Families come in all shapes and sizes; for many of us, our pets make up the cornerstone of our families. When you go to the altar to make that lifelong commitment and begin creating a family, it almost feels wrong not to include such an essential part of that family. Whether you have an energetic chihuahua or a loyal German shepherd, having your pet by your side on your special day will make your wedding feel even more special. On top of that, who doesn’t love having dogs at weddings? With this in mind, it's important to check if you are booking with a pet-friendly wedding venue.
At Markovina Estate, we are a family-owned and operated venue with three generations of the Markovina family currently working to plan and deliver the perfect wedding for you. One crucial family member is our dog Marla, which translates to ‘little girl’ in Croatian. She is sometimes considered the unofficial mascot of the venue. While she is rarely on-site, reserved for days without events, she loves playing and exploring the grounds.
We promise your beloved pet will love our grounds, just like Marla does.
Bringing your pet to your wedding day can bring so much joy, but it poses a few challenges and things to consider before making that decision. These challenges include:
· Ensuring your pet stays well-behaved and quiet during formalities, such as the ceremony.
· Arranging food and water for your pet throughout the day.
· Organising transport to and from the venue.
· Assigning someone to act as a pet-sitter during the event.
· Being mindful of guests who may be allergic or slightly uncomfortable around animals.
· Preventing any potential damage pets may cause at the wedding venue.
With all of these in mind, there are a few ways to mitigate these issues and challenges.
The first and most important idea is to assign a guest or hire a dog sitter to watch the dog and ensure it behaves. Often, dogs will be happy wandering around and begging guests to pet them, but it's always good to have someone ready to step in when needed.
The team at Fluffy Bums - Pet Care are experts at this.
Another tip is to only have the dog during the post-ceremony cocktail hour. Requiring the dog to stay during the entire reception is a big ask for an excitable animal and could cause problems. Therefore, organising transport back home before the reception begins is often a great idea, meaning your pet will be ready for you when you return home after your wedding night. Other considerations will be very personality-dependent on your pet, and you will know what's best regarding including them on your wedding day.
For some couples, not only is their pet included in their wedding day, but it also partakes in the day's formalities, particularly the ceremony. Dressing your dog up in a four-legged suit to take the rings down the aisle as the ring-bearer or walk alongside you down the aisle will make for exciting photo opportunities and make your pet feel special, just like their parents, who are on the cusp of their lifelong commitment.
Hiring animals for your wedding
If you don’t have pets of your own but still want animals to be part of your celebration, there are creative ways to incorporate them into your wedding. One way to do this is to hire petting animals for your guests to come and pet through the post-ceremony cocktail hour. Our personal favourites are the alpacas, which are very friendly and fluffy animals that are always happy having people around. These social animals are sure to be a hit with your guests. They will keep family and friends occupied while you and your spouse take couples photos around the venues.
If you want to have a pet-friendly wedding, inquire at Markovina Estate. Our team would be happy to give you a tour of the venue and discuss how we can make your wedding day as special as possible.
