If you ask me about my passion, if it is not related to wedding planning, it would be to do anything that can help benefit children. When I was asked to contribute to a table design that would raise money for children at the Olivewood Gardens & Learning Center, I was beyond ecstatic when Kathy Wright of Kathy Wright & Co. agreed to partner up with me (not only for her amazing creative floral designs) but also because I know she loves kids! The theme of the fundraiser is called Heart of the Harvest so we are to create a design that incorporate food & vegetables into the design. Kathy and I decided to go with our “bushels” of fruits & vegetables like at a farmer’s market. The design turned out so cute with little baskets of potatoes and apple & flower arrangements, and baskets of green beans. We also sprinkled fall color leaves around the “bushels” to tie everything in together with the fall theme. I love it so much, I may have to recreate this for my holiday dinner party! Our arrangements was set on a burlap runner on a dark walnut rustic table that was donated by Pow Wow Vintage Rentals., along with the chairs.
I hope you enjoy the pictures taken by me with my iphone! (except for one, i think was taken by Pow Wow Vintage Rentals)
Xoxo,
Wynn
The one below is the one I didn’t take, but thank you to this photographer!
Check out the video I made to see the decor more in detail
fruits & vegetables centerpieces by Kathy Wright & Co with Wynn Austin Events Table Design
September 27, 2010 Comments Off
Wedding Favors…it’s one of those things where it is part of tradition so many couples feel obligated to have to provide a favor to their guests. The reality is, I (Wynn) usually end up gathering all the left over favors at the end of the night and pack it up and give it back to the couple. I’m sure after the wedding, you are not going to know what to do with 50 extra keychains or mini frames. Although these trinkets are cute, I’m a believer of not having things go to waste. When it’s a budget issue, this is the first place that I cut from the budget for my couples. If the couple feels compelled to have a favor, another idea is to donate to their favorite charity, or a charity that impacted themselves or a loved one. Here is a great article that I read on CNN.
Love Always,
Wynn
“The Charitable Wedding: ”I Give” instead of just “I Do”"
by Stephanie Chen
www.cnn.com
(CNN) — The collection of wedding favors stuffed into Sarah Dixon’s closet includes everything from customized peppermints to a cup holder shaped like a flip-flop.
When her shining bridal moment arrived in October 2009, Dixon, 26, abandoned the cheesy wedding trinkets for a nobler cause.
She gave each guest a small bag of chocolate truffles to mark a cash donation in guests’ honor to the Wounded Warriors Project, a nonprofit support group for injured veterans.
Dixon’s husband, Todd Rump, 26, a sergeant for the U.S. Army, was deployed to Iraq for an eight-month stint three years ago.
“I figured it would be something for our guests to enjoy,” said Dixon, whose husband will leave this week for duty with the Army in Afghanistan. “I kind of always knew I wanted to do something charitable. When it comes to favors, it’s hard to choose something that won’t just sit in someone’s house or get thrown away.”
A growing number of couples are shifting the spotlight from their weddings to socially conscious causes, wedding planners and industry experts said.
Donations in lieu of wedding favors are gaining popularity. More people are setting up charitable registries via the internet. After all, one Montana bride rationalized, what is the use of a wedding favor during hard economic times?
“It’s so easy to do,” said Anja Winikka, senior editor atTheKnot.com, one of the most popular wedding planning destinations online. “You have so much attention, all the love of your friends and these gifts flowing in. It inspires some couples to give something back with all eyes on them.”
There are no hard rules set for donating to charities for weddings, but some wedding etiquette experts recommend couples avoid putting donation requests on the invitation. Usually, wedding websites or social media can efficiently and appropriately advocate a specific cause. Introducing the organization on a wedding program can also spread the word, they said.
Weddings may be an ideal place to gather attention for a charity. There were about 2.2 million weddings in 2009, with each event averaging 128 guests, according to The Wedding Report Inc., a research company tracking the wedding industry.
Charitable donations at weddings come in all forms. One New Jersey bride this month gave tree seeds to guests to promote environmental sustainability. A wedding next month in Minnesota will ask attendees to bring a nonperishable canned or boxed food item for the local food bank. A Louisiana couple married in March raised $850 to help rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward.
“Beyond all the humanitarian reasons, the need to rebuild the houses, our desire just to do good, there’s real benefits for us in the long run,” said the groom, Max Erenberg, 35, who lives near the Lower 9th Ward. “It certainly helps us having those neighborhoods back.”
Quantifying the uptick in couples trying to donate during their weddings is difficult because there are few experts tracking the phenomenon. According to TheKnot.com, 4 percent of couples in 2009 had a registry connected to a charity, but the figure doesn’t include guests who donate without a registry or couples who replace wedding favors with donations.
In the last few years, more organizations have emerged to cater to engaged couples wanting to donate. More than 650,000 couples since 2004 have participated in charity programs onWeddingChannel.com.
The I Do Foundation, a nonprofit group that helps engaged couples set up charitable registries, reports that about 60,000 couples have established registries through its site. When the foundation began in 2002, couples could select from a dozen charities, said Grant La Rouche, director of the foundation. Today, the agency offers more than 1.5 million nonprofit groups to choose from. Couples can also shop from selected vendors, with a portion of their spending going to a charity. The donations also are tax deductible.
