Until Death Do Us Bark!

Invitations and Save the Dates are an excellent way to incorporate your love of animals into your wedding. Whether you want a silhouette of the entire wedding party, canines included, or an artful montage of your life and your pets - there are classy and unique ways to make it work.

I love the idea of the silhouette here. You could take this a step further and have place card holders include silhouettes of all of your pets! I like when people carry a theme throughout the wedding, so this could easily be done on numerous levels.


There are all sorts of great things on Etsy, like this floral Golden Retriever made by Pop Dog Press. To carry the theme of the silhouette you could include something like this at the wedding. This would look very cute on place card holders, and you could name the tables after childhood pets of you and your spouse. I was at a wedding where many of the tables were named after horses the bride owned growing up, and it really gave the wedding a very special touch!


A more detailed wedding invitation including dogs is this one. There are elements to this I really enjoy, and elements I am not as much of a fan of. I do love the details though, the glitter I could do with out. The facial details on the dogs are simply amazing, however! This would be great for a small garden wedding or a wedding at your house! If I used this, I would pair it with place card holders cut out in the shapes of leaves, or use large purple flowers in my center pieces.

Let's Eat Cake!

I have seen so many different wedding cakes. From extremely formal, to a fake cake (one slice was real, and there was sheet cake in the back that was served – this saved the couple a small fortune, and no one knew the “wedding cake” was faux), cupcakes, ice cream sundaes, and every traditional tiered cake you can think of in between.

Cakes are a great way to include your love of animals in your wedding. I love the wire crafted cake toppers found on Etsy, and they can be personalized with your dog’s breed, and all sorts of activities. While I’ve never attended a wedding that used the dog cake topper, I have attended a wedding with a wire cake topper signifying a different activity the couple enjoyed.

Has the bride been a bridezilla leading up to the ceremony? While it might lead to a cake in the face, the groom can show how he has felt about wedding planning by surprising her and guests with this cake topper! I’m sure many men feel more like the dog on a short leash, than the groom in the middle of wedding planning!

Cake topper possibilities are endless! There are those with sculpted dogs, like these.

Or, if you compete with your dog, why not use one of your silver bowls or trophies as the wedding cake topper? You could fill it with flowers. I have seen this with antique silver bowls. Many trophies I have been awarded through showing horses are Mint Julep cups, and wouldn't one displayed on top of the cake look very nice? I know many dog shows also award Mint Julep cups as trophies!

A grooms cake would be another great way to display a love for dogs. Of course, if you want to get graphic you could have a dog shaped red-velvet cake, much like the armadillo cake in Steel Magnolias!

Wedding Favors Have Gone to the Dogs!

Wedding favors are sometimes big hits, and sometimes big misses. Right now, Koozies are really in with the 20-something crowd as a wedding favor. Also in are wine and or champagne glasses. The beauty of koozies and wine glasses is they can be personalized with any logo or artwork the couple wants used to commemorate their special day. It would be very easy to have a sketch of the couple and their dog printed or etched on the koozie or glass.

The drawback to stemware as a wedding favor is out-of-town guests may have a hard time flying home with it. As a result, some guests may take more than their share of favors, while others, who may have really enjoyed the wine glasses if they were not flying, must leave them behind. An alternative would be a wine charm. These are great because they can be used during the reception, and then simply removed from the glass and taken home as a memento. While companies do make them, finding dog charms in bulk is easy, and this could be a great do-it-yourself project to save money!

When I attended Annie’s wedding they gave guests hand-painted wooden coasters. They are absolutely beautiful, and I use mine daily. While hers were not dog related, if you have an artist in the family, something similar would be easy to make! I saw these coasters in a dog boutique recently, and thought they just looked so happy!

Dog breed gourmet lollipops are also a neat and fun favor.

Wedding Bells

Love is in the air right now! With the Royal Wedding having just taken place, girls (and even some guys) are chatting about what they want, what’s in, what works, and what really doesn’t. It’s wedding season! I'm 26, and will admit a large portion of my savings and nearly all of my vacation time goes to weddings and events related to weddings, I've become a bridesmaid guru! I must admit, I was really hoping to see the Queen with her corgis at some wedding related event, obviously not the wedding or reception, but perhaps even a stroll with the happy couple and her pack of corgis would've just made my heart melt!

Source: Google Images

This scene from “You’ve Got Mail” is one of the sweetest dog romance scenes (Embedding is disabled on it, so use the link). Of course, being a romantic comedy, would this ever really happen? No. Brinkley would probably be stopped, and Tom Hanks reprimanded or ticketed, for disobeying leash laws.

Source: AllMoviePhoto.com

And of course, who doesn’t immediately think of Meet the Parents and Jinxy the cat when it comes to pets and weddings? But, the odds of me marrying Prince Harry are pretty slim, too, so here’s to our romantic dreams.

Image source: Google Images

I’ve been asked a lot about including your favorite pets in your wedding. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it goes terribly wrong. Ultimately, whenever you add a new element to your wedding that is one more thing to plan and coordinate, so keep that in mind!

Phoenix Bride and Groom did a blog post in January on pets and weddings, and anyone considering it should read this post. In the post, the author speaks with Heidi Ganahl, CEO and Founder of Camp Bow Wow and Home Buddies by Camp Bow Wow. Animal expert Heidi had this to say about the pros and cons of including your canine in your wedding:

The image of Fido walking down the aisle as a ring bearer is a memorable occasion for pet lovers. Before proceeding, it’s important to consider the pros and cons of having your pet at your wedding. Unfortunately, very few religious and indoor venues will allow dogs on location other than service animals. If you are open to an outdoor wedding, including your pet is more realistic.

Additionally, it is important to consider your pet’s personality. If you have a free-spirited animal, he may not abide to walk down the aisle on his own. Also, be cautious of guests with pet allergies; warn them in advance that your dog will be attending.

However, the benefits are endless. Since proud pet owners consider their dog as part of the family, Fido’s attendance will add a special touch to your day.

With lots of training, socialization, practice, coordination and planning, and rehearsals a pet can be a part of your wedding. Carrie Underwood used her dog as her ring bearer! Some tips to make it run smoothly: make sure there is a safe quiet place for your pet to go should he or she get stage fright. As we know from holidays, people food is not usually good for dogs to eat, so make sure there is some dog-friendly cuisine at the wedding, and plenty of water. Also, instruct guests not to feed Fido if he will be off-leash at the reception. As for allergies, a well groomed dog groomed dog is rarely a problem for allergy sufferers. With most breeds (there are exceptions) it is completely safe, and actually healthy for the coat, to be bathed and blown dry 1-2 times a week – if you bathe this frequently, make sure to use a high quality dog shampoo. This, paired with daily brushing will drastically cut back on allergens.

Image source: Google Images

But, if you don’t feel up to the planning and coordinating including pets in a wedding takes here are some great ideas. Include your beloved pets in your bridal portraits or engagement photos. You can display these at the ceremony. Is your dog a major part of your relationship? Why not showcase this with a customized cake topper? Your save the dates or invitations could even include your love of animals. If you have a send-off brunch the morning after the wedding, and it is at someone’s house, this would be a great time to bring the dogs! Look for more ways of incorporating your dog into your big day in my upcoming posts!