If you’ve seen He’s Just Not That Into You, you probably remember the scene where Jennifer Aniston’s character escorts a dog down the aisle at her sister’s wedding. I couldn’t find a photo, but if you haven’t seen the movie, you can imagine how unexcited she was to (a) attend her little sister’s wedding without a date and (b) have a canine escort on top of it.
It was a cute part in the movie, but the fact that filmmakers used a dog in the wedding party as a way to show her character’s humiliation brings up an interesting point about including animals in your ceremony.
Is it appropriate to have pets in your wedding? How can you fit them in without embarrassing a bridesmaid or ruining the elegance of your ceremony? Have you ever been to a wedding that included pets? Rant or rave about it!
Tags: animals, pets, Rant or Rave, wedding
This is a great topic, and great movie by the way.
I have to sit on the fence with this one. My sister loves her Maltese dogs, in fact she has five of them. They are small enough to dress up and walk down the aisle; however they can bark like there is no tomorrow. My suggestion is, if you absolutely have to have your pets in your wedding, make sure they are well trained. If they aren’t you run the risk of ruining your ceremony and competing with your barking dog.
Also, I’ve read in other articles that your pet(s) can actually take the focus away from the bride and groom during the ceremony. Guests will be distracted by your cute dog playing at the altar, instead of focusing on you taking your vows. A solution to this may be to have someone walk the dog down the aisle and immediately place them in a safe place.
However, the bottom line, a woman want’s her wedding to be remembered by how beautiful and happy and her husband looked, not by her little puppy that was dressed in a cute little tuxedo. Although it is a nice gesture, it might be safer and less stressful to leave your pets out of the wedding party.
I hope this helps.
p.s. I love your website, thanks for the thoughtful post.
Being a planner in Colorado, I have coordinated numerous weddings with dogs in them. It’s so popular here to include your pet. Sometimes it works out really well and sometimes it doesn’t. I blogged about the logistics recently. If anyone wants to know the details, you can read it here:
http://savethedateevents.blogspot.com/2009/01/marley-as-your-ring-bearer.html
I think a wedding should be personalized to suit the couple’s lives and tastes. If pets are a huge part of their lives, I think it’s great to have them included in the wedding in a tasteful way.