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Your Wedding Registry Options

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Trying to choose the right registry for you? Here are the 3 most popular options:

A traditional wedding registry is basically any wedding registry in which you are registering for actual gifts. But these gifts can be as nontraditional as you want. Some couples choose to register for toasters, blenders, and throw pillows. Others prefer a list filled with guitars, video games, and family-sized bags of Cheetos. The goal is to pick items that will help you start your new life together. Department stores are the usual go-to for this, but these days you can also find wedding registry options at your favorite boutique stores and websites.

For couples who already have most of the necessary household items, honeymoon registries are a great way to go. You can register for everything on your honeymoon, from airline tickets to spa treatments. When your guests go online to purchase a gift for you, they can choose between the different experiences, rather than just giving you a cash amount.

Another option for couples who already have what they need is a charity registry. If you have a cause near and dear to your hearts, these registries are a way to give your wedding event an ever deeper meaning. Especially if you want to support a political cause, choose more than one charity so that all of your guests can donate to something that also has significance for them.

Photo Credit: Tami Melissa Photography

Green Bride Guide With Suggestions on Reusing Gowns for Good!

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Brides Against Breast Cancer accepts thousands of new and used wedding gowns every year from both private and corporate donors. These gowns are then sold to brides for excellent prices at gown sale events scheduled all over the country. You can find couture and high end wedding dresses with deep discounts!

Green Brides can donate their used dresses so that new brides can wear them on their special day. Instead of keeping your dress stowed away in your closet, someone else can reuse your dress so that it is not worn for one day.

Don’t want to give up the gown quite so soon?

Here are some other great charity options:

Diamonds for Dreams is the sale of diamonds, estate jewelry and other specialty jewelry items. This wonderful fundraising program helps grant the wishes of patients with terminal cancer. These wishes may be as simple as providing a sick patient’s loved ones airfare to see their ailing relative or even just a video camera to record time spent with their family.

The Pink Envelope Project This creative fundraiser is a unique way to raise money for breast cancer. You can choose any type of event such as a bridal shower, girls’ night out, couples’ gathering or a work related function. To start, you join the Pink Envelope Project and purchase envelopes to take and collect donations in at your event.

There are many simple ways to help in the fight against breast cancer. Do your part and stay green by donating used items that can be reused, treasured and loved by others.

Photo Credit: Brides Against Breast Cancer

Great New Charity: Tornado Took My Dress

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Watching the news lately, it seems like it has just been one natural disaster after another. The ladies over at the Tornado Took My Dress are helping brides connect with women with gently-used wedding dresses (which I think is pretty amazing). After your summer wedding (or if you are already married), consider donating your dress to this great charity for brides who have already lost so much. Read more about this charity from Trista Speer and Chrystal Emmert, the women who started Tornado Took My Dress:

What: Tornadotookmydress.com was just launched as a relief effort to help victims of the recent tornadoes. This site is to help provide wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses and wedding accessories to survivors of the recent storms in the mid-west who lost so much- including their wedding gowns! Please visit the site and learn more about this unique effort to help the victims of the storms have the weddings they originally planned. This site will only be successful if we can spread the word about it to those willing to donate and those in need. People with dresses or accessories to donate can find out how to commit to donate their dresses at tornadotookmydress.com.

Where: This site is run out of Portland, OR and Burke, VA but anyone can post their dress. TTMD does not take possession of any of the dresses nor do we accept monetary donations of any kind.

How to Donate: Donors email us a picture and description of the dress or accessory/decoration and preferred contact information to be posted on the webpage. Brides who see an item they are interested in contact the donors directly and arrange shipment. We thought this method would be the most efficient option as this site has the potential of being a nationwide effort to assist brides of the affected areas. Wedding season is hitting its height right now, and time is of the essence to provide brides in need with a dress!
TTMD was launched late May 29th, so it is very new and we are making every effort to quickly obtain donations. We currently have 3 wedding gowns that have been donated and are awaiting pictures and descriptions of a couple different bridesmaids dresses so that they may also be posted.

When: We need dresses donated immediately! We are also in need of assistance with spreading the word to residents of the affected areas so that the victims are aware of this relief effort and can benefit from the site.

Photo: Anna Hardy

Wednesday Links! Cupcakes, Bow Ties and Royal Wedding Madness!

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Happy Wednesday! I’m starting to really enjoy our little Wednesday meet-ups where we get to troll around the Internet together. And, today’s round-up is especially exciting because we’re going to head over to the other side of the pond (yes, I have succumb and am now embracing and relishing all things Royal Wedding… I just love her, don’t you?).

Ready? Here we go!

-Brightly colored garlands and the cutest, flowered cupcake toppers I’ve ever seen? Yes, please!

-Speaking of cupcakes, how about a mini wedding cake for your Big Day?

-Ain’t nothing cuter than a ring bearer in a bow tie. Paper N Stitch shows you how it’s done.

-For Japan with Love is heading offline to raise funds in person. If you’re in the Bay Area, be sure to stop by the live event on April 26th.

-Yes, sometimes it is easy being Green (and you can still get some rockin’ favors).

And now a few links from a small island that has some killer wedding fashion (and a Royal wedding, lucky ducks!).
-Well, this bride is just the prettiest, isn’t she?

-I believe these shoes can only be described as Out-of-Control Fabulous.

-This wedding has a double-decker bus and everything! Oh, how I love a London wedding…

-A rebellious, Royal Wedding style shoot.

-The official page to keep up with all of the Royal Wedding Going-ons.

Get Hitched, Give Hope

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We are so proud to be taking part in this year’s Get Hitched, Give Hope event. Do you know about them? They’re an organization of wedding folks that raises money to grant breast cancer patients’ wishes by throwing a big ole party once a year. All sorts of wedding vendors either donate or heavily discount their services and then let the public bid on them. 100% of the money raised goes to granting wishes so not only do you get a swanky cocktail party (it’s at the Four Seasons, enough said) and great deals on wedding services but it all goes to a great cause.

This year, they’re looking to raise $50,000 which would grant the wishes of 12 women. Just so you get an idea of what this means, here are some of the wishes they granted last year were:

-Susan and her family of 8 were able to have one last family vacation in Hawaii
-Heather and her family of 6 were able to see Mickey Mouse at Disney World
-Sharon’s wish was for her family of 4 to go to Hawaii
-Together with Brides Against Breast Cancer and The Making Memories Foundation, they granted Lisa’s last wish of having her dream wedding in Port Orchar
-We sent Susan and her son to Key West for one final good-bye

Tickets have a tendency to go fast; you can purchase them online here. If you’re not in the Seattle area or won’t be able to make it there are still other ways to get involved (including donating your wedding services!).

Let’s help them get to $50,000!

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