You're reading: Cool wedding, doggy-style

All wedding preparations are over: the floral arch is decorated, the balloons are up and the red carpet is rolled out. The bride has donned her perfect wedding gown, and the groom is looking snug in his dressy coat, running down the aisle towards the registrar before the first chords of the Mendelssohn march begin.

That may be because he’s very eager to tie the knot. But Iryna Ostapchuk, organizer of the wedding, thinks this is because the groom is a Yorkshire terrier and those dogs are so active that they can’t stand still, even for their own wedding.

Yes, this is a dog wedding, and it’s the proper, traditional kind. Except, perhaps, for the registrar, whose duties Ostapchuk is performing herself.

“I traveled to China with my husband once and there I first saw a dog wedding. It was a lot of fun,” recalls Kateryna Atamanchuk, the owner of the bride called Barbie, also a Yorkshire terrier. Atamanchuk also owns Rico, the salon for dogs where the wedding took place.

(Top) The maid of honor is dressed up to watch her friends get married. (Above) The marriage certificate was as real as the ceremony, with information about the canine couple and even their paw signatures.

She was the one who came up with the idea to throw a dog wedding in Ukraine. “Our dog Barbie just reached that time when she needs a man. We found one for her and then I thought, ‘why wouldn’t they get married?’” she says. “She is a virgin, he is her first man, everything seems to be just right.”

Barbie is just 1.5 years old, but a very spoiled girl. She is used to manicures, haircuts and makeup, and looked quite happy in her beautiful tiny wedding outfit. Her specially ordered two-tier bridal veil was decorated with beads and tiny flowers attached to her curled hair with pins. With 17 human guests around, there was also a canine maid of honor and best man, both looking their best.

The wedding cake was also decorated with doggy figurines.

The four-kilo chocolate wedding cake with nuts was also real and decorated with dog figures and nameplates of the newlyweds. But the new couple wasn’t supposed to get any of the sweets, just a marriage certificate.

“The bridesmaid and the best man got some cake, though, (they) just stole a piece from the plate,” Ostapchuk laughed. “Of course, this is a celebration for people, not for dogs. But it’s lots of fun –  a ceremony, cake, nice pictures with your little friends.”

The doggy wedding was a lot cheaper than a regular human affair, though. “We spent around Hr 2,000,” said Atamanchuck. The wedding gown for her Barbie cost Hr 600 and the manicure Hr 70, but the bride’s family also dished out Hr 500 on the groom’s outfit.

“I don’t think dogs need this,” said Yulia Savchenko, the owner of Alt, the groom. “And I don’t think we would do that if we had to pay at least something,” she said. Savchanko explained that they were just looking for a female of the same breed “to meet some (of their) dog’s natural needs.”

“When they offered us a wedding, we didn’t mind, at least our kids had fun,” Savchenko said. “Though I should confess I find the idea pretty crazy.”

After the two-hour ceremony ended, the newlyweds faced some tough issues, just like any other couple. “Of course they can’t live together, but they meet once a week to play and just to have a good time,” Ostapchuk said.

The other problem is marital fidelity. Although the wedding organizers claim both dogs are easy-tempered and love each other from the heart, canine specialists do not agree.

“Of course dogs can love. But adultery is not a problem for a dog couple. They can and most likely will have other partners,” said cynologist Evgeniy Bardulenko. “Animals don’t think of sex as a part of their devotion to each other, it is only the right scent that matters for them.”

Ostapchuk said there are no plans for divorce at the moment, but “we can organize it if the couple runs into some unsolvable problems,” she laughed.

Kyiv Post staff writer Daryna Shevchenko can be reached at [email protected].