Wedding Planner Absent Without Permission

I am a bad wedding planner, no actually I'm a bad blogger - I've been away from my I Do Vow To blog for close to two months and there's no excuse - well, I take that back, I've been traveling half way around the world and back for my wedding destination business.

I conducted site inspections in Jamaica and Italy for two couples planning their weddings in these countries. The trips were a wild success and both couples are anxiously awaiting their wedding day in these exotic locations. I am making a promise to get back on track and continue to blog my advice for wedding planning with a commitment to the environment, to community and to social responsibility.

Look for weekly updates soon. Thank you for your patience with me and although I can't promise to stay home, I will promise fresh new information and ideas.

Yours in planning,

IDoVowTo

Follow me on Twitter under IDoVowTo

I Do Vow To "Share My Blessings"

In this third of a series of "I Do Vow To" posts, "share my blessings" can mean many things. Here are some thought provoking tips to get you started on the path to planning your wedding that lasts beyond your wedding day:

• Arrange to have your flowers, centerpieces and bouquets delivered to a nursing home, hospital or long-term care facility
  
• Work with a caterer who can donate excess food to a local shelter, fire station or food shelf
  
• Provide meaningful wedding favors crafted by patients of a rehab center, hospice unit, or any facility that offers crafts, jewelry or art for sale. For example the Alzheimer's Association of Kansas City auctions patients artwork and raises substantial sums for Alzheimer's research. The Courage Center of Minneapolis offers beautiful greeting cards, completely designed and created by residents of the Courage Center.
  
• In lieu of a meaningful favor, donate a sum to a favorite charitable organization
• Hire wedding vendors who donate a portion of their fee to benevolent causes

I hope these tips will inspire you to create a memorable and meaningful wedding that will live beyond your wedding day. Please share your ideas with us!

Thank you for reading...

I Do Vow To

I Do Vow To "Symbolize My Wedding"

I Do Vow To "symbolize my wedding through charitable giving" is a great way to honor the commitment you two have or are making before God, family and friends. One way to symbolize or add your signature to your wedding is by offering a generous donation to the foundation or charity of your choice.

I suggest donations for couples who have hired Fete Perfection for wedding planning, especially those who think they need to provide a wedding favor but don't really have anything in mind. Rather than purchasing a favor, donate a sum of money to a good cause. Couples love the idea and spend quite a bit of time researching worthy organizations in which to make their donation.

Many couples will even suggest a charitable donation in lieu of guests providing wedding gifts. If that is the case, I recommend this information be posted on a couples wedding website and not listed on the invitation because gifts are never an obligation.

Look for organizations whose actual donations go toward those it benefits and not excessive administrative costs and expenses. Check out Charity Navigator for information about the financial health of more than 5,400 of America's largest charities. See who is consistently in the top ten for lowest fundraising fees and admin expense and highest in benefit.

Your wedding day is symbolic of you, your commitment towards each other and a look to the future. Incorporating charitable gift giving as a part of your wedding is the "signature" of a compassionate couple dedicated to improving the lives of others either locally or globally. That improvement begins with your wedding day.

I Do Vow To Coordinating Services

After viewing a fabulous marketing plan created by two very talented guys, I am moving forward with rolling out I Do Vow To not just as an added service to Fete Perfection but it's own entity. I can't wait to see the finished product and services but look for the I Do Vow To website and marketing materials targeting urban environmentalists that get excited about having a fabulous wedding but who are energized by making a positive difference in the lives of others long after their wedding.

I was able to preview the ad campaign which centers around I Do Vow To and can see this particular campaign will tug at heartstrings across the country. I can't wait! If all goes as planned this should be up and ready by June 21 - just before I head off to Engage:09 in the Cayman Islands.

Our I Do Vow To Commitment

Our commitment at I Do Vow To is to not only help couples plan the wedding of their dreams, but also to create a wedding experience that has implications into the future. A couple's wedding day is a time they will remember and cherish hopefully into their twilight years, but the day is just that...one day.

After the flowers have wilted, the linens returned and the guests have gone home the wedding day is over. It's a lot like Christmas with all the hard work, all the anticipation, cooking, wrapping, cleaning and finally it's here...but just for a few short hours, then suddenly gone.

