Meet Ilana Karcinski & Kelly Maronpot | Co-Owners & Wedding Day Pet Care Experts

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ilana Karcinski & Kelly Maronpot and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ilana Karcinski & Kelly Maronpot, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
We’ve been bringing pawsitivity to the wedding community since 2015 The idea for our company came to us while working for a Tampa-based hotel. We saw a need in the wedding industry that spoke to us; couples wanted to include their pets in their special day but quickly became overwhelmed. Our pets are our family and we couldn’t imagine them missing out on such a special day. There was no other company offering the services we knew these couples needed, so we paved the way & created what we’ve now coined as the Wedding Day Pet Care industry! It was difficult in the beginning to introduce this very unique service, to vendors & couples alike. We worked extremely hard educating & perfecting our service. It’s been so incredible to watch as wedding pet care has become an option for so many couples across the world!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
When we first started our “wedding day pet care” company in 2015, there was not one other business offering this service in the US. We were inspired while working in events at a hotel, realizing how many people wanted to have their dog as a part of their celebration, but the logistics of it all left them too overwhelmed to make it happen. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard someone say “I wish you were around when we got married!”. We KNEW this was a thing, couples wanted their furry best friends to be a part of their day, but there were no solutions for how to get them to & from the venue, or for who would take responsibility for them or how to ensure Fido was well behaved around Mom’s beautiful white dress. That’s when the lightbulb went off. WE could be the solution. We realized each wedding day would be different, each pet’s personality unique & their involvement in the day would vary. When each respective wedding day rolled around, we were confronted with something we never could have fully anticipated; the IMPACT the pup’s presence would have on not only the couple, but on the bridal party, the guests & even the vendors! Like we mentioned, when we started this business there were no other companies in the United States offering anything like it. Coming up with an entire industry, from the structure and pricing to the liability and hiring, was extremely intimidating. Not to mention, when we told people back in 2015 about our business idea, half of them thought we were crazy. We had to push through the skepticism and doubts, and keep going. We knew this was a need in the wedding industry, even if not everyone could see that yet, and we believed that people would eventually “get” it. Sure enough, the perseverance paid off. Now, most pet owners can’t imagine not including their pet on their wedding day. We feel fortunate to have found this niche market when we did, but if we hadn’t stuck with it and put in the work, we would never be where we are today. While we love bringing pets to weddings, our work does not end there. We routinely volunteer at our local animal shelters, integrated a donation program into our wedding pet care packages & have made it our mission to help as many homeless animals as possible find their forever homes. This is certainly what we are most proud of!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Love this question! Times are weird, but assuming COVID=19 was no longer an issue and everyone was happy/safe/living their best lives again, we would head to some of the amazing local breweries & restaurants in the heights. We live in such a vibrant, fun community full of local businesses to support! Spaddy’s coffee to start the day, then we’d go for a walk along the downtown Riverwalk. We’d stop off for a drink at Hotel Bar downtown or Coppertail in Ybor City. We’d then head to Dixie Dharma inside of Armature Works for lunch. We could rent boats or paddle boards from there for a fun afternoon! We’d stop by Health Mutt, our favorite local pet store, for treats for the pups on the way home. We’d go to St Pete one day to walk the dogs and explore the new Pier and then walk around the super pet friendly Central Ave strip full of local shops & restaurants/bars. Some other awesome spots we would definitely stop by for coffee/a drink and catch up: Buddy Brew Coffee, 7venth Sun Brewery, Mermaid Tavern, Brew Bus, & King State. We would also take a day to head out to one of the Florida Springs, probably Weeki Wachee (which is less than an hour away from Tampa) to kayak and see the manatees.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We’d love to shoutout Marry Me Tampa Bay! A local wedding specific networking group that was the first we joined when we started our business. Anna was so welcoming and we were able to meet fellow vendors who have since become friends. It was such a huge stepping stone for us in making those initial connections and establishing ourselves in the local Tampa Bay Wedding Community.

Website: www.fairytailpetcare.com

Instagram: @fairytail_petcare

Twitter: @fairytailpets

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fairytailpetcare

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/fairytail-pet-care-tampa-2

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/fairytailpetcare

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@fairytail_petcare?

Image Credits
Personal Photo Photo 1: Renee Nicole Photography Photo Section Photo 1: 2 Brides With Their 3 Small Dogs: Ashley Izquierdo Photography Photo 2: Bride & Groom At Corner With Small White In Tux Dog In Center Between Them: Ocean Bound Media Photo 3: Bride & Groom Bottom Halves Walking With Brown Dog In Tux Looking Up At Them: Lemus Photography Photo 4: Us With 3 Dogs: AGoldPhoto Pet Photography Photo 5: Us Holding Leashes Of 2 Golden Retriever Near Bride & Groom: Kera Photography Photo 6: Big Bridal Party With Bride & Groom In Front With 2 Dogs: Limelight Photography Photo 7: Bride & Groom Kissing With Dog In Front: Hannah Glo Photo Photo 8: Dog Wearing Tux With Bottom Half Of Bride & Groom Behind Him: Pezz Photo