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Where sharing and saving make a perfect marriage – BrideShare site launches
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With the average Bay Area wedding costing as much as a high-end luxury car — $35,000 to $60,000 according to costofwedding.com — couples may want to look to a new social networking site that could help them both save green and be green.
Launched on June 24th, Bride$hare is designed to help brides and grooms save money by sharing wedding-related resources and goods.
Green is the new white
Founder Dana LaRue says, “Our mission is simple, help ease pressure on the wallet — and the world — through the recycling and reuse of everything wedding related. After all, green is the new white!”
With BrideShare, brides can set up a free profile,then connect with other brides planning similarly themed or decorated weddings. LaRue says the site allows you to find other brides in your area willing to split costs by sharing goods and services like decor, apparel, rentals and even vendors. You can search by color scheme, theme, venue, city/state, month and more to narrow down the field to likely “buddies” who you can then approach for sharing. You can also browse member profiles and photos for inspiration, and use the BrideShare classifieds section to find, and then later sell-off or donate items from your wedding. LaRue says, “It’s great for reducing the waste and keeping the bridal karma high.”
BrideShare founder Dana LaRue at her Broke-Ass Bride wedding on May 24th
Copyright Dan Chen 2009
LaRue may have found a niche that resonates with budget and eco-conscious brides — after just a dozen days since it’s launch, there are already some 350 members signed up on BrideShare.
She says an average wedding produces three to five times the carbon in one day than an average family does in one year. “With so many expendable purchases, it seems silly that more couples aren't reusing or repurposing items as much as possible. The possibilities are limitless — from sharing simple items such as paper lanterns, vases, veils or card boxes, to teaming up and negotiating dual-purchase rates with vendors or coordinating a tent-rental between two brides on the same weekend.”
Born out of wedlock
BrideShare was born out of personal experience. LaRue, who just tied the knot with Hunter Stiebel in Los Angeles on May 24th, was planning her wedding on a very small budget with an aim to “keep it green as possible.” Back in April of 2008, LaRue started a blog to chronicle her “planning on pennies” adventure. Dubbed The Broke-Ass Bride, the blog has became a popular read on the wedding circuit, drawing approximately 30,000 visitors a week.
Fellow bride Rebecca Rose stumbled on The Broke-Ass Bride last September. Rose apparently fell in love the theme and decor plans of LaRue’s wedding. After realizing that the two had booked their receptions at the same venue — The Bungalow Club in West Hollywood — and reading a post about wanting to pepper the ceiling of the patio with glowing paper lanterns, Rose emailed LaRue to say she had a contact for wholesale lanterns and wanted to see if she’d be interested in sharing and splitting the cost of the lanterns and a few other items.
“We were thrilled at the prospect of reducing our waste and expenses in one fell swoop!” exclaims LaRue. “That small idea became the impetus for BrideShare.”
In addition to the lanterns, they shared the electrical wiring and labor to hang the lanterns, paper, printing and labeling machines, crafting supplies, vases, candles and votive holders, floral napkins and more.
In all, Rose and LaRue shared an astonishing $4,000 worth of goods.
Born out of wedlock – the lanterns that spawned BrideShare
Copyright Dan Chen 2009
Taking turns
Now it’s Rose’s turn. She will be using those fateful lanterns and other decorations when she ties the knot herself this weekend — two months after LaRue’s “I do’s.”
Go for broke
LaRue’s Broke-Ass Bride advice for green brides is, “Don't get sucked into the ‘green markup’. That is to say, many companies charge premium rates for green products because it’s such a popular trend right now.”
She says being green can also mean thrifting for beautiful vases to use as centerpieces. It can also mean DIY projects rather than purchasing or shipping them. “And always, always negotiate!” LaRue says she bartered away half the cost of her eco-friendly wedding dress by cutting fabric and doing invoicing for the designer at her studio.
As BrideShare shows us, sharing and saving can make a perfect marriage for the sustainably-minded wedding couple.
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