Include Your Pet in Your Wedding Without Causing a Disaster
If you’re like me, and you have a pet at home (who you love more than life itself), you know he or she is a huge part of your life!
Our pets are a major source of love and comfort. You and your fiancé may have even adopted your little furry family member together. You’re little furry creature isn’t just a pet, she is your baby! Because of this strong emotional connection to your pet, it is VERY tempting to want to include him or her in your wedding in some way. However, this can easily lead to a disastrous wedding incident you will re-watch in horror as it goes viral on YouTube.
Here are four steps for you to follow if you decide to include your darling pet in your wedding.
1. Make sure your pet is the right temperament to integrate into your wedding. How is your pet in social situations? Is he a lover-bug, who is calm, collected and affectionate at all times with all people? If you can’t answer ‘yes’ to this question, I encourage you to dive a little deeper and really think about the event from your pet’s perspective. How does your pet do in large crowds, new environments, with strange sounds and smells? These stimuli can be a lot for a little furry one to process. It is not uncommon for even the best behaved pets to freak-out a little in these circumstances. Be sure your pet can handle all of hustle-and-bustle of your big day, in style, before you decide to include him or her in your wedding.
Bonus tip: If you are not sure how your pet will react to being included in your wedding day, and you would like to experiment before making your decision, I suggest taking him or her to an outdoor arts and crafts fair. These events are often packed with people, strange noises and unfamiliar smells. How your pet reacts in this situation will give you a good idea how he or she might react at your wedding.
2. Keep it short and sweet. If you do decide your pet can handle the stress of the wedding day, I encourage you to limit the amount of time when your pet is involved. A good idea might be to have your dog walk down the aisle right before or after the flower girl and ring bearer. Or maybe you decide to simply include your puppy in your wedding photographs following the ceremony. However you decide to include your little one, make sure the time is kept to a minimum, so Spot can quickly return to a quiet soft place for a much needed and well deserved nap.
3. Designate a babysitter. It is critical, if you do decide to include your pet in your wedding, to identify a caretaker – other than yourself. You will have enough to think about on your wedding day. You shouldn’t add worrying about your pet to your “things-to-remember” list. Good candidates for this job are often parents of the bride or groom, other wedding party members and/or anyone else you trust to take care of your pet on this important day. Make sure this person is trustworthy and will take this job seriously – and not flake out mid-way through the cocktail reception. It’s a bonus if this person knows and loves your fur baby AND your fur baby knows and loves this person, too.
4. Think it through. Have a plan. Finally, it is also crucial you have a plan regarding where your pet will go after the ceremony and how he will get there. Usually, the caretaker will take your pet to the designated warm, cozy resting place, for nap-time following the ceremony. I do not suggest this be a hotel room. Hotel rooms are unfamiliar and sometimes scary places for animals. Being left alone in this place could be very upsetting for your pet and result in unwanted stains, chewed hotel furniture and subsequently hefty hotel fines. Ouch. If you live near your reception location, I suggest you ask your designated caretaker to take your pet back to your home following the ceremony. Home is always the best place for your pet. Therefore, if home is nearby, make this be your plan.
I hope this post has given you some food for thought when considering including your pet in your ceremony. While it is a tempting option, be sure to think it through before making any decision. Remember, the goal is to have no viral videos of your (usually) sweet dog snapping at Aunt Louise. I know it was Aunt Louise’s fault, but it won’t look like that on YouTube.
Action Item:
What are your thoughts about including your fur babies in your wedding?
It is a “must-do” or a “no-go”?
Please share your thoughts and experiences on this topic below!
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Casey Green Weddings, LLC
8700 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Suite 114
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
602-448-8133
hello@caseygreenweddings.com
