If you consider your pet to be a full-fledged family member, then you may have considered bringing them to your wedding. How could you possibly celebrate without them? Thankfully, it’s not as difficult as you might think! With the right preparation and planning, it’s totally possible to not just include your pet in the wedding details, but to actually have them there WITH you! Here are our tips for how to bring your pet to your wedding.

Have your pet groomed the week of the wedding

Regardless of whether you’re bringing a dog, a cat, or a tarantula, it’s important that they look their very best on the big day! This is especially true if your pet has long fur that might need to be trimmed or styled.

Before bringing your pet along for the ride on the big day, be sure they have been freshly groomed. This might mean bringing them in for a bath and getting their fur trimmed or brushed out so they look their cutest when posing for photos with you and your partner.

You may also want to consider having them professionally groomed if they need something more than just a quick spruce up. If so, make sure to book an appointment with a reputable groomer in advance – nothing like last minute stress!

Exercise your pet before the wedding

It’s always a good idea to exercise your pet at least once before the wedding starts – this will help them burn off some energy and keep them relaxed around strangers throughout the day. Depending on what type of pet you have, this could mean anything from going for a long walk or giving them lots of playtime.

However, you and your partner will be busy on the wedding morning, which means you will likely need to enlist some help!

Have someone take care of your pet at the wedding

You’ll have way too much on your plate to worry about your pet on your wedding day! If possible, find someone who will watch over and take care of your pet throughout the day. This could be a friend or family member who knows them well, or you could hire someone to watch them.

To ensure peace of mind (and free up time for yourself), consider hiring a professional pet sitter who specializes in events like weddings, so that you (and your family) don’t have to worry about bringing them along with you for every single event throughout the day.

Hire a wedding pet care business

Did you know there are businesses like Fairytail Petcare that provide wedding day pet services? Rather than hiring a pet sitter, you can book with a company that does this for a living! They’re used to working with couples to figure out the best ways to fit your pet into your day. They’ll watch your pet throughout the day, and bring them to you when it’s time for photos or other wedding events.

Animal care businesses often even provide food and water bowls, leashes and collars (which may even come with custom details such as fresh flower collars or bowties), treats, waste bags, and more! It’s worth looking into these services because they can help make life easier on both you and your pet during a busy wedding day.

Bonus: Accessorize!

If possible, give your pet something fun to wear to your wedding! This could be anything from a fresh flower collar for cats and dogs to a cute bowtie for small animals like hamsters and guinea pigs (yes, people really do bring those kinds of pets!). If you have enough time before the wedding, it could be fun to get creative and make something yourself – just make sure it won’t bother or irritate their skin.

Bringing a pet to your wedding is definitely possible—it just takes some extra preparation and planning ahead of time! Be sure to have them groomed before the big day, find someone who will watch over them throughout the festivities (or hire a professional pet sitter!), look into local businesses that offer wedding services tailored towards animals, exercise them at the beginning of the day so they have less energy around strangers, and reward them with treats when they behave well! With these tips in mind, there’s no reason why you can’t make sure your furry friend is part of all of those special memories on one of the most important days of your life!