Including your dog in your wedding ceremony

Most dogs are members of the family and so it’s not surprising that many couples would like to include them in their wedding ceremony. These are my top tips and suggestions in how you can involve them in your special day:

  • Your dog could have the starring role of being a ring bearer
  • You could include a wedding reading or poem to celebrate your furry friend
  • Your four legged friend could add their seal of approval to your wedding certificate

Top tips

You know your dog – will they cope with the noise, crowds, cheering and clapping – would your dog be happier to take part in another part of the day for less time?

  • Can someone have the role of dog chaperone on the day or look at choosing a dog nanny
  • Ensure the venue allows dogs to be there on the day – if not there are lots of other ways to ensure they are included:
  • A reading or poem is a great way to include your dog whether they are there or not a fabulous reading is How Falling In Love Is Like Owning A Dog by Taylor Mali
  • You could create dog based wedding favours, paw print sweeties, photo’s of your dog as labels
  • Use your favourite dog photo’s as table numbers or place name cards
  • Your guests could wear your dogs face as a mask within the ceremony – I have incorporated this – it was hilarious!
  • You could have a donation to an animal charity opportunity
  • You could plan part of the professional pictures to include your freshly bathed furry friends before the ceremony or as a ‘first look’ shot

If you are having your well behaved pup as a ring bearer (attach a pouch with the rings to his collar) you could have him trot down the aisle with you or he could make a dramatic entrance – assuming excellent recall!

Make sure you have planned for his special person to be in the front row with plenty of treats on hand!

Adding the ‘seal of approval’. Seeing as you have wisely chosen a wedding celebrant to create your service we can plan the certificate signing with your dogs paw print included (obviously this would not be allowed on a legal document). Ensure you have plenty of wet-wipes handy for this option.

Whatever you would like to include remember:

  • Have plenty of poo bags available
  • Let your pooch explore the venue first if at all possible
  • Ensure named people will look after your special guest
  • Bring plenty of treats/ special toys
  • Really consider your dog and their needs, no-one needs to feel stressed on their special day. I have had several couples who only had their dogs attend a couple of hours of their day and it worked really well.

Please get in touch to discuss how we can include you dog or Llama or donkey or sheep into your wedding ceremony.