Hopefully, if you’re a summertime bride, you’ve already registered for your gifts the easy way right here on SevenHopesUnited.com. A fair trade wedding registry is the perfect way to give hope to developing nations while furnishing your first home as a married couple. And as for one of those other small “stressors”—what to give your bridesmaids as a thank-you gift—we can help with that too!

When I’ve been a bridesmaid in the past, I’ve always loved getting a “goodie bag” filled with fun items the bride handpicked. It’s a thoughtful way to show your bridesmaids how much you appreciate them! Above, I selected our cheery Large Recycled Plastic Beach Tote to stuff with the surrounding items. From clockwise, we’ve got a sweet-smelling Batik Soap made in Bali; chic turquoise Tagua Nut Earrings handcrafted with sustainable materials from the rainforests of South America; our gorgeous 31BITS Rosette Necklace from Uganda; 100% cotton Shibori scarf woven in India; and a Peruvian eco-friendly Brazil Nut Candle. This gift bag would be especially perfect for a beach-themed wedding! And if you wanted to go ahead and have your girls wear the jewelry during your ceremony, how beautiful would the necklace and/or earrings be with a simple, flowing black or cream bridesmaid dress?

If you have several bridesmaids, you might want to consider any of our roomy bags stuffed with items to match your friend’s personality for an even more personalized touch. You could create one for a cook, one for a wine lover, one for an artist, or anything else you can dream up!

For more details on how to register with us for your wedding gift registry and how it makes a difference, just click here. Thanks for considering making Seven Hopes United a part of your special day!

xo,

Casey

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We are a young couple from the Midwest who have a laid-back and eclectic style. Our first home is an apartment in Bloomington, Indiana (Home of the Hoosiers!) and we’ve worked hard to make hand-me-down furniture and thrift store kick-knacks look cohesive. I am a self-proclaimed “lazy girl crafter” meaning I love homemade, unique decorations but don’t have the patience for long projects. With Fair Trade items you get quality craftsmanship without having to do it yourself – perfect! After learning about and becoming an advocate for Fair Trade in college, Russell and I were excited to find a wedding registry to promote the cause.

Without further ado, here are a few of Kathleen & Russell’s favorite fair trade products!

1. Turquoise Paisley Table Runner
This beautiful table runner makes our $10 garage sale table look much greater than it’s worth. There are beautiful bits of red and yellow in the design which inspired the color scheme for our living space.

2. Turquoise Blue Vetiver Placemats
These placemats tie in well with the Paisley Table Runner. Best of all, you can throw
them in the washing machine with no damage done!

3. Green Ginkgo Pot Holder
My great-grandma’s favorite tree was the Ginkgo. She would display the dried leaves on the wall of her apartment, among the other oddities that she collected. This pot holder is sentimental, cheery, and bright.

4. Blown Glass Pitcher
In my opinion, this pitcher is one of the most beautiful items on the site. I can’t wait for winter to be over so we can sit on our porch and drink lemonade from it!

5. Handblown Drinking Glasses
These glasses, like the pitcher, are beautiful yet sturdy. We use them daily, but we’re also sure to put them out when guests are over!

Thanks again Kathleen, for the fabulous list of products and your awesome product descriptions! If you are interested in having your favorite fair trade products featured, email me and I will give you more details!

wedding photography: Maggie Russo // engagement photography: Abbey Grim Photography

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I recall being asked that question quite a bit when I was getting married.  Mine were pastels in orange and pink! Whatever your colors were or are or some day may be, color plays a large part in most weddings!

We thought it would be fun to share some color inspiration that comes from Seven Hopes United’s many colorful items.

What better color to start with than the one that is most closely associated with weddings: BLUE!

A little something blue to wrap around your shoulders!

Blue sandals for the wedding itself or perhaps on your honeymoon!

This lovely blue tote is a reliable way to carry your many wedding sundries!

