When Kimberley and Matthew started planning their dream wedding, one thing was certain: Cooper, their furbaby, had to be there! As a picturesque, pet-friendly wedding venue in Cumbria, we were ecstatic to host this energetic Cockapoo as the true VIP of the wedding party, and we asked him to share a few, erm, words on his tail-wagging experience.

Photos throughout this blog courtesy of Wagging Tails Weddings.

My Mum and Dad got married at Rose Castle, and it was a party with all our friends that lasted the whole weekend!

I knew something special was going to happen when I got picked up for my pamper session at the parlour on Friday. The nice humans from Wagging Tail Weddings who picked me up told me I needed to look spiffy for the big day, being the groom's best boy and all! "Every groomer says I'm a good boy, of course!" I thought.

Little did I know by “groom" they meant Dad! And he and Mum could have been on the cover of Vanity Fur with how royal they looked posing against the backdrop of Rose Castle's beautiful grounds. Me, Mum and Dad explored all the Castle’s rooms, like the 16th-century Chapel with the colourful window and The Bishop's Library with the big desk. I even got treats for getting up on the furniture for the pictures!

All the humans at Rose Castle were so hospitable and attentive the whole weekend. They made sure me, Mum, Dad and all our friends had everything we needed. I'm sure they even made the Bishop's Lawn extra green for playing! And the gardens! Friends, these gardens are so big and full of flower smells, nature sights, and animal sounds they make my favourite park look like a dog's breakfast—and I don't mean woofles!

During the reception, my chaperone, Cameron from Wagging Tails, made sure I could explore any part of the Castle grounds I wanted. Between the Pettinger's Garden, the fruit tree orchard, and the vegetable and apothecary gardens, there were so many spaces to choose from I never got bored! But first, I inspected Cooper's Biscuit Bar—my favourite part of the whole pawty where humans could take treats for their furbabies back home!

When it was time to say goodnight, we went to sleep in one of Rose Castle's pet-friendly rooms–did you know they have not one but two rooms for furbabies like me? On the first night, I stayed with Mum and Dad in the first room, and on the second night, I stayed with Nan and Grandpa in the second room! Like all the other rooms, these have been refurbished for ulti-mutt luxury; I slept so well it was like being back home! Two paws up!

On our last day at Rose Castle, we had a delicious bark-beque on the lawns with a cocktail bar, which everyone enjoyed very much. Being outside in the warm sun, playing on the green grass, and celebrating with all our friends was so much fun. Many people said it was the best wedding weekend they’d ever been to!

It was paw-some to see everything come together so beautifully after months of dedicated planning from Mum. She was extra involved with everything for her special day, and she even arrived first, before anyone else, to set up the seating plan and signs she had designed.

With the help of everyone from Rose Castle, Mum and Dad's wedding weekend turned out to be way better than what they even thought was paw-ssible! We love it here so much, I've already told Mum and Dad I want to have my birthday party here in October, so maybe I’ll write another blog all about that!

I’m so happy I got to be there to share Mum and Dad's wedding weekend with them, and for all the treats I got for being the best boy ever!

Cooper’s story is proof that every furbaby deserves to be a part of their mum and dad's special day, and a pet-friendly wedding venue like Rose Castle is the paw-fect place for your furry tail ending! Book a visit now to see Rose Castle, and bring your furbabies along, too!