Your wedding is one of the few times in your life when you are allowed to be a bit self-centred…well, at least your friends and family will let you get away with it. That said, we live in a world where it’s important to be mindful of more than just your own personal universe and realize that giving back is a blessing. Why not channel some of your “wedding love” into a better cause?

This especially holds true for destination weddings! The very notion of travelling to wed welcomes you to a new community and gives you the opportunity to incorporate this culturally different world into your wedding.

When creating a wedding budget, many couples are now adding a charitable donation to their allocated funds (there are so many local charities in need!), or inquiring about volunteer opportunities for the days after the wedding celebration. A few couples I know have helped build houses abroad as part of their honeymoon, and found the experience to be rewarding to both the local community and to building their relationship on a meaningful foundation.

Similarly, many destination couples are choosing their favourite local charity and asking guests to make a donation in lieu of gifts. It’s often gift enough to attend a Destination Wedding as a guest, but a modest donation can really go a long way. For example, local orphanages, animal hospitals and environmental organizations are great places to start searching. Start early to seek out organizations that you believe in and ones you feel you can help make an impact with!

What an important time in your life to establish a pattern of giving! Because supporting such organizations is so connected to your wedding, it will always have special meaning to you as a couple. Here are some great organizations to check out:

• SOS Children’s Villages (sos-childrensvillages.org)

• The D.R.E.A.M Project (dominicandream.org)

• BREDS (breds.org)

• Caribbean Conservation and Sea Turtle League (cccturtle.org)

• Habitat for Humanity (habitat.org)