We first heard about charity: water while listening to a podcast in which Bill Simmons was interviewing the charity's founder, Scott Harrison. We started the podcast expecting to get bored after 10 or 15 minutes -- instead, we listened to the entirety of the 90 minute conversation, captivated by the passion that Harrison exuded and by the urgency of his mission.

This was around the same time that we were beginning our wedding planning in earnest, and we couldn't help but compare the cost of our wedding with the amount of money that charity: water was looking to raise. While we're grateful to be in a position where we can afford to host a huge party with all of our friends and family, we can't ignore the fact that the tens of thousands of dollars we're spending on this wedding could instead be going to bringing the most basic necessity -- safe water -- to people around the world who don't have access to it.

So, we decided to make this a part of our big day.

Every day, about 1,400 children die from diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation. It doesn’t have to be that way. There are simple solutions like drilled wells, spring protections and BioSand filters that help provide clean water to people around the world. These are just the sorts of solutions that charity: water brings to desperate communities.

We believe that this is a worthy use of our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring people together, and we're more than happy to donate our wedding gifts to this cause. Charity: water has an "A" rating on charitywatch.org; 100% of the money we raise will be used to build clean water projects (corporate donors fund all of the charity's administrative costs). Also, when the project is complete, charity: water will send us photos and GPS coordinates so we can see the exact community we helped.

Please consider making a donation to the campaign. We can't wait to see you in July and celebrate together!

Love,
Abby and Luke