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I spent the greater part of my afternoon and evening yesterday at The Bridal Happy Hour, a pseudo bridal show that is more about mingling and having a good time than it is about overwhelming brides with brochures and information. The quaint show boasts a manageable selection of some of the best wedding professionals Northern AZ has to offer. The goal is for vendors to be approachable and not just to stand behind booths with a stack of hand made pamphlets. Anyway, for the first time, my role was to talk to Brides about their weddings, offer congratulations, and answer a variety of questions for the many overwhelmed ladies present. Most asked question was, “Where do we even start?” I was manning The Charity Wedding display and telling couples all about how they could win a wedding by giving back. Confusion turned to excitement when I mentioned the word free and I couldn’t help but get excited when I heard couples instantly start brainstorming about how they could fund raise! So, for couples that might be interested I will list the full rules on the Contest Page at the top of the blog. If you need the application form or have any questions about the process please feel free to email me at TheCharityWedding@Yahoo.com. Specific questions on the vendors or what they are offering should be directed to Celebrations Studio. You can also stop by Celebrations Studio to pick up information and chat with the talented team that resides there. Celebrations Studio offers free consultations and advice for anyone that needs just a bit of help getting started.

Before you read the rules, please know this is meant to be fun and rewarding for you! Don’t be overwhelmed by details, we will be there to help you along the way! Spread the word to your engaged friends!

Here are just a few ways you can incorporate charity into your wedding:

• Vendor Selection: Check with your vendors and see if they support any charities or are active in the community. Essentially, by paying them, you are helping give back to what they put their resources into. Some vendors may even specifically designate a percentage of their sales to charity. If anything, you may inspire them to give back just by asking.
• Research What You are Buying: Companies like One Hope Wine and Sedona Woman Wine automatically donate a portion of their sales to charity. You planned to buy wine anyway, why not support a company who supports others.
• Registries: There are two great options here, either ask for charity donations in lieu of gifts all together or offer it as an option. You can also register through a charity registry like I Do Foundation who has a partnership with various stores like Target. If you register on Target as you normally would and guests purchase gifts online through the I Do Foundation, Target will donate a percentage of what is bought to charity. There are no additional costs for your guests and you still get a kitchen full of supplies. Win, Win.
• In addition I Do Foundation offers a partnership with a stationary company and even honeymoon travel. When you order or book through them, they again will donate part of that to charity at no cost to you.
• Attire: Organizations like Brides Against Breast Cancer offer charity gown sales where people donate their wedding dresses and then they are cleaned and sold. Brides get a major discount on a barely used dress and all the proceeds go to fund breast cancer research. In addition many Etsy shops that sell jewelry and accessories donate portions of their sales to charity. You can even find charity shoes for the men offered through Converse and Tom’s Shoes.
• Favors and gifts: 9 times out of 10, favors are junk that no one wants. You get them as part of obligation and if people even remember them, they likely end up in a junk drawer somewhere. Instead you could tell guests that you made a donation to charity in their name instead. No one will miss the little box of candy, trust me. You could do something similar for your attendant’s gifts or purchase gifts that support a cause, like from World of Good, which is a shop with handmade gifts from all over the world. Both the production of the products and the sale helps bring employment and dignity to developing countries.
• Clean Up: After the wedding is over many places accept donations of leftover food and even the flowers. Call hospitals and nursing homes and offer to drop off the flowers to their patients. They would be delighted to receive them and they will get an extended life.
• Trim the Fat: Downgrade your flowers, make a few things yourself, eliminate that extra dessert… in the end no one will notice, including you. Little efforts to cut back can make a big impact on a non-profit organization. Make an effort to cut your budget by just 5% and donate that to your favorite charity. People will be much more impressed by your thoughtfulness than by the personalized wine glasses you had to have. In addition, it can be a tax write off which might mean a lot to your parents who are footing the bill!

The Studio is still looking to complete the wedding package with even more awesome stuff for the winning couple, so if you offer a service or a product and want to be involved, let us know!!