Your wedding registry can be used to get the sustainable products you need for your new home and can be used to benefit Mother Earth. Read on to find out how you can create a sustainable, eco-friendly wedding registry!
Hey, Christie!
In eight months, Daniel and I are getting married at Ainsworth House & Gardens! We are soooooo excited!
For each part of the wedding, we are trying to find sustainable options. Daniel proposed with a vintage ring he bought from a jeweler as an alternative to mining new gemstones from the Earth. I LOVE my ring!!! We are asking the guests to blow bubbles when we leave instead of throwing confetti. So, are there any sustainable options for our wedding gift registry?
Thanks!
Elizabeth in Eugene, Oregon
Hey, Elizabeth!
We here at Ainsworth are so proud of you for taking Earth-friendly options for your wedding.
Create a sustainable or eco-friendly wedding registry. When you make a pledge to live sustainably, you can register for all the super-cute silicone cupcake liners, stainless steel straws, and metal tea bags you wish. Where can you register? Everlastly, Made Trade, Ten Thousand Villages, VivaTerra, Etsy, Uncommon Goods, Zola, and Earth Hero are some of your options for a sustainable gift registry.
In addition, there are retail entities, B-Corps, and foundations which support your intention. While you are familiar with retail, a B-Corp might be a newer concept. In a B-Corp, after all the bills and salaries are paid, any profits are given to charities. Stores such as REI support environmental initiatives through their REI’s Force of Nature project while 1% for the Planet helps you channel your donations to specific areas of environmental need.
Create a charity registry.
In addition to an eco-friendly wedding registry to select gifts for you, there is the charity registry.
A charity registry is the perfect way to give back to your community and start out your marriage with an act of generosity.
The charity registry allows your guests to make a donation in your honor to the charity or charities of your choice.
There are several ways to accomplish this.
- The GoodBeginning.com is one way to start. You select the charities or non-profits which you wish to support. The website sets up the platform through which your guests can donate to the charities you select.
- Or work directly with the charity/charities you select to set up an online donations portal on their website.
Swap out wedding favors for a donation to your favorite charity. Instead of giving out wedding favors, place a card on each table that states you have given a donation in the name of each guest to a favorite local or national animal rescue or conservation charity.
The Arbor Foundation is another option: They will plant a tree in honor of each guest! Many other non-profits will perform similar acts in honor of your guests.
If you love cats, ask your guests to make a donation to any cat rescue ogranization you select.
One option is The Rescue House in San Diego, California.
Since 1999, this non-profit has rescued and re-homed over 18,000 abandoned or abused cats.
(One of our staff volunteered for this organization for over 5 years until she moved.)
As you might know, the name “Daniel” is often associated with a lion’s den (as in the Bible story).
You might select a non-profit which rescues lions and gives them excellent lifetime care such as Turpentine Creek Exotic Wildlife Rescue in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
They are a USDA licensed facility for the rescue of lions and other big cats who have been in private ownership and lack the survival skills to be released back into the wild. Turpentine Creek provides lifelong care for each of their 100+ tigers, bears, and cougars.
While most couples opt to tell their guests that the donation in the guests’ honor is being sent to one charity, we had a couple who took this approach: On each table, there was a card at each chair which asked the guest to which of five charities the guest wanted a donation made in their honor instead of wedding favors. The choices included medical research, youth organizations, animal rescue, conservation organizations, and art/music organizations. The guest could check one of the five.
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Simply because I listed certain entities should not be taken as an endorsement. There are many other fine organizations.
Let me know if you have additional questions. I am happy to help you!
Your friend in the wedding business,
Christie Shyne
Wedding photos were taken at Ainsworth House & Gardens which owns copyright.
Other images are courtesy of Pixabay.com.
© 2023. Come Rain or Shyne, LLC. All rights reserved.
