Giving Back – Thanks to the Savannah Wedding Tourism Council
Posted on September 01st, 2009 in Cause Related Marketing
Here’s where the link back and forth to Facebook becomes so valuable. Brian Stoval sent me a link yesterday to my facebook page with the following comments:
“Hey Skip, our organization, Savannah Wedding Tourism Council, is sponsoring an event called Weddings for Warriors. We are offering totally free, individual weddings for up to 40 couples who are active duty military, on Veterans Day, Nov. 11th. We are surrounded by military bases in Savannah, and are soliciting couples from all branches of the military. Check out our website, http://www.weddingsforwarriors.com/details.html. We will have over 20 photographers providing their services free for the day. The reception is being hosted on an 800 passenger river boat. We hope to do a “Day in the Life” photo project as well.”
When you click on the link there’s more detail:
The Plan:
Our project, Weddings for Warriors (WFW), was conceived as a way of saying a heartfelt “Thank You” to active duty military personnel in the Savannah and Lowcountry area from every branch of the service, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard and Reserve Units.
The Goal:
We want to offer as many free wedding ceremonies for active duty military personnel as possible on Veteran’s Day, Wednesday, November 11, 2009.
Because of our unique talents and experience via our industry-related businesses, we, in the Savannah Wedding Tourism Council (SWTC), want to use that to do something for our military personnel.
Savannah and the Greater Savannah Area and the South Carolina Lowcountry are host to a number of bases and our communities are blessed with the presence of these amazing warriors and their families.
Especially because we are in a time of war, and these brave individuals are willing to give their all for the protection of our nation and our way of life, we want to give something back in some small way.
To all of you involved in this wonderful and unique project – Congratulations! You sure make me proud to be part of the photograhic industry!
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September 2nd, 2009
Skip,
Thanks for your blog post on the Weddings for Warriors project and the Savannah Wedding Tourism Council. As Bryan Stovall explained SWTC is a group of businesses in Savannah, GA that joined together to promote destination weddings in the Savannah area. Savannah is in the center of several military bases, so many of our weddings are for active duty military who are deploying on a regular basis. The WFW project is a way we can help and say, “thank you” to the folks who risk their lives to keep us free.
Our organization is designed to augment our Convention and Visitors Bureau’s promotion of our city with a membership composed of professionals in the wedding, tourism and hospitality industries. We are not affiliated with the CVB but promote in our specialized area to the same goal. We realize that every guest of a destination bride is automatically a tourist – they stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants, take our tours and shop in our stores. If you’ve never visited Savannah with its twenty-plus squares and parks you’ll find that our city is designed as if the founder, James Edward Oglethorpe, had weddings and gatherings in mind when he pounded the first stakes in the wilderness forest soil in 1733.
The Weddings for Warriors project will be held in Forsyth Park with its world-famous fountain, in Monterey Square next to the Mercer House made famous in the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and in Madison Square with its own important military history. Couples receive individual ceremonies that include photography, flowers, officiant, and much more. It is NOT a mass wedding ceremony.
The brides and grooms will then be transported via tour trolley to River Street for a group “first dance” then will board a Savannah Riverboat for a dinner cruise. It’s all free. The only expense is the State of Georgia marriage license. We are also offering vow renewals for those who deployed previously and married in simple ceremonies with no time for frills.
If you know any active military, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard or Reserves, and they want to take advantage of the WFW project, please tell them to go to http://www.WeddingsForWarriors.com, sign up and come to Savannah on Veterans Day, November 11, 2009. They may want to come a day earlier – we’re working on a rehearsal dinner and may be able to offer that on the evening prior.
James Byous
J Byous Photography
President,
Savannah Wedding Tourism Council