When You Celebrate Your Wedding with a Cause

Two newly-wed families decided to support Teach For Bulgaria on their wedding day. Find out more about what motivated them to do so and how they “celebrated with a cause”

Weddings are these big special events which mark an important moment not only for the newlyweds, but also for their family, friends, and guests. Big, opulent or small and just for the close family – more and more weddings present the perfect opportunity for newlyweds to share more than just this special moment with their guests; they can share a cause which has brought them closer together.

“Charitable weddings” are a new trend which allows people to add value with their private celebrations and raise awareness about a social issue of their choice. Besides celebrations of love, charitable weddings are a sign that in order to be truly happy, we should help those in need.

Two newly-wed families chose Teach For Bulgaria as their cause and supported our mission by raising funds at their wedding reception.

Here are their stories:

“To me, education is one of the most important factors for economic and moral growth. Accessible quality education and health care are key prerequisites for social justice and equity. We are all part of a community and our knowledge and culture impact our environment – where we live, work, and grow. This is why we shouldn’t only care about the education we get, we should care about the education our peers get as well. We all deserve an equal start and our lives shouldn’t be predetermined by how much our parents make. In short, supporting organizations like Teach For Bulgaria is the best investment we can make in our future, our children’s future, and the future of our community,” Elena Kalaydzhieva explains why she and her husband decided to support Teach For Bulgaria on their wedding day.

As they were planning their wedding in 2018 they decided to encourage their guests to make a donation instead of buying wedding gifts. According to Elena, their guests embraced the idea and were quite happy to contribute to a cause close to the newlyweds’ hearts.

The other couple who chose to support Teach For Bulgaria’s cause on their wedding day in 2018 was someone from our community. Kristina Nikolova is a Teach For Bulgaria alumna from the class of 2013-2015. As a co-founder of Steps Academy, an organization for quality teacher and principal training, Kristina is still actively engaged with our mission to provide equal access to quality education for every child.

Kristina and her husband Martin anticipated that they would receive lot of flowers from their guests on their wedding day, but they wished people would invest their money into something that wouldn’t wither in a few days. So they decided to encourage their guests to make a donation for Teach For Bulgaria instead and printed this request on the wedding invitations.

“Over six years ago when I accepted my offer to become a participant in Teach For Bulgaria’s program I made a commitment to this cause. And when my mother suggested that we raise funds for a meaningful cause, I knew exactly which organization I was going to support. As an alumna of the program, who still works in education, I know just how valuable this experience has been to me and how important it is for more and more people to support education in some way, shape, or form,” Kristina shares why she decided to support Teach For Bulgaria.

Feeling inspired by these stories? We’d appreciate it if you took the time to learn more about how you could support Teach For Bulgaria participants and their students in their pursuit of better quality education. Click here to find out more.

You can find more information on how to support Teach For Bulgaria by overcoming an arduous physical challenge or by celebrating with a cause here.

Our supporter Marieta organized a birthday fundraiser by collecting business case studies and Yavor and Monika raised funds for Teach For Bulgaria by cycling across Europe. 

If you have any other fundraising ideas or suggestions, reach out to us at development@zaednovchas.bg.