GIVEAWAY: #CRASH OUR GREEN WEDDING

Okay people. This is big.

And when I say big, I mean I've-never-hoped-to-win-something-so-much-in-my-life BIG. We are Grand Finalists in the 2012 Clay Hill Farm Green Wedding Giveaway!

But let's review first: Tim and I were engaged last November and have started planning our wedding. As we researched wedding venues, florists, invitations, gowns, locations, dates, color schemes, attire and on and on, what we came the conclusion of quickly were two things: 1) weddings are expensive and 2) weddings are wasteful.

After receiving the Everything Green Wedding Book for Christmas, we realized that we needed to take steps to be as eco-conscious with this wedding as possible. The other roadblock that we kept running into was the issue of sub-par wedding food choices. Conjured to mind is a plate of anemic chicken smothered in a brown mystery sauce aside some wilted green beans the shape of sad faces and a scoop of gummy potatoes that taste like the inside of a steam table. No wonder people drink wildly at weddings.

For us, we decided that our priority for this wedding would be the food. When you are tied to a budget with a magic number that, when exceeded, will send your credit score plummeting, we decided that we had to make concessions on some of the wedding to-do list items. But food was one we could not see suffer.

Slightly deflated as the idea of my childhood image of my wedding slowly fading to black, I decided to do some research on the web. Was there any place that offered green weddings? How about free weddings? Any place that made nature and food and community the priority to their couples? Any way I could save some dough on this big ol' shindig?

And then I found it.

The Clay Hill Farm Green Wedding Giveaway

A wedding on a wildlife preserve and bird sanctuary? A farm with a restaurant that took local food seriously? Within driving distance to Maine? FREE?!?

This contest invites couples to submit an entry that showcases their shade of green: "stories of real people making a difference in the world and an every day commitment to the Earth and to each other."

Clay Hill Farm is giving away an all-inclusive summer Maine wedding to two lucky people. Everything from ceremony, reception, photography, videography, florals, cake, accommodations, transportation, formalwear, music, invitations, hair and makeup and more. But best of all? The staff at Clay Hill Farm will work with the grand prize winner to design a menu that works just for them.  I'm envisioning an all-Maine local menu featuring summer's peak harvest, sustainable fish, local beef (and tofu!)... really endless possibilities.

We're really hoping those two lucky people are us. Can you guess what our shade of green was?

Kale green! Tim coined that hue of green, and I kind of like it. We do eat a lot of kale, so the color was appropriate.

We've submitted our video for the world to see. Yes, it's cheesy and we hold a bouquet of kale at the end like fools, but we hope our message of our commitment to each other and the Earth is clear.

In order for us to have any chance of winning, we are asking for your votes from now until mid-March.

So here it goes: The #CRASH OUR GREEN WEDDING GIVEAWAY

There are two ways to vote:

• Visit www.greenweddinggiveaway.com and vote for Jess & Tim's video.
• You can vote through a mobile app! Download the Cardagin app for your smartphone and vote away!

And as a thanks for your time and vote, we have a special giveaway we'd like to share with you.

If Tim and I end up winning the 2012 Clay Hill Farm Green Wedding Giveaway Grand Prize (read green wedding giveaway contest rules here), we'd like to offer anyone who votes for us two things to thank you with:

• An invitation for you and a guest to attend our wedding. Yep, that's right. You'll be CRASHING OUR WEDDING.
• A one-year subscription to a CSA farm share of your choosing (up to $350, but you choose which farmer and where). We'd like to give one lucky winner a jumpstart on the 2012 growing and eating season of local food, and encourage a green shade of eating in someone else's life!

Here's how to enter for your chance to be eligible for this blog contest. And it all hinges on the fact that we win, so vote early and vote often!

1. Go to www.greenweddinggiveaway.com and vote for Jess & Tim's video. Leave a comment on this post with "I VOTED!" and your FIRST AND LAST name so we know who to talk to when you win. We'd also love you to share one thing that you do that shows your commitment to the Earth, but totally optional if you're the shy type.
2. For an EXTRA ENTRY, tweet out "Vote for Jess & Tim in @ClayHillFarm's #green #wedding #giveaway www.greenweddinggiveaway.com #crashourgreenwedding. Leave a comment on this post with "I TWEETED!" and your name and twitter handle.
3. For a THIRD EXTRA ENTRY, share on your Facebook page "Vote for Jess & Tim in Clay Hill Farm's Green Wedding Giveaway! They'll let one winner crash their wedding!". Leave a comment on this post with "I FACEBOOKED IT!" and your name.

This opportunity allows us to truly have the wedding of our dreams, and we thank all of you who are helping us realize our dream!

Love, Jess and Tim

DISCLAIMER: This prize of 1) an invitation to crash our wedding and 2) a CSA subscription that we'll give out if we win the 2012 Clay Hill Farm Green Wedding Giveaway Grand Prize is in no way affiliated with Clay Hill Farm or the Green Wedding Giveaway. Tim and I decided we wanted to nudge you with a little of our shade of green. This prize package is solely our idea and is not being sponsored or endorsed by Clay Hill Farm. We are paying for it and are doing so as our contribution to encourage a greener shade of eating in someone else's life.

CRASH OUR GREEN WEDDING GIVEAWAY CONTEST RULES: No purchase necessary, and while we encourage you to vote on www.greenweddinggiveaway.com it is not required (and we wouldn't know anyway). The blog contest is intended for one winner only and s/he will receive an invitation to our wedding for him/her and one guest if we win the Grand Prize for a wedding on July 8, 2012. Travel and any other expenses are not included. The winner will also receive a 2012 CSA farm share of the winner's choice, up to $350.00, paid for by the hosts of this blog contest. Winner must inform the hosts of this contest within 30 days of being notified with the name of the farm, location and contact information. After 30 days the offer is null and void. The contest will close March 3, 2012 at 11:59pm EST. Once Clay Hill Farm announces the winner (presumably March 4), the blog contest hosts will choose a winner via random number generator within 7 days of the Clay Hill Farm Grand Prize announcement and will be posted on this blog. The winner will have 5 days to respond to contest host confirming their name and providing full name, email address, and mailing address. All entries must be identifiable and able to confirm, i.e. including first and last name, link to your blogger profile, inclusion of email address, etc. Spam comments will be deleted. If after 5 days the winner has not contacted the blog contest hosts the prizes will be forfeited and another winner will be chosen. The blog contest host is not responsible for contacting the winner. S/he must check on this blog on or around the date of March 4-11 for contest results. This contest is contingent upon Jessica Maillet and Timothy Caouette winning the Grand Prize 2012 Green Wedding Giveaway from Clay Hill Farm.