Fish Bowl Cakes and Other Bad Wedding Plans

Now that the weather is warming up, wedding season is right around the corner. Of all the regrettable ways that people try to make their special day "memorable," using animals can be among the tackiest. Here are some of the more common bad ideas employed by party planners:

Fish Are Not Party Favors 

Some party planners recommend fish bowls as unique centerpieces. One site suggests including a packet of fish food to keep both adults and kids entertained. So, the fish may get fed along with all the guests ... but then what? If you're going to encourage the kids to interact with the decorations, who's going to make sure they're not tossing forkfuls of cake into the water? And what happens to all of those fish after the party's over? I doubt the bride and groom bring them on the honeymoon.

An even stranger twist on the living centerpiece is the fish bowl cake. I saw this gem on CakeWrecks: a two-tier wedding cake with the top tier held up by wine glasses filled with live fish. That's just unpleasant for the fish and the guests.

Fish are also recruited by wedding planners to serve as party favors. The website Wedding Plan Secrets says, "Large animals are out of the question as unique wedding party favors since not all guests might have the capacity to care for them, which leaves animals such as fish, turtles, birds, butterflies, and other smaller ones to consider." Well, I'm glad they left horses out of it, but you can't assume that all of your guests have the capacity — or the desire — to come home from the party with a living favor. Turtles and birds may be small, but they have particular needs and can live for years. Just because you're making a lifetime commitment at your wedding doesn't mean your guests should have to.

Decorations Don't Fly

Birds in flight are beautiful. So is a swarm of colorful butterflies. But neither of these should be made-to-order visions.

Last year, the Associated Press ran a story about more than two dozen white doves struggling to survive in a New York City park. It was suspected that the birds had been released for a wedding. The doves used in weddings are domesticated birds who cannot make it on their own. While some companies let the birds out of the box for the first time at the ceremony, many companies use trained homing pigeons. The International White Dove Society says they only use birds from white racing pigeon stock who "love to fly and have been bred and trained to be used over and over." Birds don't just love to fly, they love their freedom, not being "used" as pretty props.

Butterflies, on the other hand, are wild animals who aren't trained to come back. They're only "used" once, so they go from the box to the great wide open. Although some of them don't even make it that far. An article attempting to debunk "myths" about butterfly releases includes this comment, meant to reassure the buyer about the shipping death toll: "Extra butterflies are usually included just in case a couple would not survive."

Butterfly suppliers claim that they're only sent to environments where they naturally exist. Even if that's true, it can be as damaging to suddenly flood an area with one species as it is to eliminate a species. But I suspect that most suppliers aren't that careful about where releases happen; as long as they receive money and the bride receives a box of (mostly) live butterflies, no one thinks much about what happens to the critters after the event is over.

If you really want something flying in honor of your new life, consider sponsoring a wild bird release through an organization that rescues and rehabilitates injured and orphaned birds.

Pets in the Wedding Party

I'm not going to pick too much on dogs in the wedding party, except to give a word of caution. Weddings are overstimulating. Your dog would be much happier staying home, but if you're really set on including your pet in your wedding, assign someone you trust to make your pet her personal guest of honor. That means a commitment to constant supervision (wedding food is typically not the ideal diet for your pup and decorations can be dangerous if swallowed), including the responsibility of making sure your dog gets home safely when things get too overwhelming.

The best way to show your love of animals at your wedding is to ask your guests to make a donation to your local animal shelter in lieu of gifts. You have the rest of your life to include animals in a way that's compassionate and meaningful for everyone.

Photo credit: ledana9