Here's one of those long-and-involved posts that will cover several aspects of our wedding. I hope readers can get useful information and good ideas...please feel free to share any thoughts in the comments!
It's always been important for me and Devin to have a wedding that we can afford, that doesn't waste a lot of resources and that can actually accomplish some good in the world. For almost a year I canvassed for Grassroots Campaigns to raise money for the ASPCA and Save the Children, two very reputable and amazing organizations. This line of work opened my eyes to all the world problems around me (even more so than usual) and how effective it really can be when many people just give a little of what they have. As a couple, we have a goal to give 10% of our monthly income (similar to an expected tithe at a church), and we plan to begin our charitable giving with our wedding. It's actually very easy to help the world and give back with a little bit of research and creativity.
General Purchases
We all know that weddings cost a ton of money. We will be spending more on this than on anything else thus far in our lives. So why not try to spend it in places where profits are donated to charity? Just today I purchased all of my bridesmaids' gifts (their jewelry for the wedding, plus some body stuff and some food stuff) as well as my (possible) bridal jewelry on thehungersite.com. I spent $194 and with that, funded FIVE HUNDRED cups of food. This site is amazing because you can shop for just about anything you could ever want - they have GORGEOUS jewelry, cool clothes and accessories, and some great deals - but you can also make donations for specific purposes and just click on a link to fund food for Africa. Pretty sweet! And if you have another issue that's close to your heart, they're part of a network that supports things like education, animal rescue and autism research. Mmmm, are you feeling more virtuous yet?
Another way we're being charitable that I've mentioned before is buying from Goodwill. It's super cheap and supports a good cause! I've bought several centerpiece items there, and once the wedding is over, all remaining centerpiece items will be re-donated. Who needs that stuff lying around anyways? ;-) I like to go there to shop for clothing and other household items pretty regularly as it is. Depending on the area, you can get barely-used brand-name stuff, and even some fabulous surprises. My favorite Goodwill find is a huge framed print of one of my favorite paintings, Kandinsky's "Yellow, Red, Blue" for $20. It made my heart sing! So the moral of the story is that Goodwill is awesome all the time, and you should probably shop there once a week. Just sayin'...
Gift Registry
Okay, so not only do YOU spend a lot of money, but when you get married there is a lot of money that is spent ON you, for gifts. So I'm glad I heard of this one before we were engaged - the I Do Foundation. This site allows you to create a registry for charitable donations. You can choose the organization(s) so that your guests know what charities are important to you, and they can donate in lieu of purchasing yet another blender or duvet cover or towel set. But the awesome thing is that if you do still need stuff, you can register with several of their partner retailers (like Target! Heck yes!) and a portion of purchases will also be donated to charity. Win-win, I'd say, and there's pretty much no reason NOT to do this. Give me one, I dare you!
Favors
If you want to physically give something to your guests, then by all means do so. My favorite favors that I've seen are made of plantable paper. It's creative, meaningful, and good for the environment, and anything else along those same lines gets a big thumbs-up from me. However, what's even better IMHO is making a donation on behalf of your guests, which is what we're doing. The hardest part is choosing a charity - whether you want to give to an organization that you've personally been involved with, one that has a huge impact in a lot of areas or something that is significant for many members of your family (a donation to the American Heart Association in memory of a loved one who suffered a heart attack, for instance). Bonus: it might take a total of 10-15 minutes to do an online transaction and print and frame a note stating where you've donated. Compare that to all the time (and tedium) of stuffing 200 bags of jordan almonds... ;-)
THE DRESS
Unfortunately I'm not able to use my own recommendation on this one, but Oxfam actually runs an online store that includes designer wedding dresses - the bummer for me was that they only had one of each, and nothing under size 12. But hey, it will work for some people. Again, wedding dresses also tend to end up at Goodwill. Usually they're straight out of 1984, but you never know when something amazing could appear (I might even end up donating mine...we'll see!).
****
So other than giving to charity, another way to just help out on a smaller scale is by making purchases on Etsy - for awhile I actually considered having a dress custom-made by someone, but then I decided there wasn't really time - but you'll get great handmade items, usually at a lower price than what you'd find in stores, and of course you're supporting a small business owner. Ka-chow! If you've never visited Etsy before, go now. So much great art stuff! Clothes-jewelry-housewares-decor...and PIE.
Well I think this has gone on quite long enough. Thoughts, feedback and other ideas are welcome in the comments. There's billions of dollars in the wedding industry, why not send a few of them to those who need it most?
