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Why not make your wedding a time for reaching out
to others in need, a time for giving and sharing.
It is so easy to get lost in one’s own needs
(style of dress, food selections, honeymoon plans,
etc…) that finding ways to think of others
can actually make your wedding planning less stressful!
My fiancé, Haym, and I, have come across several
ideas that we like. We would like to share them with
all of you.
For those couples who have everything, ask your
guests to donate to one (or several) of your or their
favorite charities. At www.justgive.org there is
a Wedding Registry, replete with an on line form
and search engine to help even the most internet-challenged
decide which charities to use. The site has over
850,000 charities from which to choose! You can even
submit a picture, bio of yourself and your groom,
and any details about the wedding you wish to provide.
When guests make donations, your name is mentioned.
Wedding favors are lovely and cute but many don’t
even make it home with the guests! Instead of a gift,
you can donate a set amount to a favorite charity
in each guests name. But if you do decide to have
favors, think about the following.
Are you and your hubby (or wife)-to-be into protecting
the environment? You can give a soon-to-be tree to
your wedding guests. At www.growatree.com,
you can pick a tree that is customized for your state
and
they arrive in ‘attention grabbing display
boxes’. Another option is www.treeinabox.com.
This company provides personalized wedding boxes
with names, dates and pictures of wedding bells!
The www.expressionsgifts.com website offers ‘celebrations
in green’, lovely live seedlings or spruce
trees that are nurtured and grown for two years.
Not into ordering on the web? Go down to your local
nursery – and have them package up small seedlings
with a pretty bow for your day. Not only are these
favors, good for the environment, but your guests
will have lasting memories from your special day!
In the same vein, you can print your wedding invitations
and thank you notes on tree-free and/or recyclable
paper.
Have you thought about what to do with the delicious
and extravagant food that will be left over after
the wedding party? You can bring happiness to the
lives of others by donating this delicious fare to
a homeless shelter. You can also donate your wedding
flowers to a nursing home or a woman’s shelter,
or any other organization that could use some brightening
up.
You don’t have to stop giving when the wedding
ends. Not all women can afford a beautiful wedding
dress in which to get married. What a tremendous
gift of love to donate your gown to an organization
such as the Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation.
At www.makingmemories.org they will instruct you
on how to send your precious gift!
When all is said and done and you are blissfully
happy with your new spouse, you can be thankful not
only for what you have received on this wonderful
day but at peace with yourself for the kindness and
love you will have brought to others. What a beautiful
way to start your new life with your beloved!
By Lisa Ellin
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