Mr Elk and I have been arguing a lot about one particular subject with regards to the wedding:
personal photos
our dog, Harrison. (P.S. doesn’t he look like a monster in that second picture?)
In my corner: I want him at the wedding walking down the aisle, standing right next to us. He is our baby, and I can’t imagine our wedding without him being a part of it. Plus, how adorable would a shot like this be?
Photo by Davina Plus Daniel via: Style Me Pretty
In the other corner is Mr Elk, and Mama Elk. Both agree that while it’s a cute thought, it is a terrible idea. You see, our pooch, while sweet as can be, is not the brightest. He is also extremely nervous, and at any new noise or object in his path he will cower and retreat. I can therefore see where Mr Elk and Mama Elk are coming from in thinking that him walking down an aisle will lead to disaster. Moreover, we have no place to leave him during the reception.
Since I have been outvoted on this issue more times than I can count (though I keep trying!), I have started to think of other ways of including the pooch in our wedding.
Option #1: I saw a wedding that had a cute doggy topiary, and thought that that could work. It is pretty stinking adorable, and I could put a sign around its neck that says welcome or something. This option costs about 120 dollars, and Mr Elk isn’t so into it.
Option #2: When I saw this Quaker inspired marriage license, I swooned over the tiny little pooch hiding in the bottom right corner! This would definitely lend itself to a subtle nod towards our canine child, and my brother could easily include a rendition of our dog in his custom marriage certificate.
via: Etsy Ampers and Ink
Option #3: Doggy Cake Topper. Honestly, I’m not particularly into the whole cake topper thing, so I don’t think this one is going to happen.
I am conflicted. I think adding a mini pooch to the marriage certificate is easy, but a little too subtle for me. I want him to have more of a presence at the wedding. I still like the topiary, but wonder if people will think it is really strange, plus $120 is nothing to sneeze at for a freaking moss dog!
So hive, what do you think is the best way to include our furbaby at the wedding? Do you have any other ideas for including pets in weddings if they can’t physically be present?
Have a photo of him (or something to represent) him in your bouquet or shoe or something so he can “walk” down the aisle with you.
I once was at a wedding where they had dog shaped sugar cookies as a side to their cake. They looked exactly like their pup too! And it was a suprise for the groom, who loved it.
My husband and I adamantly wanted to have a little reminder of our dog with us on our wedding day. So, we framed an adorable picture of her for our sweetheart table for all our guests to see! It turned out great! Our second way of incorporating our dog was by way of our photobooth – I blew up a picture of her to life-size and put it on cardboard so people could pose with her in the photobooth. It turned out great, and we have some hilarious pictures of her “being there” with us on our big day. Hope those help!
I would try to get him socialized properly and bring him to the ceremony place several times. Also, during rehearsal have him there – with treats of his fav kind and really encourage the positive environment. Make sure he is calm before he starts walking.
If you’re still not comfortable with this idea – it might be best to leave him with a dogsitter. He might not enjoy being around the crowd anyway.
I have a weiner dog that is like me and my fiancees kid. well im thinking of doing the cake topper as dogs. i have found some really cute ones and i love them. but my fiancee doesnt really like them. i was thinking of having my dog as the ring bearer and have my fiancees little cousin walk him down the aisle but my fiancee pointed out where would we put him during the reception. I know how it is trying to tie in the little furry ones. its hard.
Can you just have to dog at the front of the church and not walk down the aisle…or not have him in the wedding at all, but have him present for pictures between the wedding and reception. Where is he going to be during your ceremony?
I’m having similar issue with my fur-child. I want him in the wedding and we have a perfect venue for it (dog-friendly B&B on a farm!), but the dude and my mom aren’t as keen on the whole idea! Something a friend of mine did was have her ice sculpture look JUST like her boxer! It was very cute and she hung a little tag around it’s neck with the pup’s name.
We did doggie table numbers! Each was a different pic of our pup with the number.
I’ve seen (probably on SMP) weddings where the couple used the silhouette of their pup on table numbers and seating cards–it was still subtle but since it was pretty much everywhere at the reception it was still very present.
And another couple took pictures of their pup either balancing the numbers on his nose (talented!) or photoshopped in to look that way (more than likely) for their framed table numbers.
Maybe have a special mention of him in your ceremony program?
My dog is going to be our flowerdog and I’m so excited-although most people think I’m crazy for wanting a dog in the wedding-I’m glad you get it!! 
She’s really well behaved so we’re going to try to have her walk down the aisle on her own-should be interesting.
