I’m not one for living life with regret or in the past. It may be the Psychology side of me, but you can’t change it, so I just try to learn and move on. While that’s how I live life, there are still times I reflect on choices made and how I got there. With wedding related decisions, it’s all about how we landed on our decisions. While we wouldn’t change what we did, when reflecting on our wedding, we can’t help but think about the biggest thing missing from our wedding day. I’ve been asked a lot what was the one thing I wish could have been different about our wedding, so that’s what I’m talking about today!
First up, in case you’re new to my wedding posts, we had a destination wedding in Florence, Italy. You can read more on how we decided to have a destination wedding here. Ultimately, we had to be okay with everyone who wasn’t going to make it. We knew some family and friends wouldn’t be able to make the journey and our little pup was one of those. We rescued our sweet dog, Maddie in the summer of 2016 and she has brought so much joy to our daily lives since. Because we didn’t want a bridal party, we thought it would be great to have Maddie as our flower girl and be the only other one at the altar with us besides whoever married us. This was the biggest thing I personally went back and forth on with choosing our destination wedding! Because we got married in Italy, she couldn’t come and was the biggest thing missing from our wedding day! Well, her and our grandparents who couldn’t travel. Today, we’re talking all about our four legged bestie though.
It may sound a little crazy to anyone who isn’t a dog lover, but she really is such a part of our family. I looked into every possible way to get her over to Italy, but it just wasn’t safe for her, practical, or even really affordable. We were so sad to not have had her there, but ultimately am glad she was safe and happy back here at home. We sent her to a trainer while we were away so she was well cared for and productive. We for sure missed her on our big day, but all is well. We had a wonderful wedding and loved what we did. Because I know many of you will have the opportunity to have your four legged bestie (or besties) at your wedding, I wanted to talk about how to include your dog in your wedding day. Don’t have one yet? Don’t worry, I have an idea for you, too.
Have your dog(s) there to get ready with you and take pictures with you on the day of. That way, you get some time with your pup and some photos of all of you on your big day, without the stress of them at the ceremony. If you do want your dog at the ceremony, I say go for it! If you’re worried about your dog misbehaving, put someone in charge of holding them on a leash after they go down the aisle or whatever you need to do. If you want them there, they should be there. You can even get your florist to make your dog a floral collar or leash. I so would have done this with Maddie! She for sure would have tried to eat them, so just be sure any flowers you use are dog friendly, as some can be poisonous to dogs. Your dog can serve as your flower girl, ring bearer, maid of honor or best man.
If you don’t want your dog at your actual wedding, consider them in one of your engagement outfit shoots! We took pictures with Maddie for our holiday cards last year, so we had some ‘family photos’ of all of us. She’ll be in them again this year, too!
Don’t have a dog? If you and your spouse want one, I think there is no better time to get one! One of my best friend’s husbands got her a dog as her wedding gift. He surprised her on the day of the wedding with a collar with the dog’s name and their new last name and a picture of him. He was ready to be picked up when they got back from their honeymoon! Too cute.
There are so many fun ways to include your dog in your new family! Because lets be honest, for any of us without kids, they are our ‘fur children’ and are such an important part of each day of your life and your new family! Hopefully this helps all of you who want to find a way to incorporate your dog(s) into your big day! XO
Wedding Photos by Stephanie Parsley Photography
