WHERE I DRAW THE LINE

This week's Newsweek has a brief article about how the newest trend is to include dogs in wedding paties. Not as guests, mind you, but as "best men" or ring bearers or even as (get this) bouquets. Yes, some brides come down the aisle carrying a little lap dog rather than a fistful of flowers. (Though I guess in that case the dog doesn't qualify so much as a member as a member of the wedding party; more like, well, decoration.) One wedding planner in (where else?) Los Angeles was quoted as saying that 40% of her weddings now involve dogs.

My hubby tells me that he did a wedding once with a dog as ring-bearer. I think I could (barely) tolerate that, but I draw the line somewhere this side of dog as bridesmaid or best man. Come on, is this a solemn rite of passage or a circus? I refuse to add the gravitas of my role as clergy celebrant to this kind of side show. To me it speaks of disrespect for tradition, grandstanding (and God knows there's already enough of that at weddings), and not the slightest comprehension of the meaning of the ritual.

OTOH, the time will probably come when dogless brides will want to jump on the doggie bandwagon and will have to rent a dog just the way the groom rents a tuxedo. We could rent Berry out as a best man--he's already the best dog there is. And boy, could we teach him a lot about weddings!