Rachel Bair is at the beginning of adulthood (I am not), but we will be forever linked by a date in the future.

In June, we are going to be wedding twins as we are scheduled to be married on the same day; Rachel back with family in Ohio, me in Ballard.

Rachel is much younger but in some ways far better prepared for the event. A RE-Store employee, Rachel has developed the Salvage Bride Toolkit.

From 10 a.m. to noon on March 13, Rachel will offer a free workshop at RE-Store on Salvage Bride Basics. She plans to serve tea and homemade cake.

As a hint about how to incorporate salvaged materials into wedding planning, here is one of her suggestions, “Wire spools make excellent cake stands.”

Somewhat disgusted at the prospect of her mother being a “June Bride,” my daughter proposed the event make best use possible of recycled and/or second hand goods, from attire through decorations.

I am happy to report that Ballard’s Goodwill yielded “the dress,” which I purchased for $14.97 even though it was the only color tag not discounted that day.

When I saw the notice about one of RE-Store’s increasingly creative workshops, this one geared to brides, I knew it meant me.

With RE-Store’s lighting section as backdrop (“Light parts just beg to be reassembled as candelabras”), Rachel took a few minutes to discuss the conflict between her “girly-girl” side and her “crafty-craft” side when it comes to planning a backyard wedding at the Ohio home where her grandfather was born.

Her fiancé works at Bedrock Industries, which specializes in recycled glass, so the couple’s commitment to reuse, reduce and recycle is a precursor to their June vows and perhaps a clue to their partnership.

Rachel recognizes that the workshop attendees may represent different levels in the do-it-yourself spectrum. She doesn’t want to intimidate attendees who may not be used to digging through Goodwill bins.

Which is why she will also cover some event planning basics: start planning early and always carry a tape measure. The goal is not to pull an all-nighter before the wedding rewiring light fixtures.

Rachel recommends having a basic plan, such as deciding on colors and a theme in advance, then carrying color samples and measurements while shopping garage sales and second hand stores.

She has been experimenting with several projects in preparation for the workshop and her wedding, including the use of chalkboard paint and said wire spools.

For her event, she has already found second hand plates and silverware.

RE-Store, a forerunner in providing reused material, has traditionally offered more pragmatic workshops, such as how to plumb a toilet, but they are branching out into more creative crossover topics, such as planning terrariums.

The intersection of art and recycled materials is not new. For many years, they have participated in local art and garden shows; their 2010 Recycled Art and Fashion Show is coming up in April.

Outreach and Marketing Manager Sarah Krueger is excited about adding workshops like The Salvage Bride. To RSVP for March 13, email her at sarahk@re-store.org.

“We’re really kind of confused,” Rachel says about her peers’ efforts to accommodate seemingly contradictory forces, such as the “wedding industry” versus “sustainability” and “girly-girl” versus “do-it-yourselfer.”

However, Rachel Bair seems anything but confused. She is bridging the past and the future with screwdriver and color scheme as the model Salvage Bride.

To learn more about Rachel Bair’s planning, visit her blog.