Meet Some of the I Do Foundation's Couples

Deepa Iyer and Parag Khandhar

For Washington, D.C., resident Deepa Iyer, it was a complete surprise when her then-boyfriend Parag Khandhar proposed.

"We got engaged in New York City after spending a beautiful summer's day in Central Park," says Deepa. "We were on the street in the village when Parag asked the question...to my total surprise!"

Although their engagement was a surprise, their decision to use their wedding as an opportunity to raise donations for the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC) was not.

"I work there currently," says Deepa, who is the legal director of the Center. "While the Asian American community is rapidly growing in the DC metro area, there are few organizations that have been established to address the needs of low income immigrants. We'd like to do what we can to ensure that the APALRC can continue to do just that."

As a part of their wedding preparations, Deepa and Parag chose to register for traditional gifts with the I Do Foundation's partner Amazon.com, but they also created a Donation Registry allowing guests to make donations in their name. Through their registries, the couple raised over $500 for APALRC.

Deepa says that she and Parag had an intense time planning their wedding: as a traditional Indian wedding, the guest list was large, the food was great, and the families were very involved.

"But we also wanted our union to have resonance beyond our own lives and our families and friends," Deepa says. "By hosting a charitable wedding, we know that our coming together had a much bigger impact."

Alex Volin and Sheila Allen

Alex Volin and Sheila Allen's decision to register with the I Do Foundation reveals their desire to combine tradition with their personal values. Sheila and Alex met in synagogue and planned a traditional Jewish wedding with a modern, feminist approach.

"It looked like a Jewish ceremony in a lot of ways, with the breaking of the glass for example. But it was more contemporary, reflecting our feminist views -- a much more modern approach," says Sheila of their celebration. "In addition, it's traditional among Jews to give a percentage of what you would spend on catering to a food oriented charity."

Along with a vegetarian reception, Alex and Sheila personalized their wedding further by raising over $1400 for a nonprofit organization close to their hearts: The Bread and Roses Community Fund in Philadelphia, PA. In place of traditional gifts, the couple asked that their guests consider making a donation through the I Do Foundation in their honor.

"The amount of money that is possible, and to some extent unavoidable, to spend can make you feel uncomfortable when you consider how much some have over others," says Alex. "It helps to keep people's consciousness raised to do something like this."

Karen Century and Aidan Dunne

"The whole bridal industry is so distasteful, it seems like one big 'give-me' fest--which doesn't seem like a great way to start our life together," comments Karen Century of Albany, CA. "When we first got engaged, I didn't want to register for gifts at all."

"But," she continues, "at 34 I realized I had put off buying anything nice for myself, so there were things we needed."

In order to accommodate her need for household items while holding tight to her beliefs, Karen decided to register for gifts through the I Do Foundation where a portion of the proceeds from her gift registries at Target and Amazon.com are donated to a charity selected by her.

"I really liked the idea of raising money for charitable causes through our wedding," reflects Karen. "My father has been fighting Parkinson's Disease for years, so we decided to support the Parkinson's Disease Foundation through our gift registry."

Karen and Aidan also decided to use Charitable Guests Favors. A small card at the place setting of each guest let him or her know that the couple made a donation in their honor.

"I know that even if we didn't raise a lot of money through our gift registry, we at least can raise people's consciousness and help them think about more important issues."

Jenny Jung and David Kim

When Doctor David Kim decided to propose to his girlfriend, now wife, Jenny Jung- a Chicago medical school student- he went for the most personal proposal he could think of:

"My whole family was in on it!" Jenny explains. "I walk in to my apartment, and there's this pathway of roses on the floor, and there were flowers everywhere. Sara McLaughlin was playing in the background. I'm glad he got my whole family involved because we're all very close."

While planning their June 2003 wedding, it was important to both of them to keep their family and friends involved. Jenny found that having a charitable gift registry was a great way to let guests share her and her fiancé's priorities.

"I had heard about a lot of people having charitable options at their wedding, and I was looking for something that would get our guests involved as well. I was thrilled when I found the I Do Foundation because I wanted something more tangible that guests could participate in. People like to give gifts, so it was great that some portion of that went to charity."