Canine commitment: Newport Beach Labrador group plans dog wedding

There will be vows, a wedding arch, a ring, groomsmen and bridesmaids and fancy clothing to wear.

Love is in the air for two Labrador retrievers who will symbolize their doggy devotion with a wedding Sunday afternoon in the backyard of Debbie Painter’s Corona del Mar home.

The wedding ceremony matches Max, 5, and Byrdie, who is almost 3. They haven’t been able to keep their paws off each other for a while now.

“Byrdie and Max have this special way of cuddling with each other,” said Stuart Friedman, Byrdie’s human companion. “They just kind of cuddle and nibble on each other, so we had this idea to do the wedding.”

Labradors Byrdie and Max, from bottom, are the bride and groom for a “dog wedding” on Sunday in Corona del Mar.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Max’s pet parent, Painter, also loved the idea. The past two years, the growing Labrador dog group in the Irvine Terrace neighborhood of CdM had held birthday parties for their canines.

So this year, it’s time to tie the knot?

“It’s silly and fun,” Painter said with a laugh. “It’s not serious. We’re not having a dog wedding to have seriousness.”

She added, though, that since Friedman got married to Evelyn Harms earlier this year, the timing seemed to be right.

Bill Yingling gathers neighborhood white and yellow Labradors including Byrdie the bride, left, and groom Max, with plaid collar, right, on Monday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Dude, a 13-year-old Labrador who’s the oldest of the group, will act as the officiant for Sunday’s wedding. He’s usually recognizable by the red mark on his forehead.

“Every morning I give him a kiss and everyone says, ‘Oh, he has lipstick on,’” said Dude’s owner, Dayle Roath. “And I say, ‘No, that’s just his morning tattoo.’”

The Labrador dog group, which has several members who live next to Irvine Terrace Park, knows how to have fun. They’ve even allowed two golden retrievers and a cattle dog to join the fray.

The dog owners meet in the park several days a week, or sometimes at one of their homes. On Monday, they met in Painter’s backyard, joking that it was a wedding rehearsal, as they enjoyed a charcuterie board and wine.

Dude, a Labrador and “officiant” for a canine wedding happening Sunday in Corona del Mar.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Beyond the wedding silliness, the members of the group care for each other despite their differences, political or otherwise.

“I’ve lived here for 25 years at this house, and honestly, this is just the best-hearted group of people,” Painter said. “I think that whatever we’re going through, we know that we’re there for each other.”

Bill Yingling is known as the “dog whisperer” of the group because he always has snacks in his pockets.

“As soon as I’m in sight, I look over and I have five or six of my friends right there,” said Yingling with a smile.

He owns Whisper, a female Lab who will be a bridesmaid for the wedding along with Daisy, Maisie and Mabel. The groomsmen include Rufus, Leroy and Hobie.

Byrdie, left, and Max are two Corona del Mar Labrador Retrievers that have always shown affection for each other.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Invited wedding guests are asked to bring a wrapped dog gift for a gift exchange. After the ceremony, there will be hot dogs — of course — along with cakes and alcohol, the latter strictly for the humans only.

“I think the point of this whole thing is really that we managed to build a community out of a bunch of unlikely people,” Harms said. “One of the couples, his wife has had some ongoing and very serious medical issues, and he’s been struggling. While we don’t agree about a lot of things, people will bring him dinner, we borrow things from each other, we’ve gotten lots of good references for handyman work people and stuff.

“It’s just an interesting community where people look after each other, they’re in contact every day via text to make sure who’s coming and how’s everybody’s partner doing, all that kind of stuff. For me, it’s the community that the dogs started.”

Max and Byrdie have been caring for each other too. When their owners took them to the Balboa Island Parade in June, it was very noisy, which is something that dogs often don’t handle well.

The Irvine Terrace neighborhood Labrador crew gathers their white and yellow Labradors for a “canine wedding rehearsal” at the home of Debbie Painter on Monday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

“Max and Byrdie were hanging together because they were comforting each other,” Harms said. “That was a really sweet thing.”

The atmosphere Sunday should be festive, like any wedding. Vows were generated mostly through AI, but Roath said she added a personal touch.

She read the vows and remarks of her dog Dude, the officiant, on Monday.

“By the power vested in me, Mr. Dude, as your devoted officiant, I now declare you loving dog mates forever,” the text reads. “You may now give a gentle tap with love to each other on the nose.”