Having pets in a wedding is becoming common and more mainstream. This is no surprise due to the fact that Millennials are having more pets than kids. Pets are deemed part of the family now in 75% of households. That’s a lot! I’m no exception – my animals are everything to me. So when I told everyone that my three dogs would be in my wedding, no one was shocked. In fact, we had to get married at a dog friendly wedding venue. It wasn’t an option – it was a must-have. Khloee and McKenzie Rae both wore custom gowns from CH Couture, and I took it one step further with other details of my wedding.
How My Wedding Benefited Animals
My shoes: I’m not a super fancy person, so when it came time to buy wedding shoes I wanted something simple and flat. I’m all about comfort and I didn’t want to spend a gazillion dollars on shoes. My solution? Skechers BOBS! I bought Bobs, and the purchase benefited the Best Friends Animal Society. The shoes are white flats with a little orange animal face on them. BOBS has partnered with the Best Friends Animal Society, a no-kill organization dedicated to saving animals. In so many ways, my shoes were perfect.
Blankets: Since we had a December wedding, the weather was unpredictable. It could be in the 70s and sunny or 59° and rainy. To be on the safe side, I ordered 60 fleece blankets for my guests. I prayed for a beautiful wedding day weather wise for months, and God heard my prayers. It was about 75° and sunny on our big day. The blankets weren’t needed for the outdoor ceremony, but I encouraged each guest to take home their blanket. They were, after all, a gift. However, I made an announcement during the reception that if anyone thought they wouldn’t use their blanket to leave it behind. I’d be donating all of the blankets to our local county shelter. And that’s exactly what I did. I dropped off about 30 blankets to MCACC. Those poor dogs sleep on concrete floors – now 30 dogs have blankies to protect them from the cold. This warms my heart beyond imagination.
Awareness: My wedding was a good way to spread the word about the possibility of having dogs at your wedding. Dogs are family, so wouldn’t be fun to include them in your big day?! When people see dogs at a wedding it sparks thoughts like “They must really love their dogs” or “Their dogs are really important to them.” Culminating these thoughts and ideas are good for animal welfare, because when people see pets being treated like family they are more likely to treat their animals the same…and spread the word!
There are lots of ways you can include dogs in your wedding and use the event to do good for animals! I’m glad that Matt and I decided to have our three babes at our wedding because those are lifelong memories that we will cherish. And let’s be honest – the pictures are amazing. Some other ways a wedding can benefit animals are asking for donations to an animal shelter in lieu of wedding gifts, or include rescue pups that need to find homes in your photos! And in case you missed our wedding photos, here’s the album for you!
Did you have your pets at your wedding? Have you ever been to a wedding where the couple had their pets involved?
I think it’s amazing what you do for your own kids and other animals in need. When and if I get married I would love to have my dog in it. But he isn’t really a people person except his family. I wouldn’t do anything to put him in danger or another person. So far I’ve not seen a wedoing with someone’s furkids.