Cats and Dogs in Your Wedding Ceremony

Falling in love is like owning a dog.

Our Furry Friends are important!  Often, they are the first "children" a couple may have.  More and more venues are allowing dogs to be at your wedding ceremony and it can be adorable and a lot of fun!  Cats may also be a big part of your life but not a good fit for a wedding ceremony!  If you are personalizing your wedding ceremony, there are some interesting ways to incorporate your animals.  

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What I Learned About Love, I Learned From My Dog
Author Unknown

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride together. Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
When loved ones come home always run to greet them.
When you want treats, practice obedience.
Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
Take naps together and stretch before rising.
Run, romp and play daily.
Be loyal.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
Thrive on the attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting, when a simple growl will do.
When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
No matter how often you’re scolded, don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout...
Run right back and make friends.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk together.
Love each other unconditionally

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How Falling in Love is like Owning a Dog
by Taylor Mali

First of all, it’s a big responsibility,
especially in a city like New York.
So think long and hard before deciding on love.
On the other hand, love gives you a sense of security:
when you’re walking down the street late at night
and you have a leash on love
ain’t no one going to mess with you.
Because crooks and muggers think love is unpredictable.
Who knows what love could do in its own defense?
On cold winter nights, love is warm.
It lies between you and lives and breathes
and makes funny noises.
Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs.
It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy.
Love doesn’t like being left alone for long.
But come home and love is always happy to see you.
It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,
but you can never be mad at love for long.
Is love good all the time? No! No!
Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love.
Love makes messes.
Love leaves you little surprises here and there.
Love needs lots of cleaning up after.
Sometimes you just want to get love fixed.
Sometimes you want to roll up a piece of newspaper
and swat love on the nose,
not so much to cause pain,
just to let love know Don’t you ever do that again!
Sometimes love just wants to go out for a nice long walk.
Because love loves exercise. It will run you around the block
and leave you panting, breathless. Pull you in different directions
at once, or wind itself around and around you
until you’re all wound up and you cannot move.
But love makes you meet people wherever you go.
People who have nothing in common but love
stop and talk to each other on the street.
Throw things away and love will bring them back,
again, and again, and again.
But most of all, love needs love, lots of it.
And in return, love loves you and never stops.

Mali. Taylor. “How Falling in Love is like Owning a Dog.” What Learning Leaves. Write Bloody Books.

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I married a couple several years ago that rescued cats.  The groom would rescue them and take care of them and then his mom would find homes for them. Or, like, the cats they could let go of after falling in love with them!  I gathered quotes I could find about cats and then gave them meaning that applies to love and marriage.  It made a very cute final blessing for their wedding ceremony.

I have a few closing words for you about love.  In my quest to bring these pearls of wisdom into your everyday lives I thought comparing love to Cats and quotes about them would be appropriate.

First, “There is, incidentally, no way of talking about cats that enables one to come off as a sane person.”   

That could also be said about love.

“With the qualities of cleanliness, affection, patience, dignity, and courage that cats have, how many of us, I ask you, would be capable of becoming cats?”

  Keeping this in mind, as a married couple, your home will not always be clean, patience can run thin, affection may wane and dignity can sometimes be stepped on.  Good thing you aren’t asked to be cats - you are simply asked to be human, trying your best, putting love first and forgiving and moving on.

“As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human kind.”

That’s a great lesson to learn from a cat!

“Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this."

Take time to remember when you first fell in love you also worshiped each other - it may come in handy!

“A meow massages the heart “

And lastly, "No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens." -Abraham Lincoln