Instead of holding flowers, they held puppies. The bridesmaids were following the wishes of the bride, Sarah Mallouk Crain, who wanted the bridal party to put aside the traditional flower bouquets and instead hold rescue puppies for their portrait session.

That’s because Sarah works for the dog rescue organization, Pitties Love Peace and rescuing dogs is her passion. She told The Huffington Post, “My days are spent rescuing, training or rehabilitating dogs so it only seemed fitting that I needed to include some on our big day.”

Sarah posed with a 9-week-old puppy named “Biggie Smalls”, who was found as a stray in Brooklyn.

The groomsmen and groom, Matt, also got in on the puppy action, cuddling with 5 boxer-coonhound puppies that were brought to a Pennsylvania shelter when they were just 1 week old.

The puppies are all currently in foster homes and will soon be ready for adoption.

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