When Sophia Coleman showed up for her first date with her now husband, Josh, Rocky was the very first thing she saw. She immediately fell in love with the tiny senior rescue pup, and eventually she fell in love with Josh, too. Rocky has been there throughout their entire relationship, so when the pair began planning their wedding, they knew they wanted him to play a major role.
“We’ve had ups and downs in our relationship, and Rocky has always been there to remind us what true love is, so there was no question that he had to be a part of the wedding,” Coleman told The Dodo.
They decided that Rocky would hold two titles during the ceremony — “best pup” and ring bearer. They got him a little suit to wear, and between the suit and his permanent “blep” due to him missing some teeth, he looked absolutely perfect. Is there anything cuter than a dog with a tiny purple tie and his tongue sticking out? Probably not.
The plan was for Rocky to walk down the aisle as the ring bearer in front of all the wedding guests, which the couple didn’t think would be too much of a problem. Even though Rocky can be a grumpy old man sometimes, he absolutely loves people.
“He is quite the spunky little guy despite being 13 years old,” Coleman said.
When the day finally came, Rocky took his assignments very seriously … for the most part.
“It took a lot of coaxing and treats to get him to walk down the aisle in front of 80 people,” Coleman said. “He did great at the rehearsal when there were no guests in attendance, but during the actual ceremony, he was a little distracted by the guests! I think he was hoping each person would give him treats.”
Once Rocky had made it down the aisle, he stood by his parents’ side while they got married and was only minorly distracting. While everyone loved seeing the couple tie the knot, it’s possible they loved seeing Rocky up there with them even more.
“Everyone loved seeing him in his cute little suit,” Coleman said. “When he was coming down the aisle, there was a lot of joyful laughter. He really was the star of the show!”
Once the ceremony was over, so were Rocky’s responsibilities, and his parents retired him to the bridal suite to get some rest. Rocky, however, wasn’t super excited about that idea, and found a way to make a well-deserved appearance at the reception, too.
“He was still in the same building as the reception, but we thought it was best if he got some rest, plus we didn’t want anyone to trip over him,” Coleman said. “At one point, he did burst through the baby gate and made an escape when someone opened the bridal suite door. He immediately found my husband and I — he wanted to be by our sides the whole night!”
In the end, Rocky performed his roles the way he wanted to — and his parents wouldn’t have had it any other way.