It’s no shocker to anyone around here that we LOVE animals. It’s become more and more popular to bring your pet along to your engagement session or wedding and we are HERE FOR IT! Pets are part of the family too, right?! We are no strangers to this idea! After being a part of several weddings + engagement sessions with people’s animals (most specifically dogs!) we’ve learned a few tips that have been successful for us and our couples! We’ll reference dogs throughout, but these can apply to most pets!
1. Bring Treats
This is a no brainer and especially helpful for engagement sessions! Have your photographer hold a treat so your dog’s attention is on them. If you are having your dog walk down the aisle, practice it a lot before hand and get your dog used to getting a treat when they make it to you.
2. Wear Them Out
If you’re bringing your dog to an engagement session, take them for a loooong walk before hand! In our experience, the cute little dogs are usually so excited and full of energy when they first get to the location that they can be a bit spazy and that usually stresses out the couple. If your pup is tired and more calm when they get to the session they’ll be more likely to sit or lay down instead of trying to run away.
3. Baby Benadryl
We’ve never tried this ourselves (aka, I’m not a vet but I think this is okay! Do your own research though!) but a past couple of ours gave their dogs some baby Benadryl before their wedding so they’d be a little more calm and less anxious around all their guests and the new surrounding! It seemed to work well!
4. Have a Pet Babysitter
Whether this is for your wedding or engagement session, make sure someone else has the responsibility of taking care of your pet while you’re off doing your own thing! This doesn’t make you neglectful, just smart for planning ahead! You wont want to have to worry about your dog barking from the car at your engagement session or worried that they slipped out of the venue at your wedding!
5. Don’t Stress About Where They Look
In my opinion, I think the pictures of you and your fiancé playing with your dog how you usually would looks way more fun and authentic than trying to get everyone looking at the camera! Getting a few shots with everyone looking is awesome, but just know going into the session that it’s not always possible. Be okay with just loving on your pup and being in the moment!
Good lucky with your session + give all your doggos a friendly pat for us!
