Welcome once again to the big debate on Bride Vs Groom, the smoking battleground for the wedding industry; this, ladies and gentlemen is The Friday Fight-out! This is the place where we take an idea, style or theme for a wedding, find the advantages and disadvantages, take to our corners and fight to decide which way to go. So cue up the entrance music, pull on the gloves and get ready for this week’s big friday fight!
Treat your dog, cat, horse or albatross as a close member of the family? Can’t imagine spending the most important day of your lives without them? Or can you imagine nothing worse than having dogs barking, cats meowing parrots squawking, tortoises… tortoising(??) through your wedding? Lots of people like to incorporate their much loved animals in their wedding but is it a good idea? I smell a fight coming on… at least I hope it’s a fight, with all these animals around you never know… Let’s go: Pets Vs No Pets
In the blue corner, confining the critturs to their cages (only for the wedding…and they’re really big cages, honest… please don’t shout at me!!!) His dog once wrecked filming of a scene of ITV’s Heartbeat by chasing a sheep into the Aidensfield arms during the middle of filming it’s Matt “The Gormless” Groom.
In the red corner… hang on… really? Dom’s not…? Ok… Barking out the wedding march on behalf of the animal kingdom and trying to remember not to sniff any posteriors during the ceremony it’s Paddington “The Small Dog” Marmalade Shaw!
Contenders ready? Bring it!! Oh, sorry Paddington, that translates, shockingly enough as “Blah blah? Woof!!”… I think Dom might have to help you out a little here!
Matt: No matter how well behaved your pet is at home, put them in an unusual situation with a big crowd of people and animals can become seriously unpredictable. Having an animal at the ceremony is only cute up until the moment they tear the place to shreds!
Small Dog: Pets are family members too, why should we be left SQUIRREL!!!! Sorry, little distracted… why should we be left out of a day when all the rest of your friends and loved ones will be there?
Matt: Friends and family members, on the whole, don’t feel the need to mark the altar as their personal property, or halfway up the aisle for that matter!
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Small Dog: ONE TIME…JUST ONE TIME THAT HAPPENED…MUST you go on about it? Anyway, as long as a family member is assigned to look after your furry friend and the proper constraint is used it shouldn’t be a problem!
Matt: It’s not just animals running about that’s the problem, dogs for example Mr. Small Dog have been known to bark from time to time, particularly when being kept away from their owners, and often at a somewhat inconvenient moment!
Small Dog: Firstly we don’t like to call them owners, we dogs prefer to call them “servants” or “two legged bringer of food”. Secondly a tasty treat works wonders in keeping us quiet… by the way do you per chance have a biscuit? Pair of socks’ll do if not? Anyway, kids are just as likely to do make noise… in fact more so!
Matt: NEVER work with children or animals!
Small Dog: It’s not just your own pets we’re talking about here though… what if one of the guests has a guide dog… are you going to stop them coming in?
Matt: Lots of venues won’t allow pets inside anyway.
Small Dog: Well then if you’re planning on bringing your pet to the wedding enquire early on before booking the venue whether it’s possible: if not and you’re desperate to bring them then get married somewhere else! Alternatively just get married in a kennel.
Matt: Someone has to be assigned to looking after your pets all day. They will need to be watched and looked after, maybe taken for walks, fed, be ready to leave the ceremony with the animal if it becomes unhappy… that person is potentially going to miss parts of the wedding and have lots of responsibility all day rather than being allowed to relax and enjoy!
Small Dog: Animals can even play an active part in the wedding! Well trained dogs like me make great ring-bearers, and I’ve even see some of those stupid big chirpy flying things trained to fly across the room carrying the ring in it’s beak and deliver it to the groom or best-man!
Matt: That’s great if it goes according to plan, but animals are temperamental and there’s always the chance they’ll eat – or in your case run out into the garden and bury – the ring! It’s a huge chance to take and likely to end in disaster!
Small Dog: People love seeing cute animals like me at weddings and we can act as a great ice-breaker as people come over to make a fuss of us and get talking to whoever we’re hanging out with at the same time!
Matt: You’re NOT coming to the wedding Small Dog!
Small Dog: Actually it’s YOU that’s not coming… she’s MY mistress… I’m going to marry her! I will protect her, I will watch out for her, I will always be by her s… hang on is that an evil Meower? In MY GARDEN??? Be right back…
FINAL REMARKS:
Matt: You may be close to your pets and they may even be a cute addition, but bringing them to your wedding day adds an element of risk that surely isn’t worth it! They can make noise, they can break loose, they can have accidents or just rip the place to shreds!! No matter how well you think you’ve trained them animals always react differently in different situations and it’s surely better not to introduce additional, unnecessary risks!
Small Dog: Argumentative woof!
So there we have it, Pets or no pets: you’ve heard the arguments now it’s for you to make up your mind. Let us know whether you think having your furry (or scaley…let’s not be racist!) companions is a good idea or not via our comments section. In the meantime though… “Small Dog…WALKIES!!!”
“Excited Woof!”
