Jerrod Blandino and Jeremy Johnson planned their California wedding not just as a special day to express their deep commitment and love to each other, but also to express their deep commitment to the basic tenets of love and charity.

For each other, they exchanged vows and wedding rings.

Then they gave a $25 Best Friends dog sponsorship to each of the 75 guests in attendance celebrating their union.

"We wanted to do something memorable to help animals," Jerrod says. "We felt this sort of gift would be most meaningful to our guests."

As the founders of Too Faced Cosmetics, Jeremy and Jerrod are constantly on the go, servicing clients like Kelly Ripa, Jennifer Garner and Pamela Anderson. They also provide product for make-up artists working on shows like "Desperate Housewives," "The OC", "The View," and "American Idol."

They were certainly too busy to add "plan wedding," to their to-do list.

So the couple enlisted the help of good friend and wedding planner, Mindy Weiss. She knows a little something about creating the perfect "I do!" setting; Mindy orchestrated the big day for Ellen DeGeneres, Brooke Shields, Charlie Sheen and Shaquille O’Neal.

But there was still the issue of the party favors. What to do? Jerrod asked that very question at lunch one day of his friend and wedding guest, Joan Couturier. She had recently become a fan of the sanctuary after watching the National Geographic Channel series, "Dogtown," which chronicles the good work Best Friends does.

To celebrate Best Friends 25th anniversary, she sponsored 25 dogs. And then she sponsored ten more! (Read Joan’s story.) She suggested to Jerrod that animal sponsorships would make the perfect keepsake for their guests.

"Best Friends is a passion of mine," Joan explains. "I told Jerrod about my sponsorships and how much they meant to me and he said, 'Great!  Let’s do it.'"

And they did. In grand style. Each guest received a picture and bio of a Best Friends dog encased in a custom folder.

"The guests loved it," Jerrod says. "It was one of the highlights of the entire wedding! People were running around with the pictures of their dog, calling them by name."

In November, Jerrod and Jeremy will be celebrating their first wedding anniversary. Also coming up is the expiration of the party favor sponsorships. Jeremy, Jerrod and Joan are currently collaborating on a letter to send to all the wedding guests encouraging them to renew sponsorships.  

"Best Friends is what is so great about this world," Jerrod says. "Love and charity are the essence of protecting what’s good – even necessary, when they serve as the voice for those who cannot speak for themselves, such as animals. Best Friends reminds me that this world is not all bad and that there is hope! And we hope what we did will inspire others to become more involved the cause."

We do, too!  From all of us at Best Friends, we’d like to wish you both an early happy first anniversary. And thank you on behalf of all the animals living at the sanctuary!

As part of Best Friends’ 25th anniversary in 2009, our goal is to double our membership, so we can double our efforts to bring about a time when all companion animals have a forever home. What can you do to help? Give the Gift of a Best Friends membership to family and friends.