Couple makes their dogs the best man and maid of honor at their wedding

Dog is man’s best friend. So it is only fitting that dog is also his best man.

When Emma-Leigh and Shane Matthews tied the knot, they decided that their two pet malamutes would be their best man and maid of honor, and the end result was one of the cutest (and furriest) weddings ever:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXN49qolJWT/?taken-by=lifewithmalamutes

The Matthews run a popular Instagram account featuring their two malamutes, Phil and Niko, and their cat, Milo. The account, @lifewithmalamutes, has almost 300,000 followers and nearly 7,000 posts. So rather than having their siblings or college buddies duke it out for the right to stand next to them during their vows like most couples, the Matthews just chose Niko and Phil.

The hardest part, believe it or not, was finding a wedding venue that allowed dogs.

“Most venues we tried frowned upon dogs as soon as they saw the size of them or had too many rules about where the dogs could and couldn’t go,” Emma-Leigh told the Huffington Post.

Finding a venue that allowed cats was even harder, which is unfortunate because it looks like Milo was set on catching the bouquet:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXQON2QFifa/?taken-by=lifewithmalamutes

Luckily the couple finally found a mansion in Cumbria, England that allowed dogs, and the wedding was on. But how involved in the wedding were the dogs, really? I mean, I’ve been part of a wedding party before, and I thought it was a lot of work. And I have opposable thumbs and can speak English.

Well, as it turns out, they were very involved. On the day of the wedding, Niko got a flower collar while Phil pulled off double-duty as best man and wedding photographer with a Go Pro attached to his collar. And they both walked down the aisle with two (human) members of the wedding party.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXOQ5CTF0yn/?taken-by=lifewithmalamutes

“The dogs were part of every part of the wedding and didn’t really leave our side,” Emma-Leigh Matthews told the Huffington Post.

Phil and Niko were a big hit at the reception too, where they tore up the dance floor and posed for smiling selfies with guests.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXOJ_ndFlo1/?taken-by=lifewithmalamutes

After the success of this wedding, I’m hoping animals in wedding parties becomes the newest wedding trend. And I hope wedding venues see this story and start letting more animals in. Because let’s face it: Milo would have killed it at the singles table:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXFQvnzlU7N/?taken-by=lifewithmalamutes