Wedding Days that Change the World!

I was recently contacted by Changing The Present - a new charitable gift list based in the US, but available to couples getting wed across the world. The idea is that instead of your standard gift list filled with things you don't really need, you put people's desire to shower you with pressies to good use and have a gift list of charitable items ranging from anything like mountain goats for village tribes to fresh water in remote locations and books for school children.

This rather good idea has been around for a while now, infact one of the first times I came across the idea was last year in May when I photographed Nid and Karl's wedding at Byzantium in Bristol. Nid and Karl went with the gift list Good Gifts and had some really unique items. Nid explains...

"Karl & I wanted to have charitable gifts so that we could make something more out of our day than gifts for ourselves. We looked at various charities but we felt that specific charities did not offer a selection to meet different interests - Karl wanted dog charity donations and I wanted cats saving, but not everyone necessarily connects with animals! Karl had come across 'Good Gifts' with his work who have a selection of charitable gifts that could suit different peoples interests. Not everyone understood the charitable gifts but they loved the idea when we explained it. Good Gifts were really helpful and thanks to everyone's generous gifts we helped many children, penguins, goats, African bicycle taxi companies and many others. Choosing charitable gifts for our wedding day was the perfect choice for us."

Another charitable wedding registry is available through www.ChangingThePresent.org/weddings. The site offers over a thousand "donation gift" opportunities from hundreds of leading nonprofits that reach out to the world and make a difference.

Some examples of gifts include

~ Provide care for an infant chimpanzee
~ Provide a child with her first book
~ Fund an hour of important cancer research

If you already have all the usual toasters and teapots that you need as a couple, we think it is a great way to celebrate your union with not only friends and family but also individuals in the world who are lacking with even having the basics. Knowing that getting married has literally changed the world for the better must be a great feeling to kick off your new life with!

Whether you go for the traditional gift list or something a bit more unusual, we hope you'll agree that it's pretty inspiring to see what's out there!