A WEDDING with an amphibian twist in West Dorset is set to rival the royal event of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Frog lover Sabrina Laben will be tying the knot with her fiancé Simon Pittman on the same day, April 29 – but for the former Wey Valley students the date has significance for a very different reason.

Health care assistant Sabrina, 23, said: “It’s international Save The Frogs Day. I love frogs – I’m just mad on frogs.

“For the wedding reception instead of gifts we’re collecting for the Save The Frogs! charity.

“It’s only the third year of Save The Frogs Day – the charity is trying to have events in 30 different countries to raise awareness of the protection of frogs and amphibians so they’re really happy we’re helping them.”

Sabrina, of Poole, has a vast frog-themed collection with around 50 cuddly toy frogs, plus ornaments, jewellery and clothes. The happy couple met when Sabrina used to ‘harass Simon on the school bus’, lost touch when they left school and rediscovered each other on the Facebook networking website. Simon, 22, proposed on their first anniversary on October 4 2009 and they booked their wedding at Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens 18 months ago for its idyllic setting and multiple ponds.

While Sabrina will be wearing a traditional cream duchess satin dress, made by her mum Christina Laben, she will also have acrylic false nails hand-painted with frog, lilypad and flower designs.

A ‘frog and frogette’ will stand on top of the wedding cake instead of traditional bride and groom figurines and frog-decorated invitations have been sent out. One older guest amused them by replying ‘Are you expecting any tadpoles?’ Sabrina will be accompanied down the aisle by three bridesmaids Kay Bradley, Christine Baxter and Emma Harris. Simon’s three best men will be Mark Fry, Shaun Holmes and Mike Binfield. Retail manager Simon, who is training to be a helicopter pilot, added: “We’re not that fussed about the royal wedding because we’re concentrating on our own.

“My father’s from Abbotsbury, it’s a nice surrounding for a wedding.

“We’ll have between 60 to 70 people for the ceremony and a few more at a reception at Weymouth Pavilion.”

Wedding planner Julie Storey presented the couple with a complementary bottle of Champagne on behalf of the Abbotsbury attraction and said: “It’s definitely my first frog-themed wedding. They are Abbotsbury’s own very special Royal couple, it’s our first wedding of the 2011 season and it will set it off with a bang.

“They’re having a ceremony in our Oak Pavilion.”

The newlyweds will honeymoon at a lodge in Staffordshire with two days scheduled at Alton Towers theme park.