relationships

Weddings with a social conscience - why it's cool (& easy) to give back

Weddings with a social conscience - why it's cool (& easy) to give back

I've watched weddings change and evolve markedly over the last few years. Consider, for example, the relatively new (and 1st world problem) of coordinating unplugged weddings (ie. a ban on the social media upload of guests photos). 

One of the trends that I have noticed and think is super cool, is the concept of giving back in the planning stages, the execution (there's got to be a better way to phrase that) and/or clean-up of a wedding. And the best part is that you don't need to be a paid-up member of Greenpeace, chain yourself to a heritage listed building or march in the streets to make a difference.

Here are some of the great new ways you can share the love of your special day with those less fortunate.

We're engaged, now what?

We're engaged, now what?

By the time my couples get around to hiring me to officiate their wedding ceremony, there have already been dozens of decisions made, promises sealed with handshakes, expectations set and dollars shelled out. Generally, couples will set a date, book a venue, and start pulling together a guest list long before we talk about their ceremony. And THAT part is okay – everyone’s priorities are different. The part that mystifies me is when brides and grooms sit in my meeting room and bemoan their own decisions…as if they weren’t their own. Their wedding is already not what they wanted.

Because, very early on, they felt the weight of (family/friends/social) expectation and caved into it before they listened to their own instincts.

But what if we turned the wedding planning thing on it’s head?