Chelsea & Charlie Riding a Horse in Wedding Attire

Dear Chelsea and Charlie,

You asked about advice and thoughts about marriage as you begin your new adventure.  With 28 years of marriage under my belt (and Art’s), I’d say 2 things have made a difference in our lives: may you know them immediately and not have to learn them:      LOVE, Aunt Kris

1. Love self-multiplies. Give 100% of your Love to each other. You can give 100% of your Love to your spouse and still have 100% left over for your children and 100% for your parents and brother and sister and even 100% for every friend and all of humanity.

Letting that Love be unconditional is NOT hard – bringing to consciousness that this is the solution is sometimes illusive…

1. Know that each of you can be your very best only when you allow the other to be themselves. Though it may not seem like it in this blush of new Love, you will get wildly angry at each other once in a while and wish they didn’t have that irritating trait. YET, you can still Love them 100% and that Love will correct your own error in perception that is making this a problem. 

No force can do that but Love.

Simply Love them all-out in the guise of “may they be the best they can be.”

I remember an interview with Billy Graham’s wife: asked if in some 70 years of marriage she had ever contemplated divorce, she replied “Divorce no, Murder, yes”.  FUN!

Also, the “ancient” movie “Love Story” had a famously disputed quote that said “Love means never having to say you’re sorry”.  From a temporal view this seems ridiculous, we must forgive and we must understand when we need to be apologetic, BUT in this movie, as often in life, it was Love that made the declaration and Love that did not need the declaration, because in True Love there is no error, only a perception of error that, overlooked, becomes truly forgiven, not just a memory that one is willing to sacrificially forgive.

If in the face of an urge to fight you just LAUGH – you’ll never imagine how fast anger can subside…

May your life together be all the adventure you hope it can be.

Fabulous Photos by: www.davidlinderphoto.com

The Bride on her White Bicycle

The bride rode a white beribboned bicycle in her white wedding dress as the guests rode behind on the 50+ bikes borrowed from the people of Ketchum, Idaho.  Local Portlanders, Kelli and Ross Segelken arrived on separate bikes then pedaled to the reception, as one, on a tandem.

Riding Tandem from wedding to Reception

Many of us ride our bikes to work or to meet up with friends, but how many of us would consider riding bikes to our wedding ceremony and reception? OK, maybe we know of a few ladies in Portland that would, but how many of them could convince all of their wedding guests to do the same? Well, Kelli and Ross did just that on their wedding day.

Kelli looked lovely as she rode down the “aisle” in a wedding dress hand painted by her mother Sharon. Kelli and Ross were followed by supportive family and friends as they cruised down the dirt trail together on bicycles decorated with colorful ribbons and flowers.

Taking the concept of going green on their wedding day to a whole new level, the ceremony and reception were held outside where the beautiful landscape created natural decorations, minimizing their waste and consumption. They gathered flowers from fields near the wedding site, made hand painted signs that directed guests and looked to their friends and family to help with the cooking, baking and photography. Guests were given Tree In A Box wedding favors at the reception, giving them an opportunity to take back with them a piece of nature and one that will surely remind them of the celebration of love between Kelli and Ross for years to come.

This couples love for nature and for each other helped them make choices for their wedding that reflect their values and creativity. Kelli had this to say about the wedding  “The best part of the whole wedding weekend (aside from the getting married and starting the “happily ever after” part), is knowing that our wonderful friends and family got to smile and dance and enjoy getting to know each other for the beautiful people we already knew you were.”  Looking at the pictures it’s clear that this wedding was filled with joy, happiness and will be remembered by all who attended.   

written by Megan Poole

Every bride planning a wedding knows just how much time and energy goes into every detail of the special day. While the planning process takes its toll on many brides’ mental, physical and even emotional state it also takes its toll on the environment. According to The Green Bride Guide’s website there are 2.5 million weddings annually in the United States each producing about 62 tons of carbon dioxide and on average generating 400-600 lbs of garbage (http://www.greenbrideguide.com).