If you’re doing bridal portraits, you could bring your dog to those so you could still get shots of you and the dog together.
Or you could outvote everyone as you’re the bride and do it anyways! Start training him now by taking him to places like your venue so he gets accustomed to everything and then have a rawhide for him to chew during the ceremony. And hopefully find a friend willing to take him to a home/hotel rooom for the reception-good luck!
I went the custom cake topper route. Not many people know about it, but they know how much we love our fur-baby, so I think it’s going to be a hit! Plus, it will make for a really great keepsake
@M: We did the same! We superimposed the table number onto pictures of our pup, then glued them to cardboard and they were put on little easels on each table. Our sweetheart table had a large framed picture of her.
In addition, we made a donation to the animal shelter where we rescued our dog from. The shelter printed cards with our text, and I rubber stamped paw prints to them. Then we hired a local cookie baker to make paw print shaped cookies for our favors.
Finally, we used a picture we got of our dog, holding a bag of mini Reese’s in her mouth, superimposed “Trick or Treat” on it, and placed it in a frame on our candy table.
Our dog is our world and it killed me that we couldn’t have her at the ceremony. She’s too hyper and it would have been a disaster. But we found lots of ways to incorporate her, and I couldn’t have been happier with the results.
The boy and I Have 4 furkids, and I’m planning on taking adorable shots of them and using them as parts of the centerpieces – little snapshots of our lives (we both had 2 pets before each other) as it slowly became our /life/ together.
Every time I saw a little pet drawing on the marriage certificates I was perusing I think I died a little, they’re so cute!
Your pup looks just like mine! We’ve been taking ours to training classes and I’ll call it closer to the wedding but he’s a lot better than he was a few months ago. We’re 90 days out and with us drilling him almost every day he’s bound to get it at some point.
My biggest fear is that he likes to jump up. Dirty paws+ white dress= Dirty white dress 
We’re trying to train that out of him in time for the wedding. We’ve been working on that for about a year!
@mdlapaz: you can get a harness that goes around the dogs back legs and it doesn’t affect them running/walking but stops them from jumping-doesn’t hurt them at all. A few weeks with that should stop it!
My brother and his wife did the table numbers thing too. They photographed their dogs with different numbers and framed them for each table. It was adorable and everyone loved them!
Part of the reason we are having a backyard wedding is so our third family member could be included (as the ring bearer). He is very well behaved at home, but can be very crazy in front of others. I figure who cares if he is overly social. Anyone who knows me well enough to get a wedding invite, knows how important he is to us! Oh – did I mention my parents live on a lake? Someone might have to jump in the water after him!
I think if it’s important to have your dog with you for part of the day, you should find a way to do it!
@MissTBee: Great idea, could you get a dog sitter to bring your pooch to where you will be for photos?
Thanks for all your suggestions, and I will touch on most of them:
1) training him better so he isn’t scared of all things non-alive: Unfortunately, i’ve tried desensitizing him but he is a shelter dog and from the moment I adopted him he has been nervous…I don’t think it is changing
2) its my day, do what I want: well, its Mr. Elk’s day too, so I don’t want to just forget about him..
3)table numbers- already made mine
4)Use him for a photobooth prop- love the idea, missing the photobooth
5)Bridal Portraits/Getting him for pictures in between ceremony and reception- Not doing bridal portraits, and my entire wedding is at 1 location 45 minutes from my parents house. We basically have to leave the dog in the kennel, and we are taking pictures in the early afternoon (with a first look) and going right into ceremony and then the party. I don’t see how we can get him on location and then back in time…..
6) sweets shaped like dogs….LOVE THIS- may have to figure out how to get this one to happen
THanks for all the suggestions!!!! Love hearing from each and every one of you
Mrs. Elk, City: Syracuse/Long Island Age and Occupation: 25, Medical Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Computer Engineer Engagement Date: November 22, 2010 Wedding Date: May 2012 Venue: The Old Field Club About Me: I’m a Long Island girl finishing my last year of medical school in western NY, on the road to becoming a pediatrician. When I’m not studying or sleeping at the hospital, I spend my free time watching bad TV (Vampire Diaries anyone?), playing with my pooch, singing incredibly off-key (to the annoyance of Mr. Elk ), and reading Harry Potter for the zillionth time. Mr. Elk and I are planning a secular wedding infused with both Irish and cultural Jewish traditions. Only a week after I become an M.D., I will get my Mrs. degree, too!
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