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Including Pets In Your Wedding

Pets are a part of the family, and a lot of the time considered to be the fully child of my couples. So it’s only natural to want to find a way to bring them into your wedding!

Dogs are the easiest features, and I’ve even had a couple of horses in the attendance. How to include cats in your wedding can be a tricky one as they’re not the most…cooperative (as a cat owner I fully agree), but there are ways to incorporate them without their presence needed!

Over all of my weddings I’ve seen a myriad of ways to involve your four-legged pals, so I’m here to give you a run-down of all of my favourites.

Dog Ring Bearers

Dog ring bearers have become an absolute CLASSIC over the last few years and it’s always my favourite thing to see them absolutely bounding down the aisle. You can even get adorbs collar clips for the rings to give them the ultimate responsibility.

Lumi the dog watching the bride getting dressed during bridal prep

Cosmo the dog wearing her bridal collar and ring bearer box before being the ring bearer during the ceremony

 

Pet Cake Toppers

Cake toppers are also a great option. You can get custom ones made of the whole family, or if you’ve got a mega talented cake maker, you can have fondant pets made, like this kitten cake topper!

A close up of a wedding cake with a fondant model of a bunny burrowing at the bottom

Fondant models of a tabby and black cats on top of a blue floral wedding cake

Cardboard Cutouts

This is a newer trend I’ve seen recently, but one that I absolutely LOVE. Cardboard cutouts of your pets so you can get them involved on the dancefloor. 10/10, no notes.

A cardboard cutout of a black and white cat next to a DJ booth

A cardboard cutout of a dalmation next to a wedding cake

Signature Pet Cocktails

Cocktails are also a really fun way of including pets in your wedding. A signature themed cocktail per cat, especially if they’ve got their own zesty lil personalities.

A cocktail menu with cat themed cocktails and illustrations

A cocktail menu with cat themed cocktails and illustrations

 

Stationery and Signage

Include your fur babies in your signage, and let them direct your guests around. Welcome signs, seating plans, even your stationery can be improved by a furry little face.

A close up of a personalised match wedding favour with an illustration of the couples' dog on it

A wedding seating chart with illustrations of the couples' cats in the corner

Bring them for photos

You could even give them their own allotted time for a photo session on your wedding day. That’s what we did with one of my brides’ gorgeous horses – they even got all dressed up for the occasion!

A couple in their wedding suits with their dog sat between them

A portrait of a horse with a floral garland around it's neck at it's owners' wedding

Include them in your Engagement Photos

The easiest low-pressure ways to get your pets involved is to bring them on your engagement shoot. It gives you a chance to let your dog go wild for a couple of hours and try and get some nice family photos, or even do a little at-home session with your cats. That way there’s no worries about an excitable puppy getting muddy paws on a wedding dress, or your cat doing a Houdini.

A close up portrait of a dog during her owners' engagement shoot

A golden hour photo of couple kissing during their engagement shoot while their dog looks at them

Are you planning on including your pets in your wedding in a way that I HAVEN’T covered here? Let me know! If you’re planning a pet-related wedding (bonus points if you’ve got cats), and you want me to be there to photograph it, then check out my packages, my portfolio for my work that’s not just pet-related, and get in touch!

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