Pets are not just fun-loving, furry creatures, they are also a part of the family. For many, that means that they’d love to have their pet be a part of their wedding day! Meet Veronica Silva, the President of Pawfect for You, a wedding day pet care company. Ms. Silva had a dream of having her baby be a part of her wedding pictures and figured out a way to make it happen. “Oh gosh – he’s my baby! My baby had to be there!!! It honestly just started as wanting him to be a part of pictures. We were having these professional pictures done, pictures that I figured I would be framing and displaying around our house – so I wanted our pictures with him,” says Ms. Silva. After figuring out how to make her dream happen, she decided to offer the services to other pet parents, and Pawfect for You was born.
Why do you think Pawfect for You has been so successful?
LOL! I always joke that its combination of sheer luck and good marketing. In 2016, I spent a lot of time reaching out to planners in the industry to let them know that this type of business existed. I finally heard back from one in 2017, frantic that with three weeks left before the wedding they had to figure out how to get a dog from Manhattan to Westchester for a clients’ wedding. I said no problem, that’s what we do! It just so happened that the executive producer of Brides.com was one of the bridesmaids at that wedding and loved the service so much that she asked to run a feature on us the very next month. Our Brides.com feature last year really put us on the “map” so to speak. All joking aside, there is a lot of time, dedication, hard work, and patience that goes into making it successful.
Describe one of your favorite wedding experiences with a pet.
Hmm… that would probably have to be the first time I got to a venue with the dog and the bride started to cry when I got there! That’s happened a few times now, but I remember the first time it happened because it was like “oh wow, I really made her day!”
How do you choose pet attendants that work for Pawfect for You?
Interesting question because it certainly is an interesting process. There’s a link on our website that potential sitters apply to. Every few months when I decide we need more sitters in an area, or we’re going to expand into a new city, I go to the application pool. From there I reach out to the applicant and invite them to either a 1:1 session with me or webinar about us or how we operate. Would you believe that 1 out of every 2 applicants don’t respond when I email them?!!! I almost think to myself why did you bother to apply? So that makes it easy to weed out applicants LOL! For the ones that do reply back, I then do a little “social media stalking” – just basic checks that nothing alarming is displayed. I did have one applicant earlier this year whose profile picture was of himself smoking a joint. That was a bit alarming, so he was quickly disqualified! After my initial phone conversation with the applicant about how the attendant position works, we then do a 1:1 so I can get to know them better and then proceed forward with a background check. Even though it’s a not a requirement, every one of our attendants is a pet owner so they have a good sense of how to provide personal care and attention to our fur clients.
Have you had other pets besides dogs at a wedding?
No, but I am really hoping for an owner with a teacup pig to reach out!!! We advertise Wedding Day Pet Care, but it has been mostly dog owners that reached out. Of the last 500+ requests this past year that we handled, we had 2 requests for cats, but never heard back from the owners after the initial inquiry. I suspect that most cats don’t do well in public settings, so perhaps a family member or friend talked them out of the idea. Although, I always say that owners know their pets the best, so if they think their kitty would do well at a wedding, we’re happy to bring them for you!!
What advice would you give to couples?
Call us and book early!!! There is so little information about how to include your pet in your wedding, and it’s often the item that is left to the last minute. We’re doing a BIG push on getting content out to couples around the topic (thank you Martine for all your hard work on said content LOL!), but we know that there’s a still a gap on where to start. Schedule a call with us to get the ball rolling early. We can give couples some guiding points on what to think about and discuss the various options that are available for including their pet in the wedding day. Much like any other wedding vendor, book as early as possible. We can always adjust the final timeline as we get closer to the wedding date, but it is important that you reserve us early on in the planning process.
If you’re interested in learning more about Pawfect and Ms. Silva, come meet her in person at the Empowering The Capable Bride event on June 21. Can’t make the event? Contact us to learn more about how we can simplify your wedding day planning process.