The whole thing started earlier in the week, when family started showing up. Wednesday we had a BBQ at our house, where Pete’s mom, step-dad, and stepbrother met Andrea’s family for the first time. Thursday night, we all headed out for our bachelor and bachelorette parties. I believe sushi and lots of sake were involved with the bachelor party. As for the bachelorette party, it was off to the community college salon for manicures and pedicures. After that, we went to dinner at The Globe Bar and Grille — they have an amazing thing called “Custom Cuisine” where they custom-design a meal for you. It was a late night of chatting, laughing, and generally enjoying ourselves.

Friday morning, it was up and at ‘em… actually, pretty late. Everyone came over for breakfast, and we plotted, planned, and scheduled. Thank goodness my sister’s brain was fully engaged, because my list-making brain just wasn’t working. We each got our assignments, and we were off and running. Andrea’s brother-in-law was put to work slicing meats and cheeses. Andrea’s sister acted as master of the lists, making sure that everyone knew where they were headed. Mom worked on the wedding cake while everyone else picked up rentals, set up tables, and got the backyard looking amazing. Peter went hard to work on his vest and clothes, and Andrea got to cooking.

By 6 p.m., everyone started arriving for the rehearsal dinner. Homemade mac and cheese four ways (including gluten-free), salad, and lemonade were on the menu. The rehearsal was fun, with lots and lots of laughs and plenty of pantomime. Family was in and out, food was eaten, and everyone had fun. We even found a solution to the fact that our harpist had canceled on us with just a few days to go. Relatively late in the evening, everyone started clearing out.

Saturday morning, the first and most important thing on our list was “sleep in.” Sleep in we did. It was glorious to not have the alarm go off until late in the morning. We woke up, though, to thunder and rain. By the time we got to the Corbin Arts Center, things were already in full swing. Tables and chairs were already set up, and all of the family was getting everything set up. It was a frenzy and flurry activity like none other. After a quick walk around the grounds with Shannon to bless the space, Peter and I split up to our respective prep rooms. It took an hour and a half to get hair and makeup and corsets and clothes and shoes and pictures done in the bride’s room — and an hour to get Peter’s hair done. A quick and gentle hike up the back of the hill, and we actually got to see each other. It was an exciting moment, and one that just made us both smile. While we took an hour with the photographers, the guests began to arrive, mill around, and chat. A few of the reporters also showed up. It was still raining and drizzling throughout all the pictures, and it was a last-minute decision if we should move inside or not.

Just a few minutes before 4, when the ceremony was supposed to begin, the sky magically cleared. It stopped raining, the sun began to shine, and it stayed that way for the rest of the day. While I could rehash the entire thing, the truth is that it was beautiful and wonderful. Here’s the video:

It was a moment that was… transformative. Not the “oh my gosh we’re married!” but more the “we’ve confirmed everything we already knew” way.

After the ceremony, Peter and I escaped for a while. Everyone else got the party started, but we signed paperwork and had a few moments, just to us. After that, came the party! Food and fun were to be had everywhere. So many friends from so many places and it was great to get at least a few minutes with all of them. Both Peter and I got a chance to eat, though leftover nerves made both of our tummies a little unsettled. There was everything from sandwiches to vegan salads, custom cookies, even fruit salad. In short, the potluck turned out incredibly well.

Then, as with most receptions, it was time for the formalities. We cut the absolutely beautiful cake and announced that safety lectures for the bouquet and garter tosses would soon be happening. I would imagine that’s not the kind of announcement that is usually made! Here’s the garter shot and bouquet toss, with our own medieval re-creation flair:

So very quickly, it was ending. We made sure that the out-of-town guests knew about the afterparty happenings, and chatted with everyone we could. Soon, though, we were so exhausted, it was time to go. Shannon, our officiant and good friend, drove us to the hotel. Our friends and family were once again amazing, and got the whole venue cleaned up.

The next morning, it was a sunshiny day, and breakfast was even better. We met up with family to feast on leftovers, and ended up laughing and sharing stories for most of the day.

