How to Involve Cats and Dogs in Weddings

Make Your Fur Baby Part of Your Wedding

Pet owners are increasingly coming to us asking for specific pieces to make their canine best friend look amazing on their wedding day. As a leading dog lifestyle brand and supplier of fashion forward dogwear, without a doubt, we love the idea of including your pup in your wedding. Dogs adore being included in their owners’ lives, and for the bride and groom, having their beloved pet around at milestone moments can mean the world.

Letting Your Pup Know They Are Special to You

Bupa Pet Insurance recently asked us to share a few tips on how to have a seamless ceremony with your four-legged best friend included. We were thrilled to share our tips gleaned from our experience in this area.

As we told Bupa Pet Insurance for the article ‘How to Involve Cats and Dogs in Weddings‘, one such story involved helping a bride-to-be find an adorable bandana for her aging Pomeranian, Jack. The woman returned after the wedding to show us a video of Jack running ahead of her down the aisle assisted by a wheel cart (Jack had unfortunately lost his ability to use all four legs). The video blew us away it was so moving; reminding us how lucky we are to be part of such momentous occasions!

Dogs bring us so much joy; it’s great to be able to let them know how special they are by including them in our lives and dressing them in fashionable and functional items. Our stylish collars, leads and bandanas help make your dog stand-out and attract endless affection from your friends and family at your wedding – not to mention how cute they’ll look in all the photos!

Surviving the Ceremony

One of the greatest things about dogs is that they all have a unique personality. While your neighbour’s Bichon Frise may be able to quietly sit in someone’s lap for an entire ceremony, your Great Dane may be a little less compliant. So it’s important to respect your pet’s character. If your dog can walk down the aisle with you without eating up all the rose petals strewn on the ground, then by all means, bring them for the show! If, on the other hand, you have an energetic, mischievous Pug, then you may want to leave your dog out of the actual ceremony and only include them in the photos.

That way your pet can still be a part of your amazing day, without worrying about them disturbing your guests or causing you undue stress. Also, if you do bring your dog along, make sure you have a designated pet-sitter – someone who can whisk them away if they start barking at your uncle or sniffing around the wedding cake. Consider your pet’s needs and make a decision from there and – most importantly – have a fantastic wedding!

Rescue boys and their toys

Darby from Haus of Harley Dogwear with his squeaky toy

When we adopted Harley into our lives we understood that she was a very special dog because of her background. She was such a loving and affectionate girl but Harley never really learnt to play – either with toys or even with other dogs. Sure, she got along well with animals and people of all shapes, sizes, ages and breeds but she was a reserved girl nonetheless – certainly not the type to chase a ball. We just accepted that this was Harley.

It was with a lot of trepidation that we introduced Darby into our household some nine months later. Without having been privy to his background it felt as though we invited the unknown – and in a way we did. Darby was small. Underweight, confused and scared of people (especially me towering over him at 6ft) it took a bit to get Darby settled but we were thrilled to see an instantaneous bond between he and Harley. As Darby’s health returned his personality broke through and we found an affectionately clingy and playful little man.

Whatever his background, Darby certainly loves squeaky toys. We have never kept any toys in the house because they would be useless on Miss Harley, so we only discovered this penchant for plastic as a photographer tried to get Darby to pose for a shoot we participated in. Darby loves hearing the toys squeak, loves holding them in his mouth and walking around proudly and he happily relinquishes them so I can throw and he can retrieve.

We’ll never know if Darby used to have his own toys before coming to live with us or if he was even allowed to play. Maybe it’s an instinct thing? Whatever the case, it made me smile to present him with his very own squeeker. But it made me smile even wider when I watched him, after having a good play, climb up on the lounge and place his squeeker next to a sleeping Harley so she would see it when she woke. It’s your turn. I’ll teach you to play, Harley.