This darling little bracelet could be a simple addition of blue to your wedding day ensemble!

Okay, it’s hard to think about winter in the midst of summer but if you are having a winter wedding wouldn’t this be a cute little gift for your bridesmaids or even for yourself?!

Have a wonderful day – Dawn

PS – What was your something blue? Mine? My husband and I entered our wedding reception to Gershwin’s song “Rhapsody in Blue”!

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You may have heard about fair trade wine, but did you know that there are fair trade beer and fair trade vodka options? Check out some fair trade drink options below that you could use at your wedding!

I’ve had Fair Hills Wine before and enjoyed both the red and the white wine I tried.

FAIR offers three different kinds of spirits: a Quinoa Vodka, a Cafe Liqueur and Goji Berry Liqueur. All three sound like they would be an interesting and tasty addition to a martini.

Here’s another one that I have tried! I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the taste of banana and beer together but it’s quite good.

If you are planning your wedding or perhaps have a friend who is,  I highly recommend incorporating these or other fair trade wine, fair trade spirits or fair trade beer choices into you big day!

Have a great day, Dawn

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Mata Trader dresses are a beautiful and fair trade addition to this wedding!

We at Seven Hopes United are very happy that so many couples have chosen to use our wedding registry for their nuptials. It is an honor for us to be a part of their new lives together.  The other day we were thinking of ways we might be able to offer even more support to those who are interested in having a fair trade wedding.  It occurred to us that we could offer suggestions and tips on how to have a fair trade wedding right here on our blog.  So we will be sharing our thoughts about having a fair trade wedding here in our Wedding Wednesday blog posts!

Of course, having a fair trade wedding means different things to each couple so our posts will cover a wide range of topics and we are happy to cover ideas that our readers would like to see as well.  So please send us your thoughts.

Have a wonderful day – Dawn

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Greg being the outdoorsy type and Theresa the crafty type, their decorating style is artsy with bits of rustic nature. They’ve hung artistic photos of their travels throughout their home, and incorporated them with unique finds from thrift stores, handmade items, etc. When registering for fair trade products at Seven Hopes United, they stuck to the classics with a bit of handmade flair.

Without further ado, here are a few of Theresa & Greg’s favorite fair trade products!

1. Sliced Persimmon Mango Wood Bowl
2. Sweet Coconut & Vanilla & Spice Soap
3. White Wolof Fair Trade Storage Basket
4. Vintage Sari Throw

If you are interested in having your favorite fair trade products featured, email me and I will give you more details (it is easy and painless, I promise)!

The post Real Couple’s Favorite Fair Trade Products – Theresa & Greg appeared first on All That's Fair..

Ashleigh + Collin tried to keep their wedding as eco-friendly as possible with DIY, recycled, and fair trade elements throughout their big day.

From the beginning they did it all – created their own save-the-dates, invites, coordinated with all the vendors (most of which were friends from their local farmers market), and even designed their own wedding cake (all while running their own business). They really wanted to make everything truly meaningful and personal.

“Most of all we wanted our guests to have FUN, celebrate with us, and experience our love for San Diego! We wanted the overall vibe of the day to be relaxed and festive all at the same time! We tried our best to capture those ideas, while incorporating our ideals, and we couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out. It was truly the BEST day of our lives, and we really felt everyone was blessed by it (especially since the girls didn’t have to wear heels to our wedding!)” – Ashleigh

The bridesmaids all wore different shades of yellow, turquoise, and pink to give off the vibe of their fiesta-inspired wedding. Ashleigh gifted each of her bridesmaids Sseko Sandals handmade in Uganda – a project that helps send young women to college – to wear at their beach ceremony. Ashleigh also sported the socially-conscious sandals with silk straps that matched her wedding dress, and the guys wore white Sanuks with ties that matched the girls bridesmaid dresses.

Big thanks to ANZA foto+film for the photos and Magnolia Flower Shoppe for the amazing floral design.

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