I met a very nice man called Mick Ryan on Saturday and I was reminded of a post I've been meaning to publish for a while now.

While a wedding is a time of great joy, with all your family and friends around celebrating the two of you and your new life together, it can be bittersweet; it can be a huge reminder of someone you loved but lost. For others, all the spending on flowers and clothes, food and drink, can be a reminder of how lucky they are, and how there are so many less fortunate. For these and many other reasons, there has been a definite trend towards incorporating charitable donations into weddings.

This is Mick with his doves. 

Mick tragically lost his son a few years ago and now raises funds for Console, which helps people  bereaved through suicide. Mick offers a very special romantic service to brides and grooms on their wedding day - he releases a pair of white doves after the ceremony. For this service he requests a €200 donation to be made to Console. Mick's service is just one way of donating to charity. There are many other ways to incorporate giving back into your wedding. Here are a few ideas:

Donations instead of gifts

If you've got all the toasters and ironing boards you need, and you don't want to accept cash from friends and relations, why not put a note on your invitations that you would prefer donations to be made to a particular charity in your names? Or if you don't want to donate all of the wedding gift money (some of it can be pretty essential) why not decide to donate a percentage of it when you get back from honeymoon?

Alternative Wedding List

Oxfam also and Unicef offer specific wedding gift lists made up of potential donations. Bothar also offer this service but you need to contact them to arrange.

(photo from Jonathan Day used under cc)

Wedding Favours

Many charities  have specific offerings created for brides and grooms who want to donate instead of giving wedding favours to guests. Some such as  Special Olympics or ISPCC offer placecards to put on the tables stating your support, others offer pins or  badges, mini-toys, pens or keyrings.  The ISPCA can provide you with scrolls to place on each table explaining your gift to them.

Special Collections

I've been to a few weddings where there have been special collections either during, or after the ceremony for causes close to the couple's hearts. This is best organised with the Priest or celebrant, and also with the charity.

Many of the charities I have mentioned above are large, well known non-profits who have developed specific offerings for weddings, but what if you want to contribute to something smaller or more local? I think the most important thing is that you are contributing to a cause you believe in, or that is really close to your heart. So it may be that you want to support your local Meals on Wheels, GAA club or Tidy Towns Committee, and if you do, you could incorporate it very simply either in one of the ways above, or by

• putting a note on your menu
• putting a scroll on the table or a note in the centrepiece
• putting a note on the seating chart
• mentioning in one of the speeches

Really these ideas are just the tip of the iceberg, IDOFoundation has many more, and I'd love to hear other ideas or experiences you've had...