Pets At Weddings – How To Include Pets At Your Wedding

Over the last decade the trend to include pets at weddings has become very popular with many couples choosing to include cherished pets in the wedding celebrations. However, cute as it is to include your pampered pooch or friendly feline in your wedding there are several considerations that need to be made first.

Find a pet friendly venue……
Not every venue will fancy the idea of pets being included either during the ceremony or at the reception. That said however, there has been a rise in the number of venues willing to allow well-trained pets to attend. As always it is better to ask first.

How do you want to include them?
Do want them to lead the procession down the aisle? Or put in an appearance at the evening party? Consider your pet first and foremost and not what you want because a raucous atmosphere and lots of people crowding over an animal could easily panic them and lead to distress. A nice touch would be to include your pets in your wedding photographs and leave it at that.

Who will be responsible for them?
You will both be busy during the day and are unlikely to have time to look after your pets. Some venues may offering pet sitting services for couples who want to include them in their celebrations, whilst in other circumstances you may need to assign someone to pet-sit, including taking the animal from home to venue and back again.

How well behaved are they?
My collie dog is a wonderful, well behaved family pet but snappy and unpredictable around strangers, especially small children. Do you know how your pet will react when around lots of people they do not know? The last thing you want is for one of your guests to suffer harm at the paws of your pet!

Should you dress them up?
There is a huge market these days for pet clothing, especially for small dogs, and can include wedding themed outfits. Beyond this an alternative would be sparkly collars with matching leads. A trip to the groomers will ensure they are looking fabulous for the day!

And, finally don’t forget……
Don’t forget to add pet food to the menu and ensure there is plenty of water available for them throughout the wedding day. With dogs especially you will need to ensure they have somewhere go toilet and that anything they ‘deposit’ is cleaned up.