Including your pet in your wedding

Continuing with our wedding series, Kelly O'Neill from Happy Pawes shares some ideas for including your pet in your special day ...

As much as we want our wedding to just be about being a happy bride and groom it really does become a family affair.

We have all been there choosing our guests, deciding who is in the bridal party and most importantly of all who will keep hold of the rings at the alter? Will it be the very reliable bestman or our wonderful dog who is being a part of your big day and who has been asked to be ring bearer.

 Having your pet take part in the wedding ceremony is now becoming more common than you think, most dogs will either have the rings clipped to their collar so that they are easily accessible or they will wear a little cushion on their collar to show off the rings while walking down the aisle.

Some families even choose to have their dogs as bridesmaids just to add a bit of cuteness, they of course do not wear a dress but they may have a little flower clipped to their collar of the bridal party colours.

Lots of outside venues in Auckland are allowing dogs to be part of the wedding party, it doesn't suit all dogs as they must be able to respond to their name, sit patiently and quietly and walk nicely on the lead, for some dogs they need just a little bit of training but for some the reality is it would be to stressful for their dog to take part.

We really do see our dogs as part of the family and we really want them to be involved as much as possible on a day that is so special and we at Happy Pawes try and help to make the process as easy as possible which includes some basic training if required, making sure your dog gets to and from the venue and looking after them during the ceremony.

I have to say it is a fun part to the job we do and so lovely to see how much impact our dogs have on our lives and also to be a part of our clients special day.

To find out more and get in touch with Kelly and the team at Happy Pawes head over to their website or facebook page. As well as this great service for weddings they also have other services including a doggy daycare. dog training, cat training and cat minding.