Flower dog, mutt-of-honor, best pooch. Philly’s Bow Wow Weddings gets them all to the church on time

The course of true love never did run smooth, said the bard Billy Shakespeare.

And so on the day of David Song and Marisa Savic’s ultimately fabulous wedding, gray clouds were threatening rain on their outdoor Bok Bar venue, two of the groomsmen ran late, and over in the reception staging area, the wedding planner had to spring into Plan B: The iceman did not cometh.

But one part of this nuptial was steadfast: Mr. Ewok.

Best pooch and ring dog, the couple’s scruffy-but-stoic little terrier was on time and looking fine in his navy and lime doggy tux, PetSmart coiffure, with precious wedding band cargo in tow.

“He’s doing a great job,” said Myles Ragin.in would know.

He’s the Philly half of Bow Wow Weddings, a service that will do whatever it takes to have your canine be part of your special day. Chauffeur, personal attendant, overnight minder. You name it, the Bow Wow guys have your dog covered.

Ragin, 28, cofounded the business in December 2021 with Don Valentine, 27, a Pittsburgh buddy who had been a fellow accounting major at Robert Morris University. By the time they were upperclassmen, the friends realized — a bit late, granted — that maybe they didn’t want to crunch numbers for the rest of their lives. So they told each other if the right business idea came along, they’d do it together.

A few years ago, Valentine was thinking about proposing to his then-girlfriend, so he started checking out wedding groups online. People kept bemoaning — they wanted their dogs at their weddings but had no one to help them.

“Somebody was trying to coerce their Uber driver to do it,” Ragin said. “Donnie said, ‘Maybe we can do this.’”

In the end, Valentine’s own wedding didn’t happen, but the Bow Wow Weddings idea had legs — and a tail.

The men still have their accounting jobs, but they’ve been busy on weekends, on the western and eastern sides of the state, plus New Jersey, Delaware, and, in time they hope, New York.

Ragin and Valentine, both dog lovers, tailor their services to whatever couples need — photo assistance, including dressing dogs and wrangling them for the camera; ceremony help, like aisle escorting or minding them at the reception, and pet sitting the night before or after the wedding.

They have several packages, ranging from the Chihuahua (overnight pet sitting, plus photo, ceremony, and reception assistance) to the Great Dane for destination weddings. Their minimum charge is $350, and packages run from $599 to $1,299.

No one has asked yet, but they’d even pack a bag and help out on the honeymoon.

As with any job, there are challenges. Like Gracie the pit bull who wouldn’t go for a crown but accepted a tutu. Or the poor panting pug at a beach wedding. Ragin now always packs a portable fan on warm days, and the Bow Wow guys make it a point to get acquainted with their canine clients and their quirks before the big day.

The gig has lots of rewards.

Barry and Jessica Garozzo of Bala Cynwyd really wanted Porterhouse, their mini dachshund, to be in their wedding photos, taken on the plaza outside Philadelphia City Hall. But, they probably couldn’t have done it without a service like Bow Wow Weddings.

“A lot of people want their dogs involved, but I don’t think they realize, as a bride and groom, how busy you’re going to be and how much work your day is,” Barry said.

Sometimes, having a dog around changes the feeling of the day.

That’s how it was with Pepper, Miranda and James Gorman’s Samoyed. As flower dog, it was hard to see the blossoms under all her long, white fluff, but the Northern Liberties pooch was the belle of the ball. And no one was happier to have her there than Miranda and James.

“It’s such a big occasion,” Miranda said. “You want them there for the pictures, to stand by your side as you’re up there. We’re not like crazy dog people, but she’s very much a part of our family.”

Marisa Savic says she probably never would have gone out with that interesting guy she saw online if she had realized he lived in Jersey. But she didn’t know. So she met her person, Dave Song.

And she never cared much for dogs — too hyper. But then she met Dave’s Mr. Ewok.

“I’m not a dog person, but I’m completely head over heels for him,” said Marisa, 32, a psychiatric nurse-practitioner.

Dave, 39, a Deptford resident who works in finance, adopted Mr. Ewok from a rescue a few months before he met Marisa. He’d been looking for a dog for a while when the 6-year-old border terrier’s photo turned up. He looked like an Ewok. For Dave, a big Star Wars fan, he was perfect. The rescue let him bring home the dog May 4, the official holiday for Star Wars fans (May the Fourth Be With You.) It was fate.

When they decided to get married, Dave and Marisa knew they wanted Mr. Ewok there.

On the morning of their May 13 wedding, Ragin picked up Mr. Ewok from the home of one of the couple’s friends. His black Mobile Dog Gear backpack was filled with snacks, water, Ewok’s clothes, and whatever other needs the day might bring.

For the next few hours, Ragin escorted the dog to photo shoots, giving Ewok moral support and obliging the wedding party and some guests with some cell phone snaps. When the afternoon started getting a little muggy, he whipped out the portable hand fan.

And then it was showtime.

Ragin handed off Mr. Ewok to his bridal party partner, Eliana Zimmerman. As the wedding music played, dog and 14 human attendants proceeded across the Bok rooftop.

In a very lovely ceremony, the bride and groom both cried and laughed, and Mr. Ewok got his own mention by the wedding officiant. As the couple exchanged vows, the little dog gazed their way intently.

When it was over, Ragin picked him up and took him to a doggy friend’s house for his own party, just as cocktail hour was about to begin. Newlywed Dave Song said he was so glad Mr. Ewok had been there:

“We wouldn’t have it any other way.”