Wedding Tails

Here is a cute story. I am getting married in February and I wish my dogs were well enough behaved to be in my wedding. :) Have you ever been to a wedding where there has been a flower pup?

An article from PetCentric:

Rachel and Sheldon were well in their 30’s when they decided to marry, and they made their wedding quite unique. Rather than a ceremony in their synagogue, they chose to tie the knot in a more intimate space, on an open floor in the same building where Rachel lived, in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. That made it much easier to have their Best Dog at the wedding.

Sheldon had adopted Buckeye, a racing Greyhound rescue, before the couple met. This sweet, long-legged creature really had made a place in both their hearts and they loved him dearly. Rachel and Sheldon felt he deserved to be an integral part of their union. “It was such a happy occasion,” Sheldon says. “We couldn’t NOT have him in the wedding.”

In this New York loft space, the actual aisle to walk down was created by a parting of the standing guests. Buckeye was escorted down the aisle by Rachel’s 7-year-old nieces, Allison and Zoe, and 8-year-old little Rachel, who were the flower girls/dog handlers. Buckeye stood stoically with the wedding party, as only a Greyhound can, behaving himself admirably as the rabbi conducted the ceremony. Midway through, Buckeye decided this was all a bit tiresome. He harrumphed and plopped down for a nap. The flower girl charged with keeping a grip on his collar was forced to kneel down to the floor, and sit there at his side. It made for a good laugh that only briefly interrupted the ceremony.

It’s becoming more common for pets to attend weddings, and the wedding party pets are not always dogs. Cats get their share of wedding invites, but they are more often in the party as part of the ambiance. Some brides carry their beloved kitty down the aisle in a basket in place of the bridal bouquet. Others have their cat in a decorative crate at the altar, as something beautiful to look at. (And what cat is not perfectly adept at sitting and being admired?)

By far, it seems, the most common pet at a wedding is a dog, and the most common jobs for wedding dogs are ring bearer or flower pup. Pet companies have wasted no time in developing pet specialty wedding items to help out. You can now find doggie tuxedos, special pillows for doggie ring bearers, and even a pull cart that automatically scatters flower pedals as the dog walks down the aisle.

This is still not such a common practice that eyebrows won’t be raised at your wedding, should you decide to honor your pet in this way. And if you have your heart set on everything being absolutely perfect at your wedding, it’s probably not wise to add the unpredictability of a dog or cat to the mix. But if your pet is a huge part of your life, perhaps what brought you and your beloved together in the first place, then it makes sense to include him. One thing is guaranteed – your guests will never forget your wedding!