Gambit the giraffe gate-crashing Sharon and Russell Pearce’s wedding.
Supplied by Sharon Pearce.
Wedding cars come in all shapes and sizes and most times are a significant inclusion on these special days. News24 Motoring reader Sharon Pearce shares her awesome car story, including a friendly giraffe.
Earlier in September, we reported that smaller, more budget-friendly vehicles are now the most popular cars hashtagged on social media when it comes to wedding cars. Gone are the days of fancy and expensive vehicles for wedding shoots, and trending are older and cheaper cars like vintage Fiat 500s and camper vans. They make for awesome props on photo shoots with the bride and groom.
READ | Oh cute! This is the best budget wedding car on social media – what was yours?
We asked our readers to send in their wedding car photos and share their stories, and Sharon Pearce has sent us some great pictures of her wedding day with a gate-crashing giraffe to boot. We’ll let the pictures tell the story.
Click on the arrows on the side of the picture below to scroll through the gallery.
Gambit the giraffe gate-crashing Sharon and Russell Pearce’s wedding.
News24 Motoring reader Sharon Pearce and her husband Russell on the wedding day with their 1976 Series 3 Land Rover.
News24 Motoring reader Sharon Pearce and her husband Russell on the wedding day with their 1976 Series 3 Land Rover.
News24 Motoring reader Sharon Pearce and her husband Russell on the wedding day with their 1976 Series 3 Land Rover.
News24 Motoring reader Sharon Pearce and her husband Russell on the wedding day with their 1976 Series 3 Land Rover.
Gambit the giraffe gate-crashing Sharon and Russell Pearce’s wedding.
Gambit the giraffe finds a liking to Russell Pearce’s aunt Lynette at their wedding.
Gambit the giraffe finds a liking to Russell Pearce’s aunt Lynette at their wedding.
Gambit the giraffe invites himself to News24 Motoring readers Russell and Sharon Pearce’s wedding in 2011.
Pearce says:
“My husband and I got married on April 23, 2011, and our wedding car was a 1976 Series 3 Land Rover.
“We wanted a down-to-earth wedding representing who we are. We got married in shorts and flip-flops. My husband always says he married the love of his life in the love of his life. An Eastern Cape wedding with the perfect car and gate crashed by the most gorgeous giraffe could not have been a better day.
“Our wedding was at Mansfield Game Reserve in Port Alfred. The giraffe’s name was Gambit. He was hand-reared by our local Port Alfred vet and also now state-veterinarian Leon De Bruyn.
Gambit the giraffe surprises the priest at Sharon and Russell’s wedding in 2011.
“Gambit was fairly used to people and sadly recently passed away. The rangers had tried to keep Gambit at bay at our wedding, but he was too curious and came to interrupt proceedings. The priest had no idea he was behind him and couldn’t understand the chatter and cellphones coming out, only to look behind and find Gambit nearly licking his head.”
Pearce says Gambit made the day just beautiful.
News24 Motoring readers Sharon and Russell’s restored Series 3 Land Rover.
“He somehow was very attached to Russell’s aunty Lynette and would not leave her alone after passing by our little huddle in the front. So it was quite amusing to get the wedding going again. It’s quite intimidating to have an animal of that size looking over you.” Pearce adds they still have the Landy and have recently restored it.
“My husband and I love old things, from vintage speed boats to motorbikes and my love for scooters (Vespas). The Landy was bought in the early 2000s from a guy in Sasolburg. It was a former South African National Defense Force Land Rover and now looks even better,” she says.
