Doing Some Good

Doing Some Good

November 11th, 2010 @ 2:30 pm by Ms. Sloth
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Sometimes, I feel guilty about this wedding.

Doing Some Good : wedding favors philadelphia registry Do20go01 Do20Go01

I feel guilty that we’re spending so much time, energy, and money on one day, when there are people out there who are hungry, homeless, sick, and uninsured. I feel guilty that Mr. S and I are getting married when there are so many people out there who are legally prohibited from marrying the people they love. It makes me sad.

So, to assuage some guilt, I did some research to see how Mr. S and I could use our wedding to do some good. Thankfully, there are lot of ways to use your wedding to give back:

1. Instead of favors, donate to charity in your guests’ names. I was never sure about favors because, in my experience, most guests just leave their favors at the table or throw them out as soon as they leave. So a donation would be ideal!

2. Use your wedding to raise awareness of a cause. I love how Mrs. Sprinkle and her husband raised awareness for the White Knot Foundation, an organization that fights for marriage equality. If there is a cause or a charity that means a lot to you, why not put a paragraph in your program about it, or speak to it during your ceremony?

3. Start a donation registry. These are set up just like a honeymoon registry. Guests can find your donation registry online and donate money in lieu of buying a gift.

4. Donate or give away your wedding supplies. After the wedding, instead of selling or trashing your wedding dress, donate it! If you’ve got leftover food, see if your caterer can box it up and drop it off at a homeless shelter. Take your centerpieces to a hospital to brighten up the patients’ rooms. Sell your decor items and donate the money to charity. Use your imagination—there are a lot of ways to pay it forward!

Are you doing anything with your wedding to give back?

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12 Responses to “Doing Some Good”

Bee

Mrs. Glasses (message) 2,741 posts, Sugar bee

What an excellent post! All of these are great ways to give back.

11/11/10 @ 2:48 pm (reply)

Member

NotYourTypicalBride (message) 1,294 posts, Bumble bee

Great post. We are discouraging traditional gifts because we don’t need any more “stuff.” (At 47, I’m trying to get RID of stuff! LOL)

Instead, we set up two donation registries - one for the American Heart Association (in memory of my father who died of a heart attack at 42, when I was just 16), and one for Susan G. Komen for the Cure (in memory of my FH’s aunt, who died of breast cancer earlier this year at the age of 51). I’m hoping our guests take us seriously… we’ll know in about three weeks!

Full disclosure: We also set up a honeymoon fund because I got grief from friends who said they wanted to get us something anyway. At least the honeymoon fund supports our values of focusing on shared experiences over possessions - a lesson learned the hard way from losing loved ones at such young ages.

11/11/10 @ 3:14 pm (reply)

Member

jordynrose (message) 6,351 posts, Bee Keeper

These are great ideas. Sadly, we were not with it enough to do anything like this.

11/11/10 @ 3:25 pm (reply)

Member

Ice Cream Sundae (message) 92 posts, Worker bee

Such great ideas!

11/11/10 @ 3:27 pm (reply)

Member

Golden139 (message) 1,768 posts, Buzzing bee

Love this post! Thank you so much for these suggestions. I feel the same guilt as you, so I will definitely utilize these ideas for our wedding.

11/11/10 @ 3:32 pm (reply)

Member

tksjewelry (message) 9,769 posts, Bee Keeper

I work in politics all the time so my wedding is one thing I want to keep out of the line of fire. I am so picky about my charitable contributions that they would most certainly appear political.
I will be giving my short dresses to a bride who cannot afford one. I love my tea length and there is a bride out there who would love it as much as I but could never afford one.

11/11/10 @ 6:17 pm (reply)

Member

tiffinapit (message) 227 posts, Helper bee

I LOVE this! Thanks Miss Sloth, you have done it again! I plan to try to donate some supplies to a needy bride, and have actually done quite a bit of that already (though my wedding is in July 2011, we have changed our minds more than a few times and had things we didn’t need.)
I would donate my gown to Brides Against Breast Cancer-started in my hometown-Portland OR WOOP! The problem is that I’m wearing a red gown with black embroidery so I find it unlikely that it would sell.

11/11/10 @ 6:55 pm (reply)

Member

sleepyrebel (message) 182 posts, Blushing bee

Another great, GREAT option out there is to donate to the ASPCA. If you make a donation, they’ll actually send you little cards that you can set out informing guests that you’ve made a donation to them in lieu of favors! Here’s a link with all of the info:

http://www.aspca.org/wedding

11/11/10 @ 9:24 pm (reply)

Member

ILikePink (message) 1,408 posts, Bumble bee

Heifer is a really great alternative registry idea. People can “buy” a chicken, goat, ducks, cows, all kinds of animals, that get donated to people in need. They do great work!

http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.204586/?msource=kw2871

11/11/10 @ 10:51 pm (reply)

10.

Bee

Mrs. Hermit Crab (message) 3,562 posts, Sugar bee

Great post! We also did a donation in lieu of favors, people loved it. And we made sure to only interview caterers that donate the leftover food.

11/12/10 @ 11:57 am (reply)

11.

Member

JenniferDA (message) 8 posts, Newbee

I know the feeling. We are going to donate to the ASPCA in honor of our dear pup who we adopted last year. And sleepyrebel - AH! I had no idea that they acutally did that! So thanks

Also another idea is to talk to your florist about whether they will deliver your flowers to a nursing home or a church or any charitable organization so that others may enjoy them after your day.

Great post!

11/12/10 @ 1:05 pm (reply)

12.