Pets at your wedding: The Memorable roles that pets play in these couples special day

Pets at your wedding

Sarah Haora’s Wedding Story

We were married September 2015 and our beloved miniature Dachshund, Maluka, was a very important part of our pre-wedding photos. She waiting at the Langham hotel Sydney with a pet sitter while the wedding occurred, and was very excited to see us return at the end of the night.
Of course, as she had never been a night without us, she sleep between us on our first night as a married couple! Maluka also had a custom made flower girl dress to match my dress, it had handmade grey rosettes to match the grey accents of the wedding party.

Organising a wedding with your pet

Love Laugh Play Pet Minding & Wedding Chauffeuring tailors the Bride and Groom’s needs (and assesses their fur-baby’s capabilities!). They help get the pet ready for the wedding by bathing, brushing and dressing the pet, then transport them to the ceremony. They then take photos from the pet’s perspective during the day, take them home and tuck them into bed!

I asked Kylie, who owns the business, just what pets do at the wedding…

Jo: How does a pet typically get involved in the wedding?
Kylie: There are a number of ways. Our most popular is actually as a surprise gift to their partner! They can be escorts for the page boy and flower girl or the ring bearer.
One Bride and Groom even gave the Best Man a fake set of rings and when he gave the rings, the Groom said “They aren’t the rings” *Whistles* and their Border Collie ran down the aisle with the real rings around his neck.
Meeting guests is another way pets get involved. Guests LOVE seeing the pet and it passes time for them. Brides and Grooms simply want them there for photos as well.

Photo courtesy of Love Laugh Play Pet Minding & Wedding Chauffeuring

Jo: Which type of pets get involved?
Kylie: So far, we have only had dogs and a horse but we have been asked if we would take a chicken and a snake and, of course we would! Cats are a little more tricky. They have to be the right temperament, as you can imagine. We are very lucky that our Aunties (Carers) have a wide range of experience and knowledge with every animal – perks of being mostly vet nurses!

Jo: Anything fun ever happen with a pet?
Kylie: There are always moments that Fur-babies will be Fur-babies. We frequently have a dog roll over for a tummy rub in the middle of a photo. Of course there are wet kisses all around!
I make sure that we go for a walk beforehand to empty bladders but we did have a moment with a cheeky marking of the flower wall back drop!

Annabelle Selleck’s Wedding featuring Gypsy

My gorgeous dog Gypsy was only a year old when I met my husband to be. When we first started dating I said to Brett “Well, you’ll have to pass the Gypsy test before we take this much further”. He did. She loved him too.
It was a no-brainer that Gypsy would be a part of our wedding day. She was such a huge part of our lives and so well behaved. All our family and friends loved her too, so why not? On the day, she wore a length of white silk tied in a bow that sat on her proud chest. She seemed to know it was a special day, all the activity, and she trotted around, I assume feeling very excited.
Arriving at St Patricks Church, Manly, with myself, our 2 gorgeous flower girls and their mums, I hadn’t anticipated that the church caretaker would be there, nor that she would say, in no uncertain terms, that Dogs were not permitted inside the chapel! Dear Gypsy sat patiently at the open chapel doors the whole way through the ceremony and was very much a part of all the action and the reception afterwards. All our guest loved that she was there. Such a special day would have been missing a very important element had Gypsy not been there to celebrate with us.

Postscript: Brett and I are no longer married but had 6 fantastic years together. We remain great friends and Gypsy stays with Brett whenever I travel. I’m thrilled to say that it’s because of Gypsy that Brett met his current wonderful partner of 5 years, Merri, who loves and adores Gypsy too. My wonderful boyfriend, Marny also adores her. Dogs definitely have a way of showing us where the love is.
Annabelle’s Pet Business

Jo: Anything other fun stories with pets?
Kylie: We had one groom break down in tears, when he saw his pet, and prolong the ceremony for 20 minutes because he couldn’t compose himself. Another kept swearing, saying he couldn’t believe his puppy was there.
I am a massive believer that pets know something special is going on and they behave… Rottweilers that usually jump on everyone don’t lift their feet off the ground… Border Collies that can’t keep still will sit perfectly. We have a chat on the way about how to behave!

Freddy Grant’s Wedding Story

Burton Reynolds and Freddie Grant got married in the home of the British Consulate in Toorak on Friday. Their dog Grungle was their best man. Photo: PENNY STEPHENS. The Age. 19th AUGUST 2016

Grungle was our best men. He stood next to us as we took our vows – at least he was meant to. He also walked around, licked his privates and went to sleep much to the amusement of our guests. My Mum runs a knitting pattern website in the UK (MadMonkeyKnits). She made him an incredible knitted tuxedo to look the part.
This is such a cliche, but Grungle is our best friend. My husband, Burt, had Grungle when we met and he was only 6 months old. Our first dates were walks with Grungle on the beach in Darwin. Now we’re in Melbourne 8 years later, Grungle comes everywhere with us. He comes to work at Bluethumb online art gallery with me and we pretty much plan our social lives around where he can come too. He had to be our best man and part of our wedding.

Cerise Ellen’s Wedding Story

I’ve had Affy for nearly 10 years, she’s my best friend, my partner in crime and both our families absolutely adore her, so there was no doubt in my mind that she had to be a part of my big day.
Our wedding was a family affair. My four sisters were my Bridesmaids, and Matt’s two brothers were his Groomsmen. Affy is very much a part of the family which is why she simply to had to be my Flower Girl!
As soon as I started wedding planning I asked the Venue Manager if Affy could attend and they were more than happy to accommodate! They even offered to cook Affy dinner after the ceremony!
My sister along with Matt’s brother, walked Affy down aisle and she was by our side during the ceremony which was so special, and something I’ll never forget! ceriseellencherry.com

About Love Laugh Play Pet Minding & Wedding Chauffeuring
Kylie Bennett: I’ve been a vet nurse for 11 years now and Love Laugh Play Pet Minding & Wedding Chauffeuring was born in June 2012. We offer pet minding in your home (daily visits or live in) or ours, dog walking, medication visits and wedding chauffeuring. We started out on the Gold Coast and now have a family of Aunties across the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Perth and Sydney. We are mostly vets or vet nurses, police checked and insured adding that extra piece of mind.

Have you had your pets at your wedding? How did it go? Let us know.

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