8 way to include your dog in your wedding

There is nothing I love more than a dog at a wedding! So to encourage you all to do it, and get some more super cute doggy weddings to shoot, I have put together a little list that will help you find a way to include your fur babies in your big day. So here are my 8 ways to include your dog in your wedding:

1.  Bring them along to your engagement session

Whether you plan to have your dog with you on your wedding day or not you can still get them involved by bringing them along to your engagement session. I love doing couple’s sessions with their dog, not only is it hilarious and creates great photo opportunities, but for couples who are extremely camera shy dogs are a wonderful distraction from the camera.

Bringing your dog along to your engagement session is also a great way to test out how your dog might behave before the big day. I absolutely love a naughty puppy but it might it may not be the best idea to let them loose for photos at your wedding if you struggle to get them to come back to you on your engagement shoot!

2. Have a card board cut out of them at your wedding

This is such a wonderful idea! If it just isn’t practical to have your dog with you at your wedding, maybe your going abroad or your dream venue doesn’t allow dogs, then here is a wonderful option for you.

Order a large print or cardboard cut out of your dog and have it at the venue on your wedding day. There are two great reasons why you should do this. Firstly you can hold up their photo to have a photo with them even though they aren’t there, secondly you can use the large photo of your dog as a prop in your photo book!!! You will end up with so many hilarious photo booth photos of your guests with your dog, I couldn’t think of anything better (other than the real dog being in the photo booth).

3. Make them your ‘Dog of honour’ or ‘Best dog’

This is a less common option but still definitely worth a mention. We call them man’s best friend so why not give them the title of ‘Best dog’ in replacement of a best man? Or ‘Dog of honour’ and avoid any awkward conversations with your bridesmaids about who’s going to be maid of honour.

You can have your dog in all the bridal party photos, dressed up for the part and the best thing is everyone will have huge beaming smiles on their faces in all the photos because there is a gorgeous dog there with them.

4. Get ready together

This is one of the things that I did at my wedding. We got married a few hours away from home so Bonnie (our Beagle) came with us for a little trip to the coast. This meant she was with me at our holiday rental on the morning of our wedding.

It is a lovely time for your dog to be included in, it’s usually quite calm and the photos are all very natural. You can get some fun photos with your bridesmaids and the dog before you all get dressed and capture some really beautiful moments together just before you head off to the ceremony.

5. Add them to your cake topper

Dog are such a huge part of the family so why not add them to the top of the cake. There are so many great personalized cake toppers out there or ask your cake maker to create a little version of your furry friend out of fondant.

6. Get them all dressed up for the big day

Just like the rests of your guests, why not get your dog all dresses up for the occasion? There are so many unbelievably cute options out there to choose from and just as many suppliers that can make them for you.

For our wedding I made Bonnie a collar out of the scrap pieces of my wedding dress. I asked the dress maker if she could save the off cuts for me and they went to good use. I simply sewed the fabric into a bow and then attached it to a white collar so she could match me on our wedding day.

Need some inspiration? Why not add a bow to their collar, ask you florist to make a doggy floral crown or a floral garland to wrap around their lead. Find your pooch a collar that matches your colour theme or even get a small sign for them to wear around their neck for the ceremony.

Whatever they wear they will look sooooo adorable.

7. Make them your ring bearer

If you want to give your dog a role in the ceremony then this is the way to go. The rings are needed towards the end of the ceremony so your dog only has to sit and behave for a short period of time. There are some lovely ways for dogs to carry the rings including tying them to their collar and attaching a ring cushion to their back like a little back pack.

Even the best behaved dogs would want to stop and see everyone as they pass your guests down the aisle. So if you don’t want to risk having your dog walk the aisle alone then why not ask one of your bridesmaids or groomsmen to walk down with them.

What a heart melting site watching your dog walk down the aisle towards you.

8. Include them in your couple shots

This is the big one! If you get your dog to your wedding then you just have to include them in a few of the couple shots.

We had Bonnie visit the venue about 30 minutes after the ceremony so we could take some photos with her. She is a pretty well behaved dog but getting her to stay calm around all our guests for long periods of time was never going to happen so having her visit for a just a short time was perfect for us and her.

To make some of these wonderful ideas possible you’re going to need some help! Check out Sally from Walkies at Weddings. She offers a wonderful service of looking after your dog throughout the day, bringing them to the wedding when you want them, walking them, feeding them and keeping them with her over night so you don’t have to worry about a thing.

If you have a dog (or 2) and would love to include them in your wedding or engagement session then please get in touch. They say never work with animals but they are so wrong, I love it!. Any excuse to meet your fur babies and capture some unforgettable moments between you, I’m there! xx