Including dogs in your wedding day

One of my friends who got married on the 12th did her bridal portraits with her dog. They were adorable. I wanted to have my moms adorable shih tzu be our flower girl and then have my in laws dog be the ring bearer since we aren't going to have either but FH said he would prefer not to.

View Quoted Comment That’s such an amazing idea! I never thought about doing portraits with her! I am definitely going to do that. I am having them drawn into our wedding book but I love the idea of still having photos with her but not having her be overwhelmed on the day.

I think the above suggestion would be best. I feel a wedding would be way too stressful for any animal! But I understand you wanting them there.

View Quoted Comment No I agree! And I worried about how I would get them back and forth! I love the Bridal’s idea!

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That is also a good point because then someone would have to miss out on something to transport the pups but bridals would be adorable! If you do it I hope you will show us!

View Quoted Comment Yes I will for sure!!!! I am getting married in a month from today!

We couldn't have my fur baby at the venue, so we sped back to the hotel room with our photographer for a family portrait during cocktail hour. (Dog thinks the camera is gonna steal his soul Lmao)

We ended up having our fur child as part of the ceremony, and I think she absolutely enjoyed the day! The cone is because the only day they had open to spay as part of August was the week before, but she didn't care. She just barked when everyone clapped and bounced around with everyone.

You could do professional pictures before the wedding that includes your dog. Do you think your venue will allow them for your ceremony?

We had our baby at the ceremony and reception. We had my aunt look after him and then traded it off with my mother after a few hours and other relatives. Buster was ok for the whole party and once we got to the hotel we all were tired lol

I’m loving all of the dog pictures! Your babies are adorable! We intended to include our dogs in our ceremony in November but we recently learned my puppy is extremely territorial over me and so that won’t be possible. I like the idea of including them in bridal pictures though. FH and I are having a micro wedding tomorrow (was supposed to be an elopement 🤷🏼‍♀️) and we are planning to get some pictures with our dogs after.

We originally planned a 60-80 person wedding and were going to have our dog be our ring bearer and present at the ceremony and for photos. The logistics of this involved finding someone to stay at our house with our dog for the weekend while we stayed on site at our venue in an AirBnB, then me getting up the morning of the wedding, driving the 20 minutes home to run with my dog and give him a bath, and then do the rest of my wedding getting ready. Then we needed a friend to drive our dog to the venue for the ceremony and photos then back home during cocktail hour to drop off the dog so we could enjoy the rest of the night.

We ended up doing a 10 person mini-elopement due to Covid and the ONE benefit of that was that we don't have to worry about all the dog stuff at the bigger wedding now. He was the ring bearer at our elopement but because that event was super short and we were staying at home with our dog anyway it was much easier to include him. Even still, including him took up at least 1-2 hours of my time with exercising him, bathing him, getting his supplies in order, etc.

The biggest pieces of advice I have for including your dog are: 1) don't include your dog if they aren't well trained and used to crowds and people, 2) have a designated person for managing your dog the entire time they are a part of your event, and 3) have a safe, secure place to keep your dog when they aren't actively involved in your event. The last thing you want is to be worried about your dog during your wedding. I would not include a pet in the reception or party or around people eating and drinking. Additionally, your key vendors should be kept in the loop about plans to include your dog (venue, officiant, photographer, etc) so they can prepare accordingly. One of the key factors when picking our photographer was finding someone who liked dogs and was comfortable around them, because we knew we wanted our pup to be a part of our day.

Alternatively, I think including your dog in your engagement session or for a part of your wedding festivities (such as the rehearsal, or after wedding brunch) is a great idea, especially if your dog is nervous or not that well trained, or you have guests will serious allergies or dog fears. For even well trained dogs, crowds, new places, and a lot of sensory overload (smells and noises galore) can be intimidating and make your animal anxious. Including them in a smaller, quieter event or couples photo session is a way to have them be a part of your day while still keeping their safety and comfort a priority.