his shed for old milk cans, farm buckets and brass coal skuttles. To not only have him with us on the day, and share a dance with him, but also look around and see his handiwork displayed on every table was unforgettable!”
“From my Grandpa’s DIY blackboards, to the cake, and to my Dad’s valiant effort to drink enough Miller’s to create the impressive ‘hanging garden’ backdrop. We also asked Stew’s Gran to make us a batch of her famously delicious fudge (which we added to the dessert table) and we made a batch of my Gran’s super secret cookie recipe for our favours.”
The bride even wore her Grandmother’s wedding dress, a vintage original from 1947. Although it needed a few repairs it fitted her like a glove and it was a really special to Sam to be able to wear the same dress that her Grandmother did 64 years ago.
Gosh, don’t you just love these guys?! Thank you so much to Sam & Stew and their photographer Jacki for sharing today.
The Gallery
Supporting Cast:
Photography Credit: Jacki Bruniquel
Venue: Netherwood Farm, South Africa
Bride’s Dress: Vintage
Bride’s Shoes: Vivienne Westwood/Melissa
Groom’s Outfit: M&S
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Joules
Cake: DIY
Flowers: DIY
Band: Beat Route
Stationery: DIY
Caterers: Jacqui Rey, Food Matters
Reception Decor/Props: Lobola & Lace
This wedding makes me remember biology classes when we talked about dinosaurs. Nice theme.
a-m-a-z-i-n-g. just love this
Wow, fallen in LOVE with this gorgeous wedding…especially since they too had a ‘build your own burger’ buffet. Brill! And the photography is so creative…LOVE!!
Really too cute! I’m loving the whole feel: fun, friendly and really beautiful… I mean who doesn’t love that ;P
WOW!!! Beautiful and creative in every possible way!
LOVE this wedding, one of my all-time faves from Jacki, the dinosaur cake toppers crack me up, such a cute idea.
I cant even tell you how much I love that so much is centered around family – it gives me goosebumps…
As one of the bridesmaids, and sister of Sam – I can only concur with all the comments.
My amazingly talented sister is a creative genius. And yes I am bias…
I am now peckish for a giant burger and fudge….
Go Jax!!
A total treat for the eyes! Beautifully captured and so unique! Congrats to the happy couple and to Jacki for the awesome capture!
The attention to detail is mindboggling and the photographer gets A+. The size of those burgers – wow! Congratulations Sam and Stew – may you grow dinoseriously old and happy together. xx
i LOVED LOVED LOVED the cake toppers!!!!! im a dinosaur fan, those are simply the sha-bang of awesome =) and the photography is amazing!
This wedding looks amazing! Bride and groom look so relaxed and having real fun! I love the idea of the build a burger maybe that is cus we’re having a ‘stack a sarnie’ at our wedding
xx
what a great wedding, so unique and so fitting for them
dinosaurs!! i love this!
Aww, the dress! So sweet. So few people have that opportunity – and it looks amazing! x
What a lovely day and such a special bride her wedding touched me, the love for her granparents is wonderful, such a cool girl.
Thanks so much Kat for featuring this wonderful wedding. Sam and Stew were such a pleasure to shoot and I loved the way they stamped so much of their personality all of their wedding. It was great to shoot a day wedding as opposed to the usual afternoon leading into night time affair. Dinosaurs for life!!!
THAT’ MY KIND OF WEDDING!
Beautiful, simple, yummy, wonderful location, funny table, everything’s so elegant but simple, with a touch of rock’n'roll!
We loved creating the burger buffet bar menu for Sam & Stew
this is what we do so well- create a menu that is uniquely you.
The results were amazing both visually & taste wise
Although this ideas seems simple & unusual for a wedding the quality of the food was not compromised & the food was as good as our usual standard
Everything from the beef burger patties to the mayonnaise was homemade so there was still a great wow factor on the plate
Great to doing something out of the ordinary
Also a wedding we will never forget as my husband & I share the dame wedding date!