It was, in short, an amazing weekend. A beautiful wedding. It couldn’t have happened without friends, family, and a good bit of luck. At the end, we got married, and reports are that everyone had a good time. It was truly our dream wedding — and we couldn’t have asked for anything more. The official photos are still a week or two out, but you can see what photos we do have on Offbeat Bride and the Wedding Cans Flickr Pool.

Total $ spent: $3,945 — $145 over budget. This included everything from the rings to the clothing to the bachelor/bachelorette parties.

Total bags of trash created: One 40 gallon bag over 3 days.

Total number of guests: 125

You can see video posted already at CBS News. Keep an eye on Offbeat Bride for a post tomorrow, too!

Back To Africa
Name: Kristen Marks
Website: KMAfrica.tumblr.com
Can Collection Project: Returning to Africa on a trip with Children of the Nations
Can Goal: $5,200
Deadline: September 2010
Hometown: Jacksonville, FL

Kristen wrote us an email very recently, and her story has completely inspired us! Check out her website for all of the information, but she is trying to raise $5,200 to spend 2 weeks in Malawi and 1 week in Uganda. This trip is going to be spent talking with teachers, children, and staff of the Children of the Nations to help spread the word. Children of the Nations is a nonprofit that cares for destitute and orphaned children. In short, Kristen is hoping to help an amazing charity by doing amazing work. With such a short time to reach her goal, she is doing lots more than just collecting cans — but cans will hopefully play a large role in her project.

Aluminum Wedding
Name: Ashley and Derek
Website: AluminumWedding.weebly.com
Can Collection Project: Collecting aluminum to get married
Can Goal: $7,000
Deadline: June, 2011
Hometown: Centre, Alabama

Ashley and Derek are a couple in Alabama that are trying to collect $7,000 worth of cans in just 11 months. It’s a huge goal, but to have their dream wedding, they are giving it everything they’ve got. Their website tells their story, and their Facebook and Myspace pages are tracking progress. Check them out!

Save For The Dog
Name: Tisha Neal
Website: Save For The Dog
Can Collection Project: Saving cans to help pay for the cost of getting and keeping a service dog.
Can Goal: $7,000
Deadline: Summer 2011
Hometown: Brockport, PA

Tisha contacted us very recently, after seeing the Yahoo Green story on us hitting our goal. Tisha is in a wheelchair, and is on the list to get a service dog. Before being able to bring the dog home, though, Tisha has to raise $7,000. That is a lot of cans, but with a full year to go, this goal is definitely reachable. If you’re in the Brockport area, or want more information, check out Tisha and “Save For The Dog” on Facebook!

Lisa’s Liver Transplant
Name: Lisa Dowell Myshrall
Website: Liver Transplant Recycling on Facebook
Can-Collection Project: Paying for a liver transplant and related costs
Can Goal: Ongoing
Hometown: Spokane, WA

Lisa was one of the first people that found and contacted us about starting her own can-collecting project, and she has been a consistent presence on our Facebook page and around the web. She has a fast-growing liver cirrhosis caused by a fatty liver. She is up for another transplant evaluation in October of this year, and has to travel from her hometown to Pittsburgh every six months, and then every 3 months as her cirrhosis worsens. She and her husband will also need to move within 2 hours of the transplant center — across the country in PA — in case a new liver does become available. All of those plane tickets, hotels, and eventual moving costs add up quickly. Her friends, family, and neighborhood are doing everything they can to help, but with such huge expenses that simply aren’t paid for by insurance, every can definitely counts for Lisa and her family.

If you want to donate cans, Lisa and her family can come pick up cans anywhere in the Spokane / Coeur d’Alene area — email them through the Facebook page if you’d like more information.

The Spokesman-Review Newspaper had Doug Clark do another follow-up story. He’s been wonderful, and has written about us serveral times. His story got picked up, in abbreviated form, by the Associated Press.

Yahoo Green News did a story that ended up on the Yahoo front page for a few days.

The Weekly World News also picked up the story — and they didn’t mention aliens or bat boy anywhere in the story!

HappyNews featured the story on June 27.

On June 30, TreeHugger did a great story that was picked up by EcoFriend, among others. We also ended up on Greenopolis.

One of Andrea’s favorite blogs, Jezebel picked up the story from Yahoo, and was followed a few days later by their sibling site Gawker.

