Sierrastyle Weddings - 146

PLAN Country Village (BellaDonnaBride.com) suggests, “If you are more practical, you can shorten your gown into a fun cocktail dress.” Or, she says that if you’re more traditional and have hopes of a daughter or neice wearing your dress in the future, “You can also preserve your gown for future generations. It costs $200-$300 and protects the gown from turning yellow over time.” And, what to do with those bridesmaid dresses? In this arena, Photo courtesy of Jodi Yorston Photography, byjyp.com. B take home instead of trinkets that get tossed. Sullivan suggests humor over practicality. “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride?” she says. “Have your girlfriends over for a ‘Wear-Your-UgliestBridesmaid-Dress’ party.” Surplus Stuff After my wedding, I had a seemingly endless supply of ribbon purchased from the very posh Costco (I just used the last of it on packages this Christmas). But the remainder of supplies, I donated or sold in garage sales. I feel a little guilty now, because with all the green suggestions, I probably could’ve done better. Some local organizations, like Snowline Hospice (snowlinehospice.org) or WEAVE, Women Escaping a Violent Environment (weaveinc.org) would have welcomed the donations. Another great resource are local wedding planners. Michelle Klaff of Elegant Events (ElegantEventsbyMichelle.com) based in El Dorado Hills knows of many ways to donate to people in need. In fact, she is even connected with a woman in Uganda who uses donated dresses for needy women there. Supplies like ribbons, netting, things used to decorate the cake table or adorn the buffet, stationary and disposable cameras are all things that childrens’ hospitals might like to have on hand for patients, or teachers and student group leaders might like to have for art classes. Many student volunteers go to hospitals or nursing homes and make small art projects to decorate and make things festive during holiday times using left over supplies from weddings. Check with the local childrens’ hospitals first as some have restrictions on what you can and cannot donate. Log on to ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/children/give and shrinershq.org/Hospitals/ Northern_California/volunteer/community_giving.aspx. with seasonal plants and guests enjoy having something useful to Roseville resident, Mary Ann Findlay, agreed and had a few ideas of her own. She recently attended a wedding where centerpieces were made of wheat grass. The guests took some home in a little dish that was provided. Along the same lines, another bride mixed her homegrown flowering mint in the centerpieces and again, guests took them home to enjoy. But sometimes it isn’t practical to offer centerpieces or flowers to guests, so many brides arrange to have the flowers immediately donated to hospitals, hospices, senior homes or nearby shelters. Pick a facility in your area and call them to see what their restrictions are. The Dresses, The Shoes… eBay, craigslist and The Knot (theknot.com) are great ways to recycle or sell your wedding dress if you aren’t the sentimental kind. And of course there are many organizations who would appreciate your gown donation such as: the Salvation Army (salvationarmyusa.org) and Goodwill (goodwill.org). In addition, One great charity is Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation, (makingmemories.org), who will sell your gown and use the proceeds to fund breast cancer research. Another option is Princess Project or Cinderella’s Closet, organizations that provide prom dresses to young girls in need (princessproject.org, safeinsacramento.org/html/cinderalla.html). Ashley Sullivan at Bella Donna Bridal Salon in Sacramento’s Town & Something Old, Something New The days before a wedding may still elicit cause for fret, but the resources today make it a whole lot easier to complete the event with the confidence that you were able to give back and make someone else’s day as memorable as your own. Give it a try. You may end up providing the something borrowed in the next big day. O O 146 Sierrastyle Weddings Premiere 2007

http://BellaDonnaBride.com http://byjyp.com http://snowlinehospice.org http://weaveinc.org http://ElegantEventsbyMichelle.com http://theknot.com http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/children/give http://shrinershq.org/Hospitals/northern_california/volunteer/community_giving.aspx http://salvationarmyusa.org http://goodwill.org http://safeinsacramento.org/html/cinderalla.html

Sierrastyle Weddings

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