Weddings That Give Back

Weddings these days are often about excess: lavish flowers, designer dresses and expensive party favors that gather dust in car trunks and closets for months after the reception draws to a close.

But some brides and grooms to be are rebelling against the excessive spending of their nuptials by directing some funds to support a greater cause, the New York Times reports. That's where charities such as the I Do Foundation and the Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation step in.

Couples can integrate charity into their weddings in a variety of ways, such as donating the cost of guest favors to a charitable cause through the I Do Foundation.

Newlywed women can donate their gently used gowns to Making Memories' "Brides Against breast Cancer". The gowns are resold at a deeply discounted price for young women who have a small budget for the dress of their dreams. The proceeds go toward funding memorable events for cancer patients.

"There is a social change within the wedding community," Sharon Elaine Lewis, the publisher of Washington Weddings, a bridal magazine covering the District of Columbia and its suburbs. "Wedding professionals are starting to get the idea - where to do this, where to donate the leftover food. It's starting to spread in the community at large."

To read the whole article and learn more ways you can give back on your wedding day, read the New York Times article.

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