It's always been important for me and Devin to have a wedding that we can afford, that doesn't waste a lot of resources and that can actually accomplish some good in the world. For almost a year I canvassed for Grassroots Campaigns to raise money for the ASPCA and Save the Children, two very reputable and amazing organizations. This line of work opened my eyes to all the world problems around me (even more so than usual) and how effective it really can be when many people just give a little of what they have. As a couple, we have a goal to give 10% of our monthly income (similar to an expected tithe at a church), and we plan to begin our charitable giving with our wedding. It's actually very easy to help the world and give back with a little bit of research and creativity.
General Purchases
We all know that weddings cost a ton of money. We will be spending more on this than on anything else thus far in our lives. So why not try to spend it in places where profits are donated to charity? Just today I purchased all of my bridesmaids' gifts (their jewelry for the wedding, plus some body stuff and some food stuff) as well as my (possible) bridal jewelry on thehungersite.com. I spent $194 and with that, funded FIVE HUNDRED cups of food. This site is amazing because you can shop for just about anything you could ever want - they have GORGEOUS jewelry, cool clothes and accessories, and some great deals - but you can also make donations for specific purposes and just click on a link to fund food for Africa. Pretty sweet! And if you have another issue that's close to your heart, they're part of a network that supports things like education, animal rescue and autism research. Mmmm, are you feeling more virtuous yet?
Another way we're being charitable that I've mentioned before is buying from Goodwill. It's super cheap and supports a good cause! I've bought several centerpiece items there, and once the wedding is over, all remaining centerpiece items will be re-donated. Who needs that stuff lying around anyways? ;-) I like to go there to shop for clothing and other household items pretty regularly as it is. Depending on the area, you can get barely-used brand-name stuff, and even some fabulous surprises. My favorite Goodwill find is a huge framed print of one of my favorite paintings, Kandinsky's "Yellow, Red, Blue" for $20. It made my heart sing! So the moral of the story is that Goodwill is awesome all the time, and you should probably shop there once a week. Just sayin'...
Gift Registry
Okay, so not only do YOU spend a lot of money, but when you get married there is a lot of money that is spent ON you, for gifts. So I'm glad I heard of this one before we were engaged - the I Do Foundation. This site allows you to create a registry for charitable donations. You can choose the organization(s) so that your guests know what charities are important to you, and they can donate in lieu of purchasing yet another blender or duvet cover or towel set. But the awesome thing is that if you do still need stuff, you can register with several of their partner retailers (like Target! Heck yes!) and a portion of purchases will also be donated to charity. Win-win, I'd say, and there's pretty much no reason NOT to do this. Give me one, I dare you!
Favors
If you want to physically give something to your guests, then by all means do so. My favorite favors that I've seen are made of plantable paper. It's creative, meaningful, and good for the environment, and anything else along those same lines gets a big thumbs-up from me. However, what's even better IMHO is making a donation on behalf of your guests, which is what we're doing. The hardest part is choosing a charity - whether you want to give to an organization that you've personally been involved with, one that has a huge impact in a lot of areas or something that is significant for many members of your family (a donation to the American Heart Association in memory of a loved one who suffered a heart attack, for instance). Bonus: it might take a total of 10-15 minutes to do an online transaction and print and frame a note stating where you've donated. Compare that to all the time (and tedium) of stuffing 200 bags of jordan almonds... ;-)
THE DRESS
Unfortunately I'm not able to use my own recommendation on this one, but Oxfam actually runs an online store that includes designer wedding dresses - the bummer for me was that they only had one of each, and nothing under size 12. But hey, it will work for some people. Again, wedding dresses also tend to end up at Goodwill. Usually they're straight out of 1984, but you never know when something amazing could appear (I might even end up donating mine...we'll see!).
****
So other than giving to charity, another way to just help out on a smaller scale is by making purchases on Etsy - for awhile I actually considered having a dress custom-made by someone, but then I decided there wasn't really time - but you'll get great handmade items, usually at a lower price than what you'd find in stores, and of course you're supporting a small business owner. Ka-chow! If you've never visited Etsy before, go now. So much great art stuff! Clothes-jewelry-housewares-decor...and PIE.
Well I think this has gone on quite long enough. Thoughts, feedback and other ideas are welcome in the comments. There's billions of dollars in the wedding industry, why not send a few of them to those who need it most?
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