In a time of "me," they said "What about them?"

I wrote this earlier this year, following the natural disaster in Haiti. Thought I would finally share it...

"We all know that your wedding is a time when you can *tastefully* say "What about me?!" Usually (sans input from your financial backers) you get to pick everything down to the color of your toenail polish. You take hard-earned money and allow yourself to splurge as much as possible. You spend every cent of that money on flowers, catering, decor and shoes. If there's some left over, you allow yourself to splurge on the professional lighting that surprisingly didn't cost too much and a second "party" dress for the dancing.

But today's news on CNN brought me to tears.

Back Story:
What some of you may or may not know, this wedding planner *me* had a very low-key wedding. My husband and I had to replace the engine, transmission, thermostat and other odds and ends on my car about six months before the wedding. So our budget dropped drastically, seemingly overnight. To make up for that, we had to cut many things from our wedding, things I had spent a lot of time dreaming and planning about. Things I meticuously spent hours color coordinating and organzing in order to make "my" day as wonderful as I had always wanted. All of that went out the window the second a metal pingpong ball started popping around in my engine. I was devastated to say the last. I considered everything from the JP to Vegas for our wedding. But alas, after a few days of "poor poor me" I jumped on doing what I could with the budget that I had. My husband and I had a beautiful morning wedding overlooking the Texas Hill Country and a lunch reception, sans alcohol and dancing. It wasn't the dream I had originally had, but our family members stepped up where they could and donated their time and money to help us work out what we could. Above all, it left us with beautiful photos and beautiful marriage to boot!

Current Story:
A couple in Minneasota said goodbye to part of their wedding budet as well. It happened Sunday. No metal pingpong balls jumping around in their engine. No transmission failing to switch gears. No house burning down. No dog that needs surgery. No natural disaster... at least not for them. This couple sat down and read the newspaper on Sunday morning. It continued to teach them about the devastation in Haiti. Their hearts, just as ours, continued to break. That's when it hit them. In one morning they decided to donate 25% of their wedding budget to a charity that is aiding the victims in Haiti.

How. Awesome. Is. That?

How often in our lives do we have $10 - $20 thousand dollars sitting around. How often do you have even $1000 dollars to donate? How often do we even donate $100? What about $50? I don't know about you, but I don't exactly swim in money on a daily basis and when I do have extra cash, I find it easier to treat myself to a new pair of jeans than seek out a worthy charity.

This couple, originally working with a humble budget of $10,000 decided to donate 25% of it to people they didn't know. People in another country. People who needed it more than them.

Again I say...

How. Awesome. Is. That?

See the video here: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/01/19/dnt.wedding.funds.to.haiti.kare?hpt=T2

My thoughts:
In no way I am saying that everyone needs to do the same. In no way am I soliciting donations or saying that you must make a donation now. I am saying this, however. If you feel an urge to help, realize that your wedding budget can be a portal to provide that help.

Sit down and look over your budget. Think about where you can cut corners. Maybe provide simplier favors? Instead of catering your desert bar, let your Grandmother make her famous SnickerDoodle Cookies and your aunt, her brownies. Tap into the endless networks of DIY ideas on the internet. Talk to your sister, your friend or your wedding planner about ways to cut back without sacrificing your style or dreams.

But if you feel the urge to help... don't ignore it. And don't ignore the plethora of places to donate and help. Yes, Haiti needs it. But there are organizations in your state, in your city and even your immediate community that could probably use some help. As your wedding planner I promsie, the day of your wedding you won't notice that your favors weren't the ooberly cute/expensive ones you found on the popular wedding website. But you and your hubby can smile because you listened to your hearts and made a decision together to help. And just thinking about that makes my heart smile for you.

I started a beautiful marriage overlooking the Texas Hill Country. But how much more beautiful could that morning have been knowing that I made decisions to scale back our wedding because I provided meals for people who were hungry, shelter for those who had none or a book for a child who didn't own one?"

With Love,
~Your Wedding Planner
http://www.ywywaustin.com/