Brides and grooms looking for signature wedding details that won’t break the bank can make an impression by inviting a guest-of-honor that everyone is sure to remember: their pet.

Petfinder.com, the largest online database of adoptable pets and No. 1 pet-related site in the country, offers the following tips for those who are considering adding a furry friend to their bridal party:

Make sure your ceremony and reception locations allow pets before finalizing your plan.

Take photos with your dog before the wedding or on a different day. Animals can sometimes be like children in photo sessions — they don’t always have the best attention spans.

Do you have an “easily-excitable” pooch? Does your dog love table scraps? Many pets may not handle large crowds and intense situations well. Know your pet before making the decision to include them in your special day. You should consider tailoring your wedding plans to fit your pet’s needs, too.

One of the most common ways to add “woof” to a wedding ceremony is to include your pet as part of the wedding party, such as a ring bearer. Depending on how well trained your dog is, this plan can be a no-brainer — or a source of anxiety. It’s probably a good idea to rehearse with your dog before the ceremony, and you can have a member of the wedding party walk him down the aisle on a leash if necessary, with a pillow tied on his back. If your dog has a favorite bed or perch, you can keep it right up at the front near the altar. That way, he’ll know right away where his “spot” is, and will probably stay put throughout the ceremony.

At the reception, you might consider a pet-safe wedding cake for your dogs to munch on, or even matching keepsake water bowls for your and your partner’s dogs and cats.

If you have a lot of pets, or plan on inviting any guests with especially sociable furry friends, think about having an animal zone at the reception — making space for everything from birdcages, to cat trees, to a small fenced-in dog run (if the reception is outside).

And if you do decide to welcome a large number of animal guests at your party, it’s probably a good idea to hire a dog sitter or animal wrangler to keep an eye on them. That way, you spend no time worrying, and all your time celebrating.

Another fun idea is to include personalized pet-themed gifts in your guests’ goody bags — and there is no shortage of specialty animal swag available across the country, and on the web. Such treats as personalized puppy shirts, bone-shaped frames, or small bags of high-quality birdseed will make your guests and their pets feel special.

Of course, you can always ride in on your horse, wear a snake around your neck, or use your several hamster wheels as centerpieces. But whether you go for something romantic, whimsical, weird, subtle, or totally over-the-top, your wedding planning should be a reflection of you, your partner, and the life you’re building together with the people and pets you love. Plan whatever arrangements will make you the happiest.

Above all, remember this: just like that dreaded seating chart, a little careful preparation for your pets goes a long way to making your special day relaxed and memorable.

Sources: Rebecca Phillips, Petfinder.com

Celebrity dog: Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan married in a surprise ceremony in Palo Alto, CA in May. Chan was escorted down the aisle by Zuckerberg’s 1-year-old Puli named Beast.

TheWeddingOutlet.com and MyFormalDog.com offer a wide selection of “dog of honor,” “best dog,” and “dog ring bearer” items. Take a look for ideas you might want to incorporate in your own wedding. PawsitivelyPurrfectProducts.com offers a petal dispensing cart that can be hooked up to a dog acting as flower child.

If you think your dog is too rambunctious to participate in the wedding and reception, some brides have used photos of their dogs as table number identifiers by taking as many photos of the dog as there are table numbers, switching the number in the photo and then placing the photos on the tables. More ideas like this can be found at TheKnot.com/.

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