Jurassic Park is an iconic and nostalgic film that kickstarted a love of dinosaurs in many. However, this Michigan-based couple took their love for the prehistoric animals to the next level when they threw a dinosaur-themed wedding.
Hali Aleese McFadden and Sean James Lenney met through mutual friends five years ago at a restaurant. Both had a deep love for the dinosaur-centric film franchise, Jurassic Park. When she was younger, Hali had even wanted to become a paleontologist, although too many rocks involved deterred her, leading her into a career of wedding planning. Similarly, Sean grew up loving dinosaurs as a result of the film franchise. He claims to have watched the original film every day while growing up.
Fast forward a few years, and the couple became engaged in August 2018. Hali knew that she wanted to incorporate her love for dinosaurs into her big day. She turned to Pinterest for inspiration on a dinosaur-themed wedding.
“Being me, I always pre-thought what I wanted for my wedding,” Hali told Fox 2 Detroit. “So I Pinterested it to see if it’s really out there. I found all these awesome ideas of how to turn on the theme but still keep it elegant.”
Coming from a crafty family, Sean knew that they could work together to bring their wedding vision to life. It soon became a family affair, with many members coming together to bring movie magic to reality.
Using styrofoam, duct tape, paper mache, and much help, Sean’s father was able to build two large dinosaurs to display at the wedding. His sister, Jacqui, made some of the smaller dinosaurs that lined the wedding tables, and also scoured the internet for anything dinosaur-related that could work for the day.
The couple wed on October 25, 2019. Guests entered the venue through massive brown doors with a “Jurassic Park” sign welcoming them. Escort cards were propped up with miniature dinosaur figures.
Tables were decorated with figures of every known dinosaur species, and guests sipped on the official drink of the evening, Dino DNA. Even the bridal party were kitted out in theme. Bridesmaid’s wore flip flops with tiny dinosaurs adorning them, and groomsmen concealed Jurassic Park t-shirts under their suits.
The traditional bridal pillow that carries the rings was replaced with a golden Brachiosaurus figure transporting the ring around its neck.
The pair even reached out to Jurassic Park star Chris Pratt. “I literally Instagram-messaged Chris Pratt to come to this. You know, one of those ‘just in case you’re in Michigan this weekend, this is going on by the way’ messages,” said Hali.
Picture: Fox 2 Detroit
