Category Archive: Real Weddings

1. New Wedding Trend: Recycled Weddings Making a Difference

   March 7, 2017 2:22 pm Leave a Comment

    Making a Difference instead of Making a Splash

   Planning a wedding is a serious task – there’s so much to consider in order to reflect the two of you, how to entertain
   your family and friends, and sometimes as we know “the devil is in the details”. In the process of planning it is
   possible to lose sight of what is important in the middle of all the tulle, lace, invitations, favors, and photo booths.
   Ultimately, the point of a wedding is the marriage – how you two will live your lives together. A recent trend has
   couples making a difference, opting to spend or donate their wedding budget on a cause or charity close to their hearts.
   If you want to give back and extend your celebration to the wider community, consider looking into some of these
   different options.

   Photo courtesy of Black Sheep Bride, Meigan Canfield Photography

    

   Photo courtesy of Black Sheep Bride, Meigan Canfield Photography

   Pinterest can be a helpful tool but it can also lead to a serious case of “wedding envy” and spur competition to make
   each wedding more opulent and fantastic than the last. Instead of the hottest wedding trend, try researching your
   church, community center, or a cause close to your heart to find a way you can contribute. Gather your wedding party to
   work for a weekend on a Habitat for Humanity project or spend a few hours serving meals at a homeless shelter.

   Ismini & Mark Svensson traveling around the US, performing 50 Acts of Kindness. Photo
   credit: CNN, Svensson family

   Check out vendors – from wedding dresses to venues to photography – who give back to charities on  Black Sheep Bride to find one that fits you. You can find someone in nearly
   every vendor category that will support a cause that’s special to you, making even your wedding expenditures count.

   

   • Are you environmentally conscious and looking for a stunning but Eco-friendly gown? Check out Pure Magnolia gowns and
   Restitch Studio, both Black Sheep Bride vendors specializing in making you gorgeous for your day while reusing already
   existent or sustainable materials.
   • Looking for a photographer who gives back? Check out Sandrachile
   Photography in Pittsburgh – she donates to Too Young To Wed, an organization that combats forced child marriage
   as well as Rabbit Wranglers, which rescues neglected and abused rabbits.
   • A major wedding budget item is food, and quite often there are lots of leftovers from weddings. In Pittsburgh,
   consider donating leftover wedding reception meals to 412FoodRescue, an
   organization that collects good food that would otherwise be discarded and distributes it to community organizations in
   need.
   • Flowers are a considerably large chunk of a wedding budget, and are often completely neglected after the few hours
   they are used to grace the reception tables or other parts of the venue. In Pittsburgh, why not give those flowers a
   second chance to bring a smile to faces by donating them through an organization such as Centerpieces 4 Seniors to a Senior retirement home, where they will
   be enjoyed for days. Started by Kelli Burns and Rose Davidson, these ladies collaborated by asking brides and venues to
   donate floral arrangements to the organization, which delivers them to senior care homes. They will pick up arrangements
   after any event, and often brides who choose Kelli Burns Entertainment for their DJ services will opt to donate their
   floral arrangements after seeing how much Kelli and Rose care for their service to Centerpieces 4 Seniors.

   

   Kelli Burns and Rose Davidson delivering flowers through Centerpieces 4 Seniors.

   Recycled Weddings recently got national coverage in an article in The New York Times, highlighting four couples who
   chose to donate their time, money, and host their special day in a non-traditional but meaningful way. One couple chose
   an LGBT community center integral to their relationship for their venue, another was married at a homeless outreach
   shelter where they serve meals. An Indian couple traded the traditional Indian wedding for a simple ceremony at City
   Hall and dinner with family and friends, instead donating $20,000 to a charity that feeds children victims of Boko Haram
   violence and encouraged their guests to donate too. For every “big wedding” aspect they celebrated, a final couple
   involved their wedding party and families in packing brown-bag lunches for homeless shelters and other outreach.
   How can your wedding make a difference?

2. Brandi and Colin – Personalized Wedding, The Corinthian with DJ Jeremy Czarniak

   July 7, 2015 10:54 am Leave a Comment

   Brandi & Colin Snyder

   Personalized Wedding at The Corinthian

   March 21, 2015

   

   It is easy to get caught up in the excitement and chaos
   that come with planning your wedding. As bride Brandi realized in preparing for her very personalized wedding at
   The Corinthian, time can get away from you. “You can plan and prep like crazy like I did for two years and still
   those last few weeks will be nuts.” However, through all of the decision
   making it is important to remember one thing: make your wedding YOUR wedding!

   Coming up with a fitting theme or simply adding in small
   details that are personal to you and your fiancee is a great way to make your wedding day memorable. Brandi kept
   this in mind as she and her husband planned their wedding and believes that it is a big reason their day was so
   special.

   

   Brandi personalized her wedding, tailoring the menu
   cards, seating charts, invitations, gift bags, table numbers, and cake
   toppers all to fit her and her husband Colin’s personalities. She created centerpieces using empty bottles of
   wine that she and her friends had shared over the years.

   “I didn’t call it a theme it was more us. I wanted the day
   to be us, some of our favorite things.”

   To incorporate Colin, she topped the cake with bride and groom Pez
   dispensers, which she said Colin has collected all his life. She also thought of Colin’s collection of vinyl records
   while trying to figure out how to personalize the wedding.

   “Colin is the guy who gets up super early on record store day to wait in
   line for limited or special release of albums. So my thought was making vinyl the table numbers. I went to a local
   thrift store and bought a whole bunch of 45s so I could make them into table numbers. I did have to go back though
   because Colin decided to keep some of them.”

   Brandi raved about the benefits of these DIY, or “do it
   yourself,” projects, saying they involve time and effort but the personal touch they put on a wedding and the
   money they save are well worth it. She also raved about her DJ Jeremy Czarniak and wedding photographer Shannon
   Kenyon.
   

    

   “Jeremy was so personable, fun and just a breeze to work with! I love
   Broadway musicals and was able to walk down the aisle to “For Good” from Wicked. I couldn’t have thought of a better
   song and would never have thought of that without him suggesting it. I know that is something small and probably
   only means something special to me but I am still beyond ecstatic that that got to be my ceremony song because of
   his suggestion.”

   Brandi loved that Jeremy kept everyone on the floor at the reception
   with fun dancing songs and a Grease sing-a-long that everyone loved and, over all, exceeded her and Colin’s
   expectations.

   Brandi’s wedding photographer, Shannon Kenyon, also seemed to be big
   part in Brandi’s memories of the day. “I suggest to any couple to do engagement photos, you totally get to see how
   working with your photographer will be. Shannon was so much fun and easy to work with and was ok with every
   suggestion or idea I had. However, the ones she suggested were the best. She definitely has a great eye.”

    

    

    

   To see more Shannon Kenyon Photography: www.shannonkenyon.com

   For DIY wedding ideas: http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/things-to-diy-instead-of-buy-for-your-wedding#.mfYzOa3NR