“I Do” Turns Into “I Give”

Charitable Wedding Trends Focus On Giving Back to the Community

Weddings are timeless affairs that are, for the majority of people, the largest social party they will ever plan or be a part of. The wedding industry earns billions of dollars every year from bridal gown purchases, catering services, DJ services, limos, photographers, videographers, florist. Do I need to continue? You get the point. A wedding is not only timeless, but costly.

Over the past few years, a new trend has emerged among engaged couples. Wedding industry planners are recognizing a shift in the focus being diverted away from the couple and redirected towards charitable causes . The bride and groom, once the center of attention, are now contributing to a more social conscious wedding by highlighting and giving back to their local communities with charitable weddings.

How Does a Charitable Wedding Work?

Charitable weddings are as unique as the individual couples saying, “I Do.”

Sarah Kingston of Grand Rapids, MI chose to give back to her local chapter of Autism Speaks by making a cash donation in each of her guests’ names.

I spent nearly a year planning my dream wedding. Wrapped up in all the minute and, at times, senseless details that it started to feel overwhelming. The final breaking point was when I spent nearly 3 days agonizing over the perfect favors to give to my guests. Then, a childhood friend of mine and I went out to lunch to discuss her life and what was going on with her five year old son who suffers from Autism. It was then that I realized I could do so much more. The answer was clear.

Sarah convinced a local chocolate shop to donate chocolate-dipped strawberries for each of her 100 guests. The money that she would have spent on the favors, she donated to Autism Speaks.

It felt amazing to know I had given back when I had spent so much time thinking about me, me, me and my wedding day. I would do it all over again and encourage every bride to consider doing the same.

If your budget doesn’t allow you to contribute to a special cause like Sarah did, you could also consider asking your guests to donate in lieu of gifts like Kay Middleton of Sacramento, CA.

This was my second marriage to a man who had been married before, too. We both had established homes with all the trimmings. Registering for gifts that we didn’t really need seemed ridiculous and pointless. So, we asked our guests to donate money to the animal shelter where we had adopted our Sheltie, Murray. We were able to raise just shy of $5000 for the shelter. Knowing we had given back to our community made our wedding memorable and special.

Do you think charitable weddings make sense? How did, or would, you give back to your community on your wedding day?