Our Furry Children Contribute Wedding Entertainment

by Kathi MacNaughton
(Boise, ID)

My husband, Jim, and I finally got married a year ago, in June 2009, after more than 10 years together. No one could ever accuse us of rushing into anything!

Anyway, it was a second marriage for both of us, and though my children participated as my attendants, we also knew it was important to include what we affectionately call our "second litter" or our "furry children," our 3 dogs.

We picked a magical outdoor wedding spot on the shores of a mountain lake in the Idaho Rockies. Our wedding was always intended to be casual, with just a few close family members in attendance. We decided that the dogs would walk down the wooded "aisle" with me (the bride) and my two attendants, my daughters.

That's when the fun began...

First off, you have to understand that while our dogs love me, they absolutely ADORE my husband. I call him the dog whisperer, because they follow him everywhere and are over the moon every time he returns home from a day at work.

So, the second the dogs caught side of "Daddy" as we started to walk down the path toward the lake, our black lab, Cheyenne, took off like a rocket, pulling my daughter like crazy, and the other 2 dogs (a Boston terrier and a Shih Tzu) weren't far behind.

Once we got to the lake, they calmed down a little, but part way through the ceremony, the lab decided it was time for a dip and pulled my poor daughter into the shallows of the lake! Now, although it was June, it had snowed that morning and the water was COLD.

We managed to contain them the rest of the ceremony, but it definitely provided some comic relief. Our BT served as ringbearer, with the rings tied to his collar. And when we watched the videos afterward, we realized the BT, Gizmo, had been whining throughout the ceremony, because he couldn't reach "Daddy."

Some people might have thought we were ridiculous for including such boisterous dogs in such a momentous occasion, but now that our human children are all grown, our dogs are our babies and we love them to pieces.

And for my husband and I anyway, the dogs provided another fond, though funny, memory of our joyous wedding day.