While Christmas will return again, your wedding day will not. However, a wedding designed and coordinated by I Do Vow To will provide the assurance that the impact of your wedding day will be felt long after the day has passed. For example, I Do Vow To will commit to eliminating waste in two ways. We will not knowingly waste valuable dollars on unnecessary or frivolous purchases such as favors, nor will we contribute to the ever growing piles of waste in our landfills.

While I love the world of weddings, I also recognize how terribly wasteful they can be. I have posted previous blogs about wedding waste and favors, so will not repeat myself except to say, I believe we can reverse the wasteful trend and start a new one.

For example, I agree that Save-the-Date cards are a great tool for couples, but they are another wedding product that ultimately ends up in the trash. Why not prepare an online, interactive Save-the-Date invitation like my friend and colleague, Andrew Vick did for his upcoming wedding. Bookmark the link on your computer and you have everything you need to save-the-date.

I believe couples can make another important and long lasting impact while planning their wedding by being selective with the vendors they choose. Every vendor that I Do Vow To recommends is involved in philanthropic work in one form or another. For example, Laurie Schneider of Laurie Schneider Photography volunteers time and pledges funding for Home For Life an animal rescue in Wisconsin where all animals are kept until they are adopted or there to stay. These animals are never euthanized but are loved and cared for and these animals are truly Home For Life, forever.

Andrew Vick of Vick Photography sponsors a child for one year through World Vision in the name of each couple that hires him for their wedding photography. That couple has the option to continue the sponsorship at their anniversary.

These are the commitments and focus that drive I Do Vow To and I sincerely hope you agree that we can plan a fabulous wedding for you but at the same time make a lasting difference in this world for children, animals and us all.

Local Resource = Big Savings...

...and it's eco-chic. What could be better than this?




Gosh, I'm getting ahead of myself I better explain - I'm so excited to be working with Mari Bern of MBellish a wonderful company she founded over four years ago {and ahead of the eco-friendly curve I might add} which rents unique, stylish and reusable wedding decor.

She is located in Newport {a St. Paul suburb} however will come to you with her beautiful samples which is an added bonus when you and your wedding planner are selecting linens on the other end of town and having a hard time imagining how everything will coordinate. Mari has a great sense of style and creativity which is why many of her weddings have been featured in Minnesota Bride and The Knot.

Many of these pieces can be stand-alone or MBellish-ed with flowers... they're lovely either way. Two GREEN thumbs up to Mari Bern of MBellish for her contribution to the eco-chic world of weddings and providing less wedding waste.

Wedding Waste

I'm going to go out on a limb here and make some unpopular declarations about weddings. I recognize that I am part of an industry that thinks little about all the waste associated with modern day weddings and I want to change that. Now more than ever we need to completely revamp our old ways and embrace the challenge of making those changes.

Last year I had the opportunity to meet Colin Cowie, author of many fabulous wedding and lifestyle books, celebrity planner and designer to the stars, dignitaries and crowned heads around the world. He is a truly gifted designer with a vision most of us can never dream of. He's also a very benevolent contributor and educator to the wedding industry, however I was shocked at his response to my simple question. After viewing a slideshow of one of his recent 2.5 million dollar weddings which really was extraordinary, I asked him what he does with all the stuff.

His response...apologetic as it was..."we throw it all away". He acknowledged his carbon footprint is grossly huge and added that this is the one depressing aspect of his business. I began thinking this is "the" depressing aspect of the wedding industry.

The wedding industry as a whole thrives on trends, change and challenges, therefore I am challenging everyone in this industry to change the way they do business and to make it trendy to reduce wedding waste by 25% starting now.

The newest division of my wedding planning business Fete Perfection, is I Do Vow To. My hope is to create awareness to all the waste and to educate couples as well as the professionals they hire to make a significant impact on the waste problem. Secondly, I would love to see couples passionate about contracting with only wedding professionals who are committed to giving of their time, rather than just money to worthy causes.

I have been meeting with many local wedding professionals to discuss the concept of I Do Vow To and to learn more about their personal missions. I am so pleased to learn how many have been quietly making a difference. My mission is to work with couples with the same sense of responsibility and commitment to making a difference, one wedding at a time.

For now, I Do Vow To is a concept and a blog, but look for details and other ideas in our new website which will be named I Do Vow To coming soon.