Many couples today are appalled to discover the carbon footprint left by traditional weddings, causing them to seek out more earth friendly wedding choices.

Creative ways to celebrate your love for each other and your love for the earth:

1. Location- Choose a location that is central to where the majority of your guests live. Air travel is by the far the most environmentally impactful parts of the event. Then have your wedding and reception outside. Outdoor weddings require less decorations, and if they take place during the day, less lighting.
2. Invitations and save the date cards will be the first thing that guests see, so make an impression right up front that conveys your green values:

• Use vegetable or soy based inks printed on recycled paper products or use paper alternative such as bamboo, organic cotton or hemp.
• Choose a local printing company that using environmentally conscience practices and uses a high percentage of post consumer recycled materials.
• Make a personal wedding blog where guests can RSVP to reduce the amount of postage. This can also be a great way to promote eco-friendly hotels and transportation options to your out of town guests. 

1. Use Wedding Favors that will last beyond your wedding day; being meaningful, creative and personal.Tree In A Box allows a forest to be planted in your honor and can be used to offset the carbon generated by your wedding. Soy candles, organic cloth tote bags or tree seedlings will be here and produce memories long after the big day.
2.  Attire. There are a lot of stylish earth friendly options out there:

• Wear a vintage or second hand wedding gown. Search wedding stores in your area or on the web that rent or sell used gowns: they are everywhere these days; the choices are gorgeous and they save money!!
• Opt for a gown made of hemp, bamboo, organic cotton or other eco-friendly material.
• Have your bridal party pick out dresses that they like and will likely wear again.
• Use natural hair and makeup products and green stylists.

1. Serve local and in-season food items. Transportation of food is a major contributor to carbon emissions, so buy as local as possible.

Couples no longer need sacrifice quality and style in order to lessen their impact, and going green isn’t as complicated as it once was. Make simple choices that will significantly reduce your carbon footprint on your wedding day and we’ll all breathe easier and healthier.

Wish Upon a Wedding is the world’s first non-profit wedding-wish-granting foundation. On the order of the Make-A-Wish-Foundation, it grants weddings to people suffering life-threatening illnesses.

Wish Upon a Wedding provides couples with the opportunity to share their special day without having to worry about the many costs and troubles that go along with their existing illness. Just launched in January 2010, they already have over a dozen chapters around the United States; Portland, Oregon’s chapter is designated for all those within a 300-mile radius, who may need this amazing gift.

On Monday June 28^th, Wish Upon a Wedding Portland Chapter held its launch party. As people began to fill up a conference room of the Courtyard by Marriott Portland City Center, you could feel the vibrant energy all around you.  The room was extravagantly decorated in shades of blue and an excellent duo was singing in the back corner.  It was exciting to see the number of people willing to participate in such a splendid foundation.  Not only were there individuals, curious as to what Wish Upon a Wedding entailed, but there were a number of businesses displaying their products, all of which were also sponsoring the event!

Kris, Megan and I enjoyed meeting a variety of people who were looking forward to participating with Wish Upon a Wedding by donating products and services. We met people such as: Evrim Icoz, the excellent photographer who shot the entire night; Vanessa Harris, a local caterer; Cindy Rosen, owner of Encore Events; and Cheri Hanson, director of membership for the GMIC (Green Meetings). Cheri Hanson is also the director of Sales for the Courtyard by Marriott Portland City Center, where she focuses on environmentalism and even used Treeinabox for Earth Day.

It was great to see how many people were eager to get involved, and it was absolutely wonderful to see how moving the actual gift of a wedding was to those individuals who had previously been granted a wedding. Wish Upon a Wedding is a phenomenal foundation that is focused on sharing the gift of love to those in need, and Treeinabox is looking forward to sharing our trees as a wedding favor for these special couples.

Written by: Adrienne Carlson

Photos taken by: Evrim Icoz