What are Ethical Weddings?

I’d say it’s the perfect day to do good. Ethical weddings are a celebratory event that seeks to do good by people & the environment.

Who you are.

You are engaged and about to be married (or are the best bestie ever and are researching this for your friend who is about to be) but you are over the extravagance of traditional weddings. You crave meaning. You crave depth. You care about social impact and are curious about mindful weddings.

This is a generation that wants to do more.
I’m with you and I want to cheer that part of you on!
I am all for weddings & I am all for marriage.
What if you used your wedding day not to impress but to impact?
What if you used your wedding not for extravagance but for extra generosity?

What if we could take the cost of the average US wedding, $30,000, and use that toward purchases that will add meaning to your union and bring back positivity to the world.
You’re basically a philanthropist. An investor with a big check ready to bless the world with.

Ethical Weddings is a blog and a friend to you during this planning process.
This blog is that gal pal who pushes you to get your mindful wedding to-do’s done in an eco-friendly, socially-conscious way.

How I’ll help you plan your ethical wedding:

• • • give fresh, sustainable wedding ideas that are stylish and conscious of its impact
  • • • give tips on how you can carry this give-back outlook from your mindful wedding day into a lifestyle
    • highlight sustainable brands that push this Ethical Weddings movement, brands that give back, are eco-conscious, fair-trade, and/or are small businesses

Who am I and why did I start this?

Hi there, I’m Praise (yup real name and my best friend is Faith. Yeah, we’ve heard a lot of jokes about how we should start a singing group hashtag life), a San Francisco wedding photographer with a photojournalistic background (www.comeplum.com). I’ve used my lens to tell stories of artisans in Kenya, an adoption from India, and a cacao farmer in Guatemala. I saw up-close the impact my wallet can make. After awhile, photographing people who live on $5 a day and returning to the states to photograph $50,000 weddings didn’t sit right with me. I wanted to use my talent, voice, and experience to bridge the gap.

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Also rant, social impact brands have a bad rep for low aesthetic. Even though I’m going to be highlighting good, I’ll do my best to filter through ones that are vetted for good style & high quality. It doesn’t always have to look DIY or charity, ya know?

Also, a promise: I never want to make you feel guilty for not having all your wedding thangs ethical. I totally get that it can be hard! Even if you make just one small change, say hiring an organic caterer, your social impact will still be huge! I’m your cheerleader. I never want to point fingers. I will sprinkle around the high-fives like confetti.

And, p.s. sign up to receive our freebie Ethical Wedding Starter Guide!

Ready to start planning? Check out these 5 tips for planning an affordable, eco-friendly wedding!