A couple, who are deeply Dippy about each other, invited an especially roar-some guest to help celebrate their big day.
For natural history buffs Jayne Gamble and Kip Brown, the Great North Museum:Hancock – with its planetarium and displays of wildlife from all corners of the globe – was an obvious choice of wedding venue.
So, when they heard the Newcastle museum was hosting The Natural History Museum’s famous Diplodocus cast, Dippy, on his nationwide tour, they ensured he played a leading role in the celebrations.
Jayne, a chemist from Stockton and Kip, a housing executive, from Lincoln, exchanged their vows (on 25 May) in front of 60 friends and family members in the Great North Museum’s Hadrian’s Wall Gallery, which houses an interactive impressive scale model of the Roman Empire’s northernmost frontier.
They and their guests then enjoyed a two-course wedding breakfast, featuring beef in Newcastle Brown Ale casserole created by the Museum’s catering partner, Sodexo, in the Exhibition Space, which is Dippy’s home during his stay on Tyneside.
“We’d always wanted to get married at the museum,” said Jayne, “and having Dippy there just made the entire day extra special for us.
Dippy first went on show to the British public in 1905 having been shipped in 36 crates from the US, where he was cast from a genuine specimen found in America.
Despite being a massive 21.3 metres long, 4.3 metres wide and 4.25 metres high, he didn’t upstage the bride, whose strapless English lace and tulle dress was embellished with pearls and crystals.
Newcastle is the fifth venue in Dippy’s eight leg tour and, after he leaves the Great North Museum: Hancock he will head to Cardiff and Rochdale, ending his journey at Norwich in July 2020.
For further information about weddings at Great North Museum:Hancock call 0844 856 1074, e-mail events@twmuseums.co.uk or visit www.museumweddings.org.uk.