Guest blog post presented by Ilana from Sugar and Type, a design studio with a serious passion for paper!
Hello Buffalo! I’m so excited to be a member of Buffalo Indie Weddings, rep’ping your sister city, Rochester! I started my business after getting my Bachelors of Fine Art from RIT, and it’s been an incredible journey. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some amazing clients, and it’s been so fun to share my own journey planning my own wedding!
__________________________________________________
If you follow me on Instagram, or know me in person, you know about my wonderful dog Dizzy, and how obsessed I am with dogs – it’s really no surprise I wanted to include Dizzy in every way possible surrounding love and our wedding. There are SO many ways to include your dog, and they’re all amazing in my opinion. Of course, a lot of them won’t work for you, but if you really want to include your pup, Erich Camping and I have a couple of ideas!
If you and your partner spend a lot of time outdoors or walking your dog, add that to your engagement photo list! Take your photographer to your favorite place to walk, and capture how special those walks are to you both. BIG hint: your dog can serve as a huge distraction during your engagement session – bring a friend to take your dog after you’ve gotten a couple shots with your pup so you and you couple can soak up the rest of the time without distraction and worry that your dog will run away and eat the photographers equipment.
If you want to include your dog on your wedding day (who doesn’t), how about having your dog at your house while you get ready? While getting ready at my parents house, we caught the adorable dog I grew up with, Mookie, laying right next to my dress, and it was pretty much the best thing ever. If you’re getting ready at a home this is a great option, since the dog is probably comfortable there it won’t be too chaotic for them or you!
Bow ties and bridal portraits with your dog? Sign me up! We don’t put clothes on Dizzy, but the bow tie is the perfect touch, and pretty much the cutest thing in the world (sorry babies on Halloween!)
If you’ve got a small dog that’s not a handful, having them at your ceremony, even indoors, shouldn’t be too difficult – see if some children will take care of him for the ceremony – it’ll keep them and the dog occupied. For our wedding, our dear friend Julia was instructed to hold Dizzy’s leash, and continuously feed him treats – it worked out great! Julia got to sit front row and see the ceremony, and Dizzy faced the crowd drooling and licking Julia’s fingers. Lucky for me, they were in my line of vision and I got to watch the whole thing – again bringing me tons of joy.
If your dog is the most amazing, talented and well behaved dog ever – bring him on the dance floor. This makes me super jealous and happy. This dog deserves a serious belly rub.
Thank you so much to Erich for sharing these amazing pictures with us! Show us how you included your dog in your love story (ps – did I mention Dizzy was our ring bearer and was holding the ring when Gregg proposed – yep, I’m a crazy dog lady!)