Dogs at the Wedding

I actually am going to have my 2 pet potbelly pigs as the flower girl and ring bearer at my wedding as we are going to be having the ceremony on out acreage. I am planning to have one of my bridesmaids walk down the aisle with them and take care of them during the ceremony.

I am having my boxer and Rottweiler with me at mine. because like you said they are family but only during the ceremony and then they will be going home.

Im not a fan of it- but whatever floats your boat...but just remember you may have to change plans if you have guests allergic to dogs/animals etc.

My FH has the brilliant idea of making our future puppy his "Best man" and the ring bearer. I mean... the idea is soooooo cute. But the wedding is in September... the puppy's not even born yet... so my scenario is: a roughly 5-6 year old puppy who's likely not going to have a chance to be properly trained/socialized, is going to be plopped into an unfamiliar setting, surrounded by unfamiliar people, whilst being in charge of $2000 worth of rings...

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?!?!?!

So I figure... if I can make it work, should be a cinch for anyone else

Dogs are great for releasing stress. If he is worried you can always sign up for refreshed obedience classes. Also Melinda suggestion about having a dog minder is a wonderful idea. If no one wants the responsibility then you can hire someone to do it for the day.

We had our dog at our wedding and it worked out very well! My sister and other family members looked after her the whole time, so we didn't have to worry about where she was or if she was getting into trouble. So I would agree with the suggestions of making sure you have at least two people would are willing to take responsibility for your dogs. We kept her on a leash the whole time to ensure that she wouldn't disrupt anyone (we could also keep track of poop easier this way too - fortunately we didn't have any stinky incidents!) We had our ceremony outdoors at a barn/garden area. My Dad brought his trailer and parked it out back. That came in really handy - we all got ready in there for one thing, because it was so hot and the trailer had AC - but also, we had a place to put Heidi during the meal. Our dog is obsessed with food (she was a stray and starving when we got her) so we knew we most definitely did not want her around while people were eating. So we put her in the trailer, where she had a nice cool nap. So my other suggestion is that you have a plan of somewhere you can put your dogs for a break from all the excitement and in case they become disruptive.

So yeah, my main advice is making sure there are people who will take full responsibility for looking after them, and making sure you have a safe, comfortable place for them to hang out to give both the dogs and their caretakers a break periodically throughout the day.

love her!

so proud of how calm she was! a few antics - we all loved it!

I think if you want to have them there then do it but keep in mind that there will need to be someone to look after them (who isn't the bride or groom) and that they may poop where people will be walking or socializing. As long as there is a plan I do not really see a problem.

Have your dogs part of your day. Most venues and locations arepet free. You should be lucky to have them by your side. During the dinner time, put the dogs in the house if needed for the guests to eat nicely.

Our dog, 1 year old German Shepherd, is not behaved enough to have at our wedding! But we included her in half of our engagement photos. Thankfully my parents brought her to where we got our pictures done, which allowed dogs, and took her home for us so we could take some just the two of us. It all depends on the dog/venue in my opinion! We are debating risking pictures with her on the day of the wedding, our venue is down the street from our house so it is an option but i don't want to risk ruining my dress

A friend from high school had her dog at her wedding (shepherd mix). They had one of the bridesmaids who loved pets to be it's caretaker for the day and walk him down the aisle. For the reception, they kept the dog on his bed or in the house. It didn't appear to be an issue at all! I guess it depends on the dog's demeanour and whether they can handle a crowd.

I think if I went to a wedding with dogs (in all the 20+ weddings I've been to, there hasn't been one unfortunately) that is exactly where you would find me the whole day... wherever the pups are

I can’t speak from expedience but I would imagine if you could give someone the responsibility of watching them and being the dog boss for the day they would stay out of trouble!

That's a concern for us too both my parents and my FHs parents have dogs. Keep them locked up wouldn't be a problem some are overly friendly while others are not. If you really want them to be apart of the wedding and they do jump or have some manner issues you could always take them to a few classes. Or as a ring bearer start training now.

I also have a black lab and I’ve always wanted her in my wedding, but we are having a church wedding and I don’t think they would allow pets. But my FH suggested that since they can’t come to the wedding, they can be in our engagement photos. That might be a possibility for you. Or if your dogs are well trained and know they won’t eat the food or jump on your dress then have them! I’m sure having them will make great pictures.

My friend had her dogs (two German Shepherds) at their wedding, I was worried when she told me they were going to be there because all I could see was them jumping on her with muddy paws on the white dress but they proved me wrong!

Their dogs were out majority of the day wondering, they had their parents keeping an eye on them just incase something happened (nothing did they were great). They got attention from almost everyone petting them. Then for dinner they had the dogs locked up in the house so they didn't get into the food.

If its an option to put them in a house or you could leash them for dinner and you don't have to worry about them getting into the buffet and maybe have someone who could keep an eye out for the just incases.

I have heard about dogs being at the wedding quite often actually, even people having their dog as a ring bearer! I'm sure you can make it work!
And if your fiancé only fear is that they might get someone dirty / get into the buffet or anything else they're not allowed to do, just get someone to keep an eye on them? Maybe that'll calm down his fears for it?