THERE are many things that can make for an eventful wedding day, be it bad weather or losing the rings.
But a rampaging dinosaur was the last thing guests at the wedding of Jim Parker and Charlotte Mayfield expected to be gate-crashing the special day.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex pictured running amok at Donington Park Farmhouse in Castle Donington was not a real dinosaur, but a product of clever camera trickery and some very amenable wedding guests.
Charlotte, a 27-year-old administrator from Leamington Spa, originally from Castle Donington, explained: "Jim and I don't really take life very seriously and just wanted to make the whole wedding fun.
"We also aren't very good at picture-taking, so WE both feel more relaxed if we are in a fun environment. We really felt it would be very 'us' to have a photo like that."
Charlotte and her new husband Jim, a 30-year-old devops engineer, sprung the idea of setting up a unique wedding picture on her guests as a surprise shortly after they tied the knot.
They picked the spot for the picture, described their idea and told everyone to look like they were running scared from an imaginary dinosaur.
Charlotte said: "The venue was fantastic, I would actually say perfect. The picture was taken on a grassy area where there were some building works going on in the background.
"Luckily all our close family and friends know what I'm like and have learned to expect random things from me."
"We both love it and it makes us laugh every time we look at it."
The couple, who were together at school and reunited five year later before tying the knot last week, enlisted the services of Derby-based Ezekeil Taylor Photography to set up the shot. Photographer Zeke Taylor used a picture of a toy dinosaur which was super-imposed over the background using computer software.
Charlotte said: "Zeke knew he was in for a crazy day as soon as we started Skyping the wedding day to my aunt and uncle in New Zealand.
"We had also met him before and explained that we weren't into forced pictures, which was great for him as he enjoys on-the-spot photos more. So I didn't really have a problem explaining it to him."
Littleover-based Zeke said: "I did think it was a little bit mad but it was what they wanted and I knew I had the technical skills to do it so I gave it a go and it looks really good.
"I do find it funny that I've got loads of really nice photos on my website but it's the silliest one I've ever done that's grabbing all the attention.
"I think it took about an hour to do. It wasn't too challenging, it was just a case of making it look as realistic as possible – as realistic as a dinosaur can be, I guess."
