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We are a nation of dog lovers and Mark and I are no different!

Devastatingly, we had to say goodbye to our beloved black Labrador Jessie back in July this year and we still miss her every day. That’s why we know and understand how important pets are in people’s lives. They’re part of the family after all.

And no, we don’t think it’s mad that you want to include your pet pooch in your wedding somehow! So that’s why we’ve put together this blog featuring six ways you can include your dog in your special day.

Before we start, we must just say that whilst you and I are dog lovers, some of your suppliers may not be (unbelievable I know!) so it will be best to check with all of the people you’ll be working with on your Big Day to make sure that there are no allergies or phobias that you’ll need to take into consideration. Some venues will be more pet friendly than others, so if having your canine friend with you on your day is a deal breaker, make sure your venue will allow it before you commit to your nuptials there.

It’s also a must to consider if being involved on the actual day is right for your dog as well. Is it likely to stress them out being there with lots of people, or will they be in their element? Just take a moment or two to think about what’s right for your four-legged friend.
So with that in mind, we have a combination of ideas on how to make your happy hound a part of your Big Day – even if they can’t be there.

1. Make them a part of the engagement
If your pet is your surrogate child, then it’s only right that they should be asked permission before you get wed, so why not make them part of the engagement?!

In writing this blog, we’ve come across a truly amazing company based in Oxfordshire called Giddings Gifts, dedicated to gifts for Hound and Home. They offer Proposal Dog Bandanas as part of their collection and you can take a look here if this idea appeals to you!

You could bag your doggie a bandana and ask Fido to pop the question on your behalf! Giddings Gifts also offer some pretty cool ‘She Said Yes’ bandanas which work really well as a way to announce your engagement… you could even use them on your Save the Date cards (yes, we can help)!

Giddings Gifts Company boss Helen couldn’t agree more that it’s a great idea for your dog to be involved in your wedding somehow and told us that “As an owner of two dogs, I know how much they mean to us and how special it is to include them in the big moments in our lives. I developed our accessories with this in mind and created them to help couples involve their dogs in their wedding ceremonies. Our range of bandanas come in popular wedding colours so that dogs can match (and be a part of) the bridal parties. We customise many of our items to make them extra special and personal to our customers”. Using a customised bandana to pop the question is a great way to get the party started!

Or, if you’ve already had your proposal accepted, why not make your dog a big part of your engagement or pre-wedding shoot? Check that your photographer is dog-friendly first and head out to some gorgeous grounds for an extra special walk with your partner and canine-friend and capture those treasured moments that will last a lifetime.

We’ve known local Bedfordshire-based company Two-D Photography for years now and they come highly recommended – not only for their wonderful talent, but also because they are firm fans of furry friends and will happily shoot (with a camera!) your dog as part of any package you have with them. The examples above are from one of their previous engagement shoots. Why not use the photos on your Save the Date cards?

2. Feature your dog on your invitations
In 2019, we worked with lovely bride-to-be Leigh Devenish who was getting married to Jon and they were keen to include their beloved English Bulldog Sidney within their wedding stationery – and we were happy to oblige!

Leigh wanted a silhouette of a bride and groom together with their dog and so we set about finding the perfect imagery to use. The cute threesome went on to feature on their invitations and all of their On the Day stationery so that Sidney was a consistent part of their theme, even though he couldn’t be with them on the day. You may not want them to be such a prominent part of your stationery, but there are ways we can still include them – perhaps in a less visible section of an invitation, like the back cover.

3. Preparation on the day
Depending on where you are getting ready for your Big Day, you may be able to grab some valuable wedding-day pictures with your pooch as you are preparing yourself to say I Do. This is a great option if you’d like to have them as part of your day, but they can’t be at the ceremony or reception.

Back in 2018, we worked with Andy and Emily who got married at The Orangery at Whittlebury Park and they simply had to have their golden Labrador Indie involved on the day! Emily had some fabulous pictures taken of her and Indie as she was getting ready in the morning and these are now truly treasured. You can see these below and again credit goes to Two-D Photography.

Emily actually got ready ‘on location’ at Whittlebury so if you’re getting married at a venue that isn’t your home (or someone close to you), you’ll obviously need to check that they are happy for your dog to be present, but this is a great way to involve your dog on your day. We adopted Jessie the year after we got married in 2010, but if we’d had her back in 2009, she would definitely have been at my mum and dad’s house where I got ready and I would have loved some pictures with her.

4. Involving them in the ceremony
Emily and Andy were insistent that Indie was there with them for most of their wedding day as she is such a big part of their family. Emily told us that she “couldn’t envisage our big day without her. In fact she was the main reason why I quickly ruled out getting married abroad! We went along to a wedding fair and came across Whittlebury. I was quite shocked when they said they were dog friendly as they are a well known spa, golf, hotel resort.”

There are a few websites dedicated to helping you find a dog friendly location, but as Emily’s experience shows, it’s always worth asking the question if you’ve found your ideal location. It sounds like Indie had five-star treatment throughout the day as Emily explained that “She was collected by a golf cart and whisked away to the Orangery to arrive before us. She was very well looked after!”

Indie was there to watch as her human parents said their vows and Dan and Sarah from Two-D Photography managed to comfortably get lots of photos which they still cherish today and if you’re wondering how long Indie was involved for, Emily explained that “she was collected by friends before the food arrived so she could enjoy the rest of her day napping whilst we partied. Other couples have their children included in their Big Day and Indie was no exception to this for us!”

Although Indie only watched, we have had clients in the past who have used their dog as a ring-bearer so this could also be an option! You can make sure that your doggie is dressed for the occasion with a range of different attire available from Giddings Gifts. Check out their wedding wear here! And don’t worry about comfort as this has been fully considered by Helen who says “pups may be wearing our bandanas for long periods of time, so we made sure they are comfortable as well as stylish. Dogs are part of the family, so we’re excited to see that more and more people are including their dogs on their big day.”

5. Make them part of the table plan by naming your tables after your favourite dog breeds

This is another way that Andy and Emily brought their love of dogs into their Big Day as they named each of their tables after a breed of dog. We’ve done this for other couples as well and we can use a silhouette of the breed to really enhance the theme. Emily said that “it caused many discussions between guests and is still talked about today!”

So if your dog can’t be with you on the day, consider honouring your love for them by featuring them on the table plan!

6. Turning them into a cake topper
Not literally of course – no dogs were harmed in the suggestion of this idea!

However, going back to Leigh and Jonathan whose invitations featured Sidney, they turned the silhouette we created of them into a cake topper so it really was a theme that ran throughout. But there are plenty of talented companies out there who can take an image of your pet and turn them into a model to feature on the top of your cake, so why not consider that!

So there you go, these are six ways that you can include your four-legged friend in your Big Day. If you love the idea of featuring them on your stationery in any way at all, then please get in touch as we would love to help you do this!