Teddy | 9.24.21 | Lyons, CO

Before the idea of Pup Plus One was born, I was working full-time at a not-so-corporate-but-not-what-I-wanted-to-do job and dog sitting on the side, using Rover. When Nick and Karla reached out to me to watch their adorable golden doodle, Teddy, I was overjoyed (and not just because he was quite literally a teddy bear). To my surprise, Nick and Karla were getting married in Lyons, Colorado and asked if I could not only watch Teddy for their wedding weekend, but if I could bring him to their wedding! Not quite knowing what this entailed, but being the total romantic and dog-lover than I am, of course I said I DO.

On the day of Nick and Karla's wedding, Teddy and I dressed for the occasion and headed just down the road to Planet Bluegrass in Lyons. I feel incredibly fortunate to be located in a location central to so many beautiful wedding venues in and around Boulder County. From there, I handed him off to the best man, who was to escort him down the aisle. Before the ceremony began, I took my place in the front left row so Teddy would have a front row seat to his pawrents wedding. To be honest, I was SO nervous about how this would go, because after all, dogs will be dogs, and a wedding ceremony is typically without interruption. We sat all the way to the outside in case I needed to get up and walk him around, but Teddy was a champ throughout the entire ceremony. After Nick and Karla said their "I do's" and walked down the aisle as newlyweds, I escorted Teddy down the aisle and straight into cocktail hour.

This is arguably my favorite part of what I do. Not only are dogs the best wedding dates (don't tell me partner), everybody is overjoyed to get to love on the dog of honor. It is a true testament to how loved they are by not only their pawrents, but all of their friends and family, too. Needless to say, Teddy was the star of cocktail hour and their guests loved having him there. . . just take a look for yourself!

After assisting with some family photos and making our final rounds before the reception, Teddy and I headed home where he got to frolic on our property while his parents danced the night away with their two-legged loved ones.

Several months after Nick and Karla's wedding, I was still reminiscing on how much fun I had as Teddy's date. Around that same time, I knew I needed a serious shift in work. Something that aligned with my core values and my core nature. Thus, Pup Plus One was born. What started as an ordinary dog sitting request turned into the perfect balance between what I'm good at and what I love, and I couldn't be more grateful for Nick and Karla's desire to include Teddy on their wedding day.

Here's to many more wedding dogs!