To some couples, their furry, scaly, or feathered companions are some of the most important creatures in their lives. So, when it comes to a giant celebration—especially a wedding—they are going to want to find a way to incorporate their love for their four-legged friend. We’ll give you some tasteful and fun ways to make sure your animal companion is properly recognized on your big day.
Whether you choose to include your pet as a wedding guest or incorporate your pet in another way, make the day about your entire family. After all, this day is about family and your animal pal is a big part of your family!
Invitations
An easy and subtle way of including your pet during your big day is to have an image of them somewhere on your wedding invitations. Whether they are front and center on your save-the-date or a sticker on the back of your invitation, this is a great way to customize your invitations to your wedding and gives a great nod to your fur friend.
Treat Bags
Who doesn’t love treats more than your animal at home? From our experience, all animals love treats because it’s something yummy in the bellies and it’s a sign of affection from their human companion. Elevate your treat bags with a sweet note and sticker of your family pet. Or have a stamp made with your monogram and an illustration of your pet to put on the bags.
The options are endless—just use your imagination and that fluff-ball as inspiration!
Customized Cocktails
Use your pets as inspiration for naming your custom cocktails for the evening. Work with your venue to come up with signature cocktails that represent both of you as a couple but also incorporate your pet’s names or personalities in one way or another.
Create a beautiful display by the bar with a picture of each pet next to their specialty cocktail. This could take a little brainpower and creativity, but the result will be a treat for your guests and one they’ll remember for years to come. Specialty cocktails are a hit at weddings, so why not make yours paws-atively unique!
Table Numbers
Adorn your wedding tables with miniature versions of your loveable fur friends! Table numbers are a unique and fun way to include your hoofed, canine, or feline friend. In one wedding example, a couple used horses' heads as the focus of the table number and draped it with blooms and greenery and larger leaves that marked each respective table.
Use this idea and run with it for a simple and unique way to make your wedding tables stand out!
Additionally, if you have many pets in your home, you can use them to create a personalized seating chart. Put your pets on the seating chart as a decorative touch or have a silhouette of your animals on the place cards.
Aisle Escorts
Pets make the perfect escort and entrance down the aisle for the bride or as part of the bridal party. Whether you have a single dog on a leash, or you are bringing your favorite horses as part of your aisle escort, make them stand out and stand tall on your big day.
Place Settings
Embellish your place settings with a special trinket that is pet inspired. Whether it’s your cat, your rabbit, your dog, your horse, or some other animal, a small statue of them makes a sweet addition to the place setting and a meaningful favor to your family and friends celebrating your big day.
Take it a step further and add your fur friend in the menu or somewhere else on the table so people know how important your pet(s) are to you.
Customized Napkins
Embellish your napkins for the night with your married name and an image of your beloved pet. This is a fun and easy to share your pet with others and make a useful item for the day. One couple even adorned their napkins with a cute saying: “wipe your paws”. This is an easy way to get personal with your big day and use creativity at the same time!
Cake Topper
Cake toppers are a great way to showcase your personal style and your very personal love for your pet! Whether you choose funny toppers with your heads replaced with your pet or add your pets into your topper, this whimsical way of paying tribute to your pets is the best finishing touch to your cake!
Should you include your pet in your big day?
This is truly the ultimate question. So many people are involving their pets in the wedding days these days. They want the physical presence of their fur-friend on that day. While we’ve shared a lot of amazing options with you, we want you to fully consider what it means to have your pet there on your big day. Animals, as we all know, are unpredictable.
Check-in with your venue.
This is essential and most oftentimes forgotten. It is important when you are considering having a pet in your wedding that you absolutely get an affirmative from the venue. You don’t want to show up on the day of the wedding and have them say animals are not allowed on the property.
If they are more than willing to accommodate your pet, make sure there is a bowl of water, treats, and a quick way to exit the scene if the dog starts making too much noise.
Check-in with your photographer.
It is much better to get ideas flowing well before the big day! Clueing your photographer in about your furry friend will give them plenty of time to prepare with ideas and to prepare for any mishaps that may come along with photographing an animal. Because, as we’ve stated before, animals are 100% unpredictable.
Consider your pet’s personality.
Consider the fact that your pet will be surrounded by hundreds of people. Consider the fact that they will have to endure children chasing after them, photographers trying to take pictures, and lots and lots of pets from random people.
Not every pet can handle this, and it can create undue stress. If you feel your pet could buckle under the stress or pressure of the situation, maybe including them is not the right choice. Even if you desperately want them to be a part of the big day, you need to consider what is right for them as well.
Make sure your guests know in advance.
Whether you provide this information on the save the date or on your wedding website, letting your guests know ahead of time that an animal will be a big part of the celebration is pertinent. This way any guests who may have allergies can prepare in advance. Some people are severely allergic to dogs, cats, and other animals and this could give them ample time to respond accordingly to your save the date and/or invitation.
Safety first when it comes to having pets involved.
Keep the accessories minimal and easy to wear when it comes to the big day for your animal. It is no good if the attire or accessories will make them uncomfortable or be a hazard to how they move around. Make sure nothing is too tight around their necks and that none of the floral arrangements around will be poisonous to your pet.
Consider hiring a pet sitter.
While having your furry friend there for your big day sounds wonderful, having all the responsibilities of watching them during the entire evening would not be ideal. Hire a pet sitter! Your pet sitter can keep an eye on your animal during the ceremony and reception and attend to their needs. If things get out of hand or it gets too late your pet sitter can simply whisk your pet back home where they belong, and you can continue to enjoy your evening.
Follow these tips for a fun, flawless wedding day!
Having your pet as part of your big day is a huge decision! We are happy to provide you with a handful of ideas and tips and tricks when it comes to selecting the best way to represent the fur friends in your life.
Your guests will understand, no matter which route you go, how important your pets are to you. Your pets are part of your love story and as a couple, you have to let that shine. This is your day—make it YOUR day.
And let us know if you plan on having your pet as part of your big day! We would love to hear how you incorporated them into your wedding.