“They want to share that it’s a part of who they are and so much of weddings are about making it about what you love,” La Rouche said.
Nonprofits are also starting to establish their own wedding gift giving programs. Heifer International, an Arkansas-based group known for donating farm animals to impoverished communities worldwide, started an alternative gift giving registry five years ago and has received thousands of donations, officials said.
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, launched a wedding program in 2006 and sells posters and mini-place cards for couples to give to their guests when they donate, said Katie Hammett, foundation program coordinator. But Hammett said some brides still prefer a more traditional registry or favors.
“It really depends on the bride — some brides are really into the idea, and some brides really want to go a different way,” Hammett said.
The demand for charitable weddings enabled Mary Ludwig of New Hampshire to start a niche business three years ago called Truffles for a Cause. The company sells chocolates to couples, but a portion of the money goes to a charity the couple picks. The most popular charity has been the American Cancer Society, but Ludwig has had brides request donations go to organizations supporting families affected by the 9/11 attacks and local soup kitchens.
“This generation and probably the next generation — the kids are brought up being more socially aware,” Ludwig said. “They are always thinking about what we can do to save the planet, or helping people when there are earthquakes.”
While a generation of generous millennials may be one reason for the jump in charitable weddings, some wedding experts said they believe charitable giving also represents a larger cultural shift in marriage. More couples are cohabitating and marrying later. For example, in 2009, the average age for a bride was 28 and the average groom’s age was 30, according to a survey of 21,000 couples conducted by TheKnot.com. In 2004, the bride was 27 and the groom was 29.
“By the time they are getting married they don’t need flatware, silverware and candlesticks,” said wedding writer Ariel Meadow Stallings, who runs the blog OffbeatBride.com.
Modern brides are also in an unspoken competition to ensure their wedding is different from their peers, she said. Many believe choosing a charity with a personal story can make their gifts to guests more distinctive.
Valerie Manglitz, 36, who married this past month in Michigan, decided to donate to a local agency that serves deaf people. She has worked as a sign language interpreter since she was 20 years old. She hopes her giving will create a ripple effect.
“You want to lead by example,” Manglitz said. “You have to show people what you’re doing so hopefully they will join.”
May 7, 2010 Comments Off
Friends and Colleagues Come to the Aid of Local Florist
Reported by: Jim Patton
Last Update: 12:03 am
Suzanne comforts Peggi as she undergoes chemo treatments for stage 4 colon cancer
Related Links
Online auction
Metro Floral
A florist in Mission Hills who’s been in the business for decades, found herself in a head-on crash back in 2009 that broke her leg. No sooner had she recovered from that accident, Peggi Walker was told she had stage 4 colon cancer.
“Wow — we all know we’re going to die but…” Peggy told San Diego 6 she was overwhelmed when faced with her mortality. “Wow, okay.”
In her 35 years as business, Peggi forged some close relationships but perhaps none more special than with photographer Suzanne Hansen, one of Peggi’s networking partners. It was a business relationship that lead to friendship. Suzanne spent hours sitting with Peggi through chemo treatments, supporting her strong will to live.
Slowed down by the chemo, Peggi wasn’t working as much. Suzanne decided to call out to the network and she was answered with a flood of support from wedding planners, invitation designers, florists, caterers, videographers, DJs and cake makers. You name it, and they donated their services for an on-line auction to keep Peggi afloat.
“I wanted to do whatever I could to keep her in that place,” explained Suzanne.
It’s a gesture and a response that Peggi says she finds humbling.
If you’re planning a wedding and looking for some good deals for a good cause, the on-line auction to help Peggi continues through Friday.
Just click on the related link.
January 25, 2010 Comments Off
I’m not going to lie, I’m one of those people that don’t like to watch or read the news too much because most of the stuff is so depressing. I’ve held off learning about the disaster in Haiti long enough. I dialed in to the “Hope for Haiti” when they were having the event on Friday night on CNN. It broke my heart. Being a new parent, and watching volunteers save an 8 year old boy that was buried under the rubbles for 8 days was a true miracle. I can’t imagine how scared he must of been. That night I called in and donated on my personal behalf (and talked to Michael Keaton) but I decided that I want to donate 10% of all proceeds of weddings booked from now until the end of March. I love what George Clooney said. He said that no matter what our religious beliefs are, when we witness massive human suffering, we want to do what we can to help.
So help me show some love for Haiti and contact me for your complimentary consultation today.
Love,
Wynn
July 21, 2009 Comments Off
Brides & Grooms,
Today, I met with Mary Ryan Barthel, the founder & president of
Blooms from the Heart. Her organization is non-profit and they collect donations of flowers from events and weddings and delivers them to groups in need, such as hospitals, nursing homes, youth shelters etc. After a wedding, usually the flowers go to wastes, so why not donate them to these charities? Mary mentioned that they will work with you if you want them to go to a specific organizations and you can either donate the whole arrangements or just the florals. You can also get a receipt for tax deductions as well =)
This is such a unique and easy way to give back to our community and be able to put a smile on someone’s face.
Please let me know if you are interested!
Hugs,
Wynn
Wynn
