Oh, yes one important point about my friend. I don’t think the horse was actually in the aisle of guests. I think she did photos with the horse and rode the horse TO the aisle then dismounted.
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I’m going to agree with the other’s that have said, do a photo shoot after the wedding with the horse, maybe do some additional photos of you in your wedding dress and your (then husband) on another day after the wedding when you aren’t rushed and take the time to set up some beautiful photos.
Too many potential hazards and things that could easily go wrong and ruin your wedding day.
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I know a few people who have gotten on after the wedding for photos. As others have noted, the challenge with going down the aisle is attempting to dismount gracefully. Plus with the number of people, flowers, props etc, the gauntlet that is the aisle could be very spooky. I would be very leery of the horse spooking or kicking and injuring a guest.
They ensured:
-horse was familiar with the big dress
-horse was handled by BO (e.g. an experienced handler)
-horse was in familiar environment (e.g. on their own farm) or had a buddy so they were not in an unfamiliar environment alone. For those who did ship off property, horse was also a veteran shipper, and was generally fine in different environments.
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I know of one wedding at which the bride rode to the top of the aisle (the wedding was also held at her farm) and then dismounted to walk the rest of the way. Kind of a nice compromise! Not sure the link will work, but here’s a pic of the bride aboard her horse: https://www.instagram.com/p/BK6eu9kh2jF/?taken-by=somethingbleubridal . I wish I had ridden my horse down the aisle! Instead, I had her brought to the church so she could be my bridespony :D. My BO had her all decked out in ribbons - it meant a lot having her grazing just outside the window during the ceremony!
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I did photos with my horse the morning of the wedding. It helped that I had a lot of horsey people around to help, including a bridesmaid’s BF who worked at the track and was an excellent horse handler. one of my other bridesmaids got up at the crack of dawn and took my horse for a loooong ride before bathing/braiding him up. And my Maid of Honor was the guinea pig who hopped on in her dress when we started the shoot to see if he was going to freak. So he was prepped. 
It helped that that we were at the family farm so no trailering to foreign places, and we did it first thing when the photographers arrived before guests were around and things were crazy. The photos are wonderful, but I could never had done an entrance/exit with him. I was an emotional mess by the time I got to the aisle so adding a horse wouldn’t have helped…instead we all came and went on a hay wagon pulled by an antique tractor.
Sorry but IMO, drugging your horse so he can be in your wedding seems like a pretty narcissistic thing to do.
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I’ve got two horses who are special to me. My dream wedding would be at my parents farm overlooking one of the ponds. I haven’t decided if I would leave them in the field, if I’d have someone holding them, or if I’d just take pictures with them after.
I know they’d stand at the fence and watch the whole thing, but I’d hate to risk them getting dirty if I wanted pictures with them.
I’d hate for them to have a meltdown during the ceremony. Both are seasoned show horses, but you never know when a giant deerfly is going to come land where they can’t get it.
I think in the end what I’ll do is have them bathed and braided, left in their stalls with the fan on. And after we’ve done all the regular pictures I’ll take some pictures with them. By that point I won’t care if they step on my dress or snort boogers all over me.
Maybe you could do something like that instead of riding?
He didn’t care at all. There were no ill physical effects and no one got hurt. If that’s the logic, then drugging him for anything I want to do is narcissistic. As a matter of fact, riding him at all is narcissistic. He certainly would rather be standing in the pasture eating grass. Frankly, were it me, I think I’d rather be a tiny bit sedated than work hard under saddle. IMHO.
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I was just stating my opinion. I think it is pretty frivolous to drug an animal for our own vanity rather than for reasons of health and or welfare. You are certainly entitled to your opinion and can treat your horse how ever you want.
ETA: yes I do believe that drugging a horse for anything other than the health and welfare of the animal is not in their best interest so I suppose I would agree with your statement " drugging him for anything I want to do is narcissistic" if it is not medically indicated.
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Yes ma’am. I share your sentiment.
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I got married on the farm where I keep my horse and it was great - but I didn’t include him at all… This thread is making me think that maybe I should have at least pulled him out for pics. However, my dog was very much involved. He ran the rings down the aisle and hung out for the entire reception.
We had a pre-ceremony cocktail hour so people would be in good humor for the big event. My dress was short, my best friend got ordained and married us, we had a dog for a ring bearer, and all our guests sat on hay bales (with a few chairs thrown in for those who couldn’t physically or safely sit on bales)… It was a blast!
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I was MOH in a friend’s wedding that was held on her parents’ farm. The ceremony (and reception) was held in their large back yard, with the pergola where they got married close to the pasture fence. They had the horses turned out in that field directly behind the ceremony, and of course the horses hung over the fence the entire time. There were some super cute photos. My friend, though, didn’t want the hassle of getting on and off, and this was her compromise to include them.
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Have you considered how you will prevent having brown/black saddle marks on your dress? Even if your saddle is clean, some of the dye will likely transfer onto your white dress.
Ask anyone who wears white breeches. :o
Have a beautiful day how ever you get to the altar!
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I think you could do whatever you like. Desensitize your horse to the dress fabric. Wear long skirts and drape them over his rump as you ride. Practice getting on and off with several people around you. Practice camera flashes all around. Do everything you can to practice the elements ahead of time so that it becomes old hat for him.
I’ve done several big dress things with horses though not a wedding. It’s generally a good idea to have at least 3 people helping you mount or dismount. Person 1 holds the horse. Person 2 helps the actual mounting or dismounting. Person 3 is in charge of the dress. Depending on what is important to you, any of those people can be in charge of when and how things happen.
I would also make sure that your aisle is plenty wide and maybe even have strategic horse friendly people so they are between your horse and your frail and elderly relative or inquisitive and quick toddler.
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HaHaHa… Arenas who need em!
I’m too scared to try this lol. Instead, after the ceremony my horse will be brought to the location so I can get pictures with her and then she will be sent home!
I’ve been married for 15 years. Small church service, my trainer hauled horse to photo site so we could take photos of me with horse in my dress. Horse was a champ, very well behaved (no drugs), and it worked out just fine. I have a lovely photo of me with horse on wedding day in dress. In hindsight, I really wouldn’t bother. It was a lot of fuss for what, really?
Your horse is going to be physically present at the wedding site. What, exactly, is the point of riding her down the aisle (please note, neutral tone here, I’m not judging or being sarcastic, just asking you to really think about why you want to do this)? Will it really matter in five years time if you rode her, or if you have some photos with her after? Weddings properly executed are a lot of fun. If there is stress, tension, or uncertainty in the execution that can be avoided, I would highly recommend going the route that reduces uncertainty.
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Just wanted to stop by here and say: I DID IT. My OTTB walked me down the aisle with me on his back. It was perfect, the wedding photos are AMAZING, and there were NO issues. PERFECT all around.
Some sneak peek photos:
|One is a cell phone photo, hence the quality.
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I didn’t have a caring father to walk me down the aisle, so it was important to have something special in place of that. This was my something special. My Matron of Honor helped to guide him down the aisle for safety should have have decided to get frisky. He was a saint. He always is.
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That looks like a gorgeous wedding! Congratulations to you and your new husband. And what a lovely, lovely horse.
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