A Somerville couple is taking a different approach when it comes to receiving gifts for their wedding.Zoe Reiches and Stephond Goler are getting married but they vowed to defy tradition.Watch the report"Can we make that something that has an impact, in a way that's meaningful to us?" Zoe Reiches said."We are firm believers in doing things the way we want to," Stephond Goler said.The bride-to-be has special ties to the African country Ghana. She's visited three times as a high school exchange student then teacher at the New Life International orphanage where education is lacking."So when kids aren't in school they're working," she said. "Rather than getting an education."So instead of conventional gifts, Zoe Reiches and Stephond Goler are asking their wedding guests to donate money towards building a school in Ghana, a key step out of poverty."You can leave that, and you can get a job, you can support your family and you can get a house and you buy a house, be healthier and you can rise out of poverty," she said.They have a GoFundMe page and have raised nearly $9,000. They're hoping for $50,000. Reiches and Goler's honeymoon will be in Ghana to begin construction."We're very proud to be a part something that's a little cutting edge," Goler said."Yeah, we're hoping that this is a trend. People start thinking about weddings as an opportunity to celebrate a couple, celebrate something important to them," Reiches said.Their wedding in two weeks will be like a fundraiser by taking vows of love and generosity."The end result is going to be your own, something that you're going to be vastly proud of," Goler said.

A Somerville couple is taking a different approach when it comes to receiving gifts for their wedding.

Zoe Reiches and Stephond Goler are getting married but they vowed to defy tradition.




Watch the report



"Can we make that something that has an impact, in a way that's meaningful to us?" Zoe Reiches said.



"We are firm believers in doing things the way we want to," Stephond Goler said.



The bride-to-be has special ties to the African country Ghana. She's visited three times as a high school exchange student then teacher at the New Life International orphanage where education is lacking.



"So when kids aren't in school they're working," she said. "Rather than getting an education."

So instead of conventional gifts, Zoe Reiches and Stephond Goler are asking their wedding guests to donate money towards building a school in Ghana, a key step out of poverty.



"You can leave that, and you can get a job, you can support your family and you can get a house and you buy a house, be healthier and you can rise out of poverty," she said.



They have a GoFundMe page and have raised nearly $9,000. They're hoping for $50,000. Reiches and Goler's honeymoon will be in Ghana to begin construction.



"We're very proud to be a part something that's a little cutting edge," Goler said.



"Yeah, we're hoping that this is a trend. People start thinking about weddings as an opportunity to celebrate a couple, celebrate something important to them," Reiches said.



Their wedding in two weeks will be like a fundraiser by taking vows of love and generosity.



"The end result is going to be your own, something that you're going to be vastly proud of," Goler said.