The excitement of your wedding – It is truly a special time. However, soon enough the reality that you will need a budget and some serious planning help arrives. Occasionally, a bride asks our hotel if all this expense for just one day in Maine is normal.  Well, yes. It is a very special day (there is a lot of history to why – for another blog). But if you are looking a way to make a difference with your Southern Maine wedding (or anniversary or birthday – really any celebration), then you may want to consider a charitable wedding.

Ways to Create a Charitable Wedding

• Volunteer. Bond you bridal party with a day spent helping a local shelter or making a difference with kids. Looking to volunteer your time based on your ability and location? There are many websites that can help you out. The point is to plan a few hours giving back together. Here are a few:
  • Idealist.org
  • VolunteerMatch.org
  • justserve.org

• Register for charitable gifts. As in add a charity that you and your love care about. And if you can’t choose, options like amazon smile can let your guests give to what matters to them and really spread the impact.
• Skip the party favors. Instead of little gifts for your guests, make donation for what you would have spent to a local charity. In Southern Maine, there are many worthy choices such as Caring Unlimited, York County Shelter, Animal Welfare Society and many, many more.
• Save the leftovers. Ask when booking your caterer where leftovers go and if they don’t have an answer, request that the local food panty receive them. This means less of the food you purchase for your wedding goes to waste and if this is the first time the caterer has been asked this, who knows. You just might start them on a path to help more.
• Honeymoon Helper. Sure you can book a trip to lie on a beach and get couples massage. But you could do that and help make a difference for a day or two as well. Websites such as projects-abroad.org can help you find trips.
• Donate the Dress. Okay, this one is a big step. But if you are truly never going to wear your wedding dress again, Brides Against Breast Cancer would love to hear from you.

And finally, you want to ask your vendors about green and charity practices that they have in place. Of Course a hotel that is central to your Southern Maine wedding venue for guests is important.

At the Meadowmere Resort, our Ogunquit hotel is close and it is a leading green hotel in Maine. The hotel and it’s team have received numerous awards and recognition for our community efforts, including hosting weekends throughout the year to benefits local charities. Our wedding services and blocks in Southern Maine are available year round and our sales team can find a local charity to fit your wedding plans.

All this planning for one day – but truly it is up to you how far and wide your wedding day can reach!

We wish you happy wedding planning from Southern Maine!