This Daryn Kagan video shows lots of our favorite photos and is a good round-up of the whole project.

USA Today’s Green House also did a follow-up story to their first January piece on us, as did Tonic and Personal Money Store.

BlogHer did a story we love as well, putting us on their “wall of fame”!

Groom’s Advice wrote an article that made us both laugh out loud.

This morning, we did an interview with ABC World News for their “Coversations” series which you can see on their website, or watch here:

Over the last few weeks, we have also done interviews with Fox 5 Vegas’ morning show, Seattle’s Movin 92.5, The Farm Radio, KISM, America In The Morning, a written interview in the German magazine Spigiel (the story hasn’t come out yet on that one), and Karen Black on Canadian Radio.

In the next few days, we’ll also be posting a listing of all the couples and projects that have written us to say they are also collecting cans — and man, is the list growing! And just 26 days and counting until our wedding, too.

The first nonprofit is Doctors Without Borders. Started in 1971 in France, this nonprofit helps doctors and nurses volunteer their skills to over 60 countries around the world. In 1999, Doctors Without Borders received a Nobel Peace Prize. We selected this nonprofit for two major reasons. First, because caring for the planet includes ensuring that medical care and humanitarian aid is available to all residents of the planet. Second, we wanted to donate to a large nonprofit that has huge impact around the world.

The other nonprofit we’ve chosen, Rim Country Land Institute, is significantly smaller. A Billings, Montana nonprofit that is dedicated to providing place-centered experiences and education. Part of our mission as Wedding Cans is to help encourage recycling — and without a connection to land and environment, it can be very difficult to build up enthusiasm for protecting it. Rim Country is a very small nonprofit organization that helps develop and re-develop that connection. Just outside of Billings, Montana, the Cove Canyon Grasslands that Rim Country Land Institute holds most of its programs on is absolutely beautiful. The image of a yellow full moon rising slowly over the hills and straw bale construction barn while animals scurry to their evening home in the distance is one that is so peaceful and beautiful that it helps remind me why protecting Mother Earth is important.

Both of these nonprofits do incredible work. After paying for our wedding, Peter and I wanted to continue getting out the message of recycling while paying it forward for people and for the planet. We encourage you to look into either one of these nonprofits — or save a few cans for your favorite cause.

What there is is lots to do. We’ve got 40 days until the wedding, and we’re finally able to make the last of our plans. Thursday at 11 a.m., Paul and his crew from United Recycling Services is coming by to pick up the 2,200 lbs of cans sitting on our back porch. Here’s the official news:

Spokane, WA – June 22, 2010 – With just forty days until their wedding, the “Wedding Can Couple” will be celebrating reaching their goal. With help from United Recycling Services, Alcoa Aluminum, and donated aluminum from around the world, Peter Geyer and Andrea Parrish have collected five tons of recycled aluminum to pay for their wedding. The 400,000 cans – worth about $3,800 in Spokane – took the couple 197 days to collect; they collected on average one can about every 40 seconds. The final 2,200 pounds of cans will be picked up at the couple’s home on June 24.

“We are happy to help Peter and Andrea reach their goal.” said Paul Gauron of United Recycling Services. “Recycling cans is a great marriage of protecting the environment and earning some cash.”

Peter and Andrea hatched their plan to pay for their low-budget $3,800 wedding in late December of last year. Combining their desire to protect the environment with their hope to have a debt-free wedding, the couple started the project with just a website and fingers crossed. Within two months, the news had traveled across the globe. Alcoa Aluminum joined their effort by donating 150,000 cans toward their goal.

“The response to this project has been overwhelming,” said Andrea. “The most exciting thing about the project is how many people have borrowed the idea,” adds Peter. “We have other engaged couples recycling for their weddings and honeymoons — even a woman collecting cans to pay for her liver transplant.”

Peter and Andrea will continue collecting and recycling aluminum cans, with 60 percent of their proceeds being donated to the nonprofits Rim Country Land Institute and Doctors Without Borders.

We also had our interview with Melissa and Bob this morning on CAT Country in Spokane – you can hear the audio from it at the Melissa and Bob Blog