FAIR TRADE WEDDING: WEDDING FAVOURS AND WEDDING INVITATIONS
… a small gesture to give a deeper meaning to the most exciting day of your life.
The wedding day is one of the best moment of your life. It is the day in which you can finally realise the dream that you have been waiting for so long and you can share this emotional moment with your friends and your family.
On this very special day you also have the opportunity to fulfil also the dreams of people who are less fortunate than you, showing your sensibility without giving up the elegance, harmony and attention to detail that you desire for your wedding.
This is an innovative way to show how weddings can also have an ethical, social and ecological side giving substantial support to those people and communities who have less means than we have.
You will not need to do much to enhance your wedding day with fair-trade wedding products, starting with your choice of wedding favours, sugared almonds and wedding invitations made by those disadvantaged communities, thus guaranteeing a brighter future for those people.
Remember that the way you express your sense of style during your wedding celebrations will send a clear message to your guests, beginning with the wedding invitation and reception invitations, some ideas on Altro Spazio or Un Altro Mondo.
The colours and materials of the wedding invitations (they “start” the wedding proceedings), and those of the wedding favours(they “conclude” the ceremony), are usually the same - by choosing fair trade wedding products for these two important elements of your celebration you will make a clear statement of your support for less privileged communities.
The wedding invitation is a calling card that reflects your style and values to all who are invited to celebrate with you on your wedding day. Your guests will not only receive the invitation to the ceremony, but also a card giving details of the time and location of wedding and wedding reception.
The fair trade wedding invitations are of hand-made paper which can be plain white, finely decorated with dried leaves and flowers, hemp or natural silk paper. Even the printing process can be given to fair trade social cooperatives specialised in that sector.
The wedding reception invitations should retain the same style as the wedding invitations, but in a smaller size. Nowadays, current trend dictates that the bride and groom themselves arrange the invitations which give details of the name and address of the wedding venue, with a map on the reverse side to ensure that guests arrive without problem.
Choosing fair trade wedding and reception invitations means helping a community of small businesses all over the world to make a better life for themselves. You can further show your support by also choosing also fair trade wedding favours without compromising the quality and elegance of your wedding day.
The traditional fair trade wedding favour consists of an elegant and personalised parchment to be enclosed with the sugared almonds to show your choice to give the money, you would otherwise have spent on traditional wedding favour, to a humanitarian organization or association. You may alternatively wish to unite both tradition wedding favour and fair trade wedding favour by offering both types of wedding favour.
The parchment is usually an A5 piece of paper where your friends and relatives can read a statement explaining the meaning of your choice.
The paper used is “parchment” of medium weight which can easily be rolled up and bound with ribbon to the little sachet containing sugared almonds. Save the Children, for example, propose little ivory wedding boxes for sugared almonds with personalized card inside, closed with red ribbon.
With this very simple gesture on the most important day in your life, you will give hope to someone less fortunate than you. Furthermore, if you are thinking of giving the whole amount destined to wedding favours, you will help to finance work supporting weaker populations, regardless of their race and religion, and at the same time, send a clear social and humanitarian message to your guest.
The wedding favours are an important traditional element in a wedding: a small thanks to your guests for “sharing with us our special day”, so that every time they look at it they will remember you on your wedding day.
There are many types of fair trade wedding favour, see some examples on Altro Mercato: you will find wonderfully crafted objects inlaid with cedar and cinnamon woods, exquisite ceramic and coconut wood bowls, beautiful small boxes, little sachets and bags made of silk, organza and taffeta - sometimes embroidered, which will hold the wedding reception invitations emblazoned with the bride and groom’s names, the wedding date and the five traditional fair trade sugared almonds of different flavours, but all natural and organic.
Above all, remember that your choice of “alternative” products will give your wedding day a fair trade feel and will make your wedding a day full of joy not just for you but also for someone who lives in a less prosperous part of the world.