The June wedding season is upon us, there’s no doubt about it.  Here at Firstgiving, we’re noticing an interesting trend in wedding registry options: the online fundraising wedding registry in lieu of gifts.  Some couples already have all the stuff they need to set up a household (sometimes several), and some have decided to use their marriage to raise awareness and raise money for a cause that matters to them.

For example, Dan and Dee have raised over $1,300 for the Central Asia Institute.  They write, "As our wedding approaches, it has given us time to reflect on how blessed we truly are. We would like to use this occassion to try to share some of those blessings with those less fortunate than us. We have set up a fundraising drive for the Central Asia Institute. This amazing charity helps build schools to educate young women in remote regions of Central Asia."  Also check out Sean and Catherine, who have blown away their goal to raise $600 for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

In some cases, the wedding itself is part of a cause.  David and Jeff are fundraising at their wedding next week – check out their super-cute slideshow – for Marriage Equality USA as are Theresa and Jennifer, who write, "After being together for fourteen and a half years, we couldn’t fit another thing into our house.  BUT we have plenty of room for 1,138 lovely Federal rights that come with marriage and which still are floating just out of our reach. Before that can happen, we have to keep our marriages valid in our own state. This is our wedding wish and our legacy to our children – Love, Life and Equality!"

If you’re getting married and think maybe you don’t need another gravy boat, or if there’s a cause you really care about, it’s easy to create a wedding fundraising page.  Members of the wedding or even guests can get in on the act too.  Think of it as a way to reduce the carbon footprint of your wedding while doing good.

Three simple online wedding registry fundraising tips:

• Explain to your families and guests why you would prefer charitable gifts to presents, and why you’ve chosen that particualr cause
• Send your fundraising page URL with the invitations and feature it on table cards at the reception
• Provide an offline alternative or collect checks and donate online yoursef for those family members (we all have them) who are internet-allergic

Congratulations to all happy couples!  Tip #4 is have fun on your special day and be sure to post pictures for everyone to see.