It’s a Family Affair: Incorporating Your Pets Into Your Wedding

updated May 3, 2019
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(Image credit: Molly Magee)

As a life-long dog lover, I need not tell you that I am assertedly pro-pets-at-weddings. Furry friends are a part of the family! They’ve been there for so many milestones in your relationship, so why shouldn’t they be part of the big day, too?

Pets at the Wedding

If you can swing it, the best way to get pets involved in the wedding is to invite them. Ines and Wes, above, were married poolside at a private home in Texas, so it made sense that their cocker spaniel, Gatsby, got in on the fun. You can see more of that homey bohemian wedding, shot by Molly Magee, on Intimate Weddings.

(Image credit: I Heart Weddings)

You can give them a job, like the adorable ring bearer at this Australian bash from I Heart Weddings, who’s carrying the rings in a pouch attached to his bow-tie collar.

(Image credit: Vue Photography)

Or how about making a pet the flower girl? Ask your florist to make a corsage that could be clipped to their collar, like this cutie from a wedding on Ruffled shot by Vue Photography.

(Image credit: Alvin Zhou/Buzzfeed)

Make your own floral leash with instructions from Rachel Wilkerson Miller on Buzzfeed. These winter greens are all faux, which means you can make this way in advance of the big day.

(Image credit: SMS Photography)

If you’re worried about your pooch running off, have a member of the wedding party walk them down. Flower girl kid + flower girl dog = double the cuteness. From Style Me Pretty and SMS Photography.

Or, you know, just get them in a few photos, which might be an easier option for “not having it”-type cats or smaller pets.

(Image credit: Rachel May)
(Image credit: Zachary Hunt)
(Image credit: Shannon Von Eschen)
(Image credit: Troy Grover)

Even if they can’t come to the wedding, maybe they can stop by while you’re getting ready with the photographers for a quick picture, like this adorable shot from Troy Grover and Junebug Weddings.

Pet-Inspired Wedding Details

If you can’t have your pets appear as guests of honor at the wedding itself, you can still have them there in spirit.

(Image credit: Let’s Frolic Together)

Feature pictures of your favorite feline friends on your wedding invitation, like here in this cat-themed wedding shot by Let’s Frolic Together and featured on Green Wedding Shoes. (Cat lovers, it’s worth clicking through to see the whole thing.) You could also commission an illustrator to draw your pets for a romantic and personal touch to your stationery.

(Image credit: walldecal76/Etsy)

Grab a topper for your wedding cake that captures the whole family, like this one ($20) from Etsy seller walldecal76.

(Image credit: Taylor Lord)

Not cake people? How about cookies made to look like your pets? The couple here asked Chef Adam Heath At The Forest Club to create treats in their dogs’ likenesses for their Texas wedding, captured by Taylor Lord on Style Me Pretty.

Before the Big Day

There’s a lot more to a wedding than a ceremony and a big cake. Get your most cuddly members of the family involved in engagement photos, or even in the proposal.

(Image credit: Erik Roys)

Martha Stewart shows us a cute idea: Have your pooch propose with an extra special dog tag around their neck.

(Image credit: Heather Kincaid)

This couple’s cat got in on the photo action during this at-home engagement session from photographer Heather Kincaid.

Did your pets participate in your big day?

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