How to Get Married and Be Charitable

3 Written by natasha on June 17, 2009 – 8:00 am

In the course of my blog, I have made suggestions here and there about things that you can do that will give back to the community and the globe. It turns out that there are quite a few ways that you can give back during the wedding planning process. Here’s a list… But please don’t be intimidated! Even doing one thing on the list helps….

• Go Green: See our list of 50 Green Wedding Tips that range from creating green invitations to ensuring that leftover food doesn’t get wasted. The list also includes using seasonal flowers — which, thank goodness, we just explained in another blog that details which flowers are in season when (according to the color flowers you want!).
• Ask others to give:
  • If you don’t really need more STUFF in the house, ask guests to give to a charity of their choice.  Here’s a list of all charities, written by the Better Business Bureau.
  • Or set up a scholarship fund at the university/college/grad school you went to and have people donate to that fund. I read an article recently about a couple that met in college and they set up a scholarship fund. They asked their guests to donate to the scholarship fund — or any charity — in lieu of giving them a gift. Sweet, right? If you do want to set up a scholarship, here’s an article about how to do it.
• Give back: In lieu of favors, give to a charity! The reality is that people want to remember your wedding day, but they dont need to have a trinket to do that. One of the most memorable favors I “received” was a card sitting on my plate that said that in lieu of favors, the bride and groom had donated to the American Cancer Society. Instead of spending the money on the cards at each place setting, donate that money and have the DJ announce the favor/donation.

Do you have other ideas of ways to give back to the world during your wedding? Share ‘em!

~ Natasha