After getting married in October of 2020 in a private ceremony, Brittany and Alex celebrated their one year anniversary with a vow renewal ceremony and a “You’ve Got Mail” themed and sustainability-focused celebration with friends and family at Bartram’s Garden. Brittany, our Community Impact Coordinator, has been a member of The Resource Exchange team since 2017 and Alex has been volunteering with us for just as long!
By sharing this deep dive into their wedding, Brittany and Alex hope to share some of the simple ways couples can incorporate reuse and sustainable details throughout the planning process.
Postcard Guestbook and Card Table
Brittany and Alex sourced many decorations from their home. They reused picture frames they already owned and borrowed from family— simply swapping out photos for signage printed on reclaimed card stock.
The large wooden “Postcard Guestbook” frame and the square clear acrylic frames were saved from film sets. Vintage and vintage-style botanical and fine art postcards were all sourced from The Resource Exchange. Any unused postcards were promptly donated back and many have already been picked up by other couples to be reused in their weddings!
Place Card Table Decor
In keeping with their “You’ve Got Mail” theme, pairs of Lost Bread Co Pretzel Shortbread Cookies were wrapped to look like mail packages addressed to guests using kraft paper and tied with jute twine. The wrapping supplies, wooden card catalog box and frames were all sourced from The Resource Exchange.
The vintage card catalog box was originally donated without a top. Dennis Madigan, one of The Resource Exchange’s board directors, made a new one using a piece of scrap wood from our reclaimed lumber section and wood screws. After some light sanding, staining, and butcher block wood conditioner the “new” wood was a perfect match with the original.
Reception Table Numbers and Decor
Brittany’s favorite creative reuse project was making their reception table numbers using vintage brass post office box doors. Brittany found an affordable set in need of some serious TLC for sale on eBay, but was able to see their potential thanks to her experience at The Resource Exchange.
The original glass windows were either missing or shattered. With no way to salvage them, Bill Rush, a regular at The Resource Exchange, generously offered to cut scrap plexiglass to size using his laser cutting machine.
Brittany and Alex cleaned the brass using baking soda, retired toothbrushes to get in all the nooks, and no longer wearable cotton t-shirts cut into rags.
It was messy, but with their elbow grease and Bill’s help these doors were as good as new!
One of their favorite mail-themed-finds from The Resource Exchange were clear acrylic envelopes they used as chair backs. Brittany’s best friend, Sarah, did the calligraphy to match one of their favorite songs– “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” by Stevie Wonder. The envelopes were secured to the chairs using sheer white ribbon, also sourced from The Resource Exchange.
Handmade Details
Instead of a ring box, Brittany made a felt envelope for their nephew, James, to carry down the aisle. The envelope was made with reclaimed supplies, including blue and white felt, embroidery floss, gold thread, and a sew-in snap totaling less than $3. Their wedding rings were safe and secured inside using safety pins. Pinking shears, found at The Resource Exchange years ago, were used to cut the edge of the felt to give the stamps their effect.
Consistent Sustainable Efforts Over Perfection
“If you look at our wedding through through the lens of sustainability– it wasn’t 100% perfect. We really took our time weighing options and sometimes the most environmentally friendly option didn’t win. Our decision to have cookies as wedding favors was one example of this. We knew ahead of time that they would be wrapped in film plastic, my least favorite material on the planet, but we decided to still go with this option, as it allowed us to support a small business we love and it brought us so much joy to share them with our favorite people. We’re successful in avoiding film plastic in our normal life and choose to celebrate consistency and small daily sustainable efforts.”
Advice From The Couple
“Share your expectations about sustainability with your venue, as well as any family and friends helping you plan and get them involved in the conversation right away. We were able to avoid a lot of waste by having this conversation early and often.” -Alex
“Make a vision board! If you’re already shopping secondhand regularly, it makes it easier to identify what you actually need and, maybe even more importantly, what you don’t need! There is so much pressure to rush and buy things just in case you need them and it was helpful to have a baseline and a clear vision to refer back to.” -Brittany
See more ways Brittany and Alex incorporated reuse in the photos below:
Congratulations to Brittany and Alex and thank you for sharing your celebration with us!
If you’re planning a wedding, start with reuse and see what you can find at The Resource Exchange!
Special Shout Outs and Credits:
Reclaimed decor, crafting materials, frames, paper, bits + bops | The Resource Exchange
Venue | Bartram’s Garden
Photography | Peach Plum Pear Photo
Videography | Veneer Media
Florist | Vault + Vine
Floral Repurposing | Forget Me Knot Flowers
Dress | The One Bridal Boutique
Hair | Gina Ballat Guerin, Barnet Fair and Rick Juliani
Make Up | Han Ly
