Petiquette at weddings with Rox and Hettie
DID YOUR BELOVED PET MAKE THE GUEST LIST?
We have teamed up with Rox jewellers for a special blog on ways to include your pet on your special day
When it comes to romance, nothing quite says “love is in the air” like a wedding. Standing up in front of your family and friends to declare your lifelong commitment to each other is a highlight in the cute love story you share with your soulmate, and the memories you make together on this day will last forever.
An important part of planning the wedding of your dreams is mapping out all the romantic things to do and making sure everyone you love can be there to celebrate with you. For many of us, this includes our four-legged family members.
We explore some of the biggest wedding trends of the moment, as well as a few love story ideas for how you can include your pet in your paw-fect wedding day.
WEDDING TRENDS - CREATING A DAY TO REMEMBER
Every wedding is a unique experience. But in the last few years couples are finding quirky and unconventional ways to mark the occasion. You may be planning the best proposal idea and surprising your partner with their dream personalised diamond engagement ring, or designing a personalised diamond wedding ring. From choosing an inspired venue to having a themed wedding day, planning a wedding in the 21st century takes a lot of imagination, as well as organisational skills.
If you’re looking for inspiration, some of the biggest wedding trends in 2019 include serving a vegan wedding cake, festival weddings, asking for charity donations rather than gifts, statement veils, and walking down the aisle with your pets. In fact, in 2018, Esty reported that the trend of hosting a pet friendly wedding was making waves with over 30,000 related searches.
WAYS TO INCLUDE YOUR PET IN YOUR WEDDING
For animal lovers with pets in the family, there are lots of fun ways that you can make sure they get to join the wedding party. You can let your imagination go wild, but to get you started we’ve listed five ideas below.
PUP-OSAL
Who said diamonds and thrills are only for humans? When it’s time to pop the question, why not get your pet to help you deliver this exciting life event to give your proposal that little something extra.
Why not attach an engagement ring gift box and romantic note to your pet’s collar to surprise your partner? You could train your four-legged sidekick to amaze your partner with a personalised “will you marry me” sign to create the best proposal ever.
DRESS TO IMPRESS
Whether you’re going for classic glamour or contemporary chic with your wedding look, feeling great about the way you’re dressed on your big day is non-negotiable. Help your favourite four-legged friends look the part with pet wedding outfits and pet accessories they feel comfortable in.
We have a stunning collection of pet accessories on our website. Imagine your beloved pooch in some of our gorgeous flowers or a dog bow tie for their collar. You can even dress them in one of our Hettie dog coats or harnesses. We have a number of fabric choices to make it easy to coordinate with your colour scheme.
dog collar flower accessory
WALKIES DOWN THE AISLE
Looking good is a great start, but if your pet loves attention you could make them part of the ceremony itself. Carrying the wedding rings, flowers or taking on the role of usher. Dogs, horses, cats, goats and even alpacas have been known to add an original touch to wedding ceremonies across the UK in recent years.
Searching for your perfect wedding ring?
CELEBRATE WITH PAWSECCO
Weddings are full of delicious food and drink, and pets do love a good feast! To make the day an extra special occasion for your pet as well as you, why not order some nose-lickingly good Pawsecco for dogs and cats, in addition to their favourite snacks?
Pawsecco is alcohol-free pet “wine”, developed by experts and has been vet approved, so it’s the perfect party drink for your pet.
LASTING MEMORY
Wedding photos offer a beautiful memento of your big day, helping you keep your memories of the celebration forever. If you’re making a pet part of your wedding photos, do a bit of research to see if you can find a wedding photographer who also works with animals.
Not all photographers have the right skill set to capture pets beautifully on camera, so you might want to ask wedding photography candidates about their experience and if they have a portfolio of pet photography you can have a look at before you book.
Our family photographer Tom takes most of our lifestyle shots for Hettie - and he is also a professional wedding photographer . You can check out his lovely relaxed style here https://www.tomwoodphotography.com He is very used to photographing our family dogs and children :-)
OUR PROPOSAL FOR HOSTING A PET-FRIENDLY WEDDING
As with any wedding, research and preparation is key. When you are planning a pet-friendly wedding, there are a few more things to consider. Make your furry-friends feel a welcomed guest at your wedding with these tips.
Hettie Kate Tote bag
PET FRIENDLY WEDDING VENUE
Think about your ideal type of venue, the setting of your wedding is a crucial part of the experience, but have you checked whether your wedding venue allows pets? If you have a place in mind already that you know can accommodate pets, it is worth checking there is a space where your animal can relax and take time out from the party.
Hettie flower accessory
WEDDING PET ATTENDANT
You’ll need to think about keeping your pet happy and entertained while you’re busy celebrating too. Unless you’re planning to keep them by your side the entire day and night, it’s a good idea to ask someone in the bridal party, or one of the groomsmen, to act as your wedding pet attendant for the day. That way you can focus on enjoying yourself, while they take responsibility for making sure your pet is having a good time and is well looked after.
CHECK THE GUESTLIST
You may also want to check if any of your wedding guests have severe pet allergies, or if anyone is bringing children, so you can plan around that.
PACK THE PET ESSENTIALS
Finally, make sure you bring all the pet essentials you might need, and perhaps some home comforts, such as food, treats, water and food bowls, their favourite blanket or toy, and any toilet break products.
If you’re hosting a large wedding full of animals you may want to reach out to a pet wedding planner.
PETS AT CELEBRITY WEDDINGS
Celebrities can usually be relied on to keep ahead of the curve where the latest craze is concerned, and the pets at your wedding trend is no exception.
Way back in 2008, Ellen Degeneres and Portia DeRossi’s malti-poo mix Wolf and standard poodle Mable were especially cute witnesses at their wedding. Two years later, when Robbie Williams married Ayda Field in 2010, their eight dogs (yes, eight!) acted as bridesmaids at the ceremony. They all wore beautiful flower collars, posing next to the happy couple in the wedding photos.
More recently, in June 2019, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner’s dog Porky Basquiat stole the show at their glamorous French wedding, turning heads in a snazzy doggy tuxedo.
Sounds almost impossibly cute to us. No wonder pets at weddings are going mainstream!
Hettie dog collar bow tie