Update on A Resolution

As part of my new year’s resolutions, I am working on reducing my clothing purchases and focusing on second hand when I need to.

 

A pair of secondhand jeans I found last year. 

 

We are only three months into the year, so plenty to go, but so far I have attended a clothing swap and only purchased 1 new pair of pants for work.

 

My first experience at a clothing swap.

 

My bridal shower has come and gone and I did not buy a new outfit. I thought about it, I searched around, but there was nothing that I really liked. It seemed silly to buy a new outfit for the occasion, so I even looked into Rent the Runway.

In the end, I wore an outfit I had for ages with a pair of shoes I have worn to a gazillion other weddings.

To be honest, I got plenty of compliments.

 

Don’t worry, those balloons have been saved and will be reused. 

 

Luckily, I have friends who have gotten married previously, so I was even lent a wardrobe of white dresses to wear for any other upcoming wedding events. Thanks, guys!

I don’t foresee any other issues in the immediate future that would require me to make new clothing purchases. So, for now, I just don’t browse for clothes on the internet, stay away from physical stores, and unsubscribe from any mailing list who’s subject line starts with SALE!

Showered in Sustainability

I cannot believe my bridal shower was on Sunday.

While I did not plan it, I provided the hosts with 3 requests:

1. Please have waffles
2. Don’t be wasteful
3. Gifts should not be wrapped

Yes, there were waffles and in general terms, it was not that wasteful. Win-win.

I have already talked about my dislike for wrapping paper here. Thankfully everyone abided to my wish and there was no garbage bag full of wrapping paper at the event of the event.

Otherwise, most decorations will be able to serve double duty at future events.

My mother got real crafty with prizes and favors. She bought a custom stamp on Etsy to decorate cotton grocery bags, and my parents had an assembly line going to make each one.

They were a hit!

For those who won bridal shower games, they were gifted with produce bags! Hehe!

It was great to have an event that kind of set the tone for the wedding a few months down the road.

Registering for Things that Will Last

Apparently, the time has come for us to register for wedding gifts.

At first, I thought there was nothing that we really, truly, needed. Maybe some new towels and sheets. But the more I looked at it, the more I realized this was a time in our lives to upgrade to high-quality items that could legitimately last forever.

We have recently started figuring out where and what we want to register for. As we walked between three different options, K said: “I want the items on this registry to last the rest of our lives.”

And that has basically become the theme of our registries. We are looking for tools that are made from stainless steel and glass, not cheap plastic.

 

image: William Sonoma

 

For instance, K really wants a mandolin to slice vegetables nice and thin. As I have looked about for them, the only ones I can find are mostly made of plastic. I was shocked because the mandolin my mom has is entirely made of metal and that is what I thought all mandolins were made of.

Alternative facts. Fake news.

Just like my grandma’s, we want our pots and pans to able to be used by our grandchildren 65 years later.

We use my grandmother’s copper bottomed pots that she received for her own wedding shower in 1955.

No matter what the stores tell us we need to register for, we are only going to register for items we are going to use in the long run. We don’t need fine china. We are not going to register for a fondue set because it’s on a list somewhere.

I have made it a habit to poll all my married friends and family on what they use the most and the least from their wedding registry.  Hopefully, down the road, we will be able to say we use absolutely everything.

 

 

Numerous Unnecessary Wedding Paper Goods

If you have not planned a wedding in the past 10 years, do you have any idea how many wedding paper products the wedding industry wants you to buy?

It is just not wedding invitations anymore, my friend.

Here are all of the suggested items to buy:

• Save the Dates
• Bridal shower invitations
• Bachelorette party invitations
• Rehearsal dinner invitations
• Engagement party invitations
• Thank you cards
• Gift tags
• Place cards
• Menus
• Programs
• Table number cards
• Stationary suites
• Napkins
• Coasters
• Signs for literally everything (wait this is where the cake is? The giant cake did not give it away)

 

A catalog from Wedding Paper Divas

Same Wedding Paper Divas catalog

I can easily tell you that I do not need/want half of these things.

Cross these off right now.

• Save the Dates
• Bridal shower invitations
• Bachelorette party invitations
• Rehearsal dinner invitations
• Engagement party invitations
• Thank you cards
• Gift tags
• Place cards
• Menus
• Programs
• Table number cards
• Stationary suites
• Napkins
• Coasters
• Signs for literally everything

What You Can Do or Not Do Instead

First of all, most wedding-related invitations can be replaced by email, and the market has responded to that. Green Envelope lets you create and send beautiful invites via email. As much as I would love to do e-vites for the actual wedding, I do have a sentiment for formal invitations in the mail.

Even more so, you don’t need gift tags if you don’t provide favors. #SorryNotSorry I am throwing a giant party for you, you don’t need another koozie/bubbles/mints/matches/etc.

Instead of individual place or escort cards try a seating chart. They are all over Pinterest. Keep in mind that escort cards are basically going to be thrown out immediately unless you have weirdly sentimental guests who like to keep them forever for no particular reason other than feeling bad throwing them out (me).

Individual menus can be also be replaced with a singular menu board, preferably one another bride could use again, such as a chalkboard. Or just surprise your guests!

So far, I have not gotten into much of the necessary paper portions of the wedding yet.

That will come soon enough, but I have done one thing.

To ask my bridal party, I purchased handmade recycled cards, because everyone loves a good snail mail surprise in their mailbox.

I could have just sent a text to be real anti- wedding paper products, but my friends and I do enjoy sending each other things that are on a piece of paper and not a screen.

 

Cards ready to be sent