1. Choose a green location to have your wedding and/or reception. This could be a park, a museum, or a local charity venue. You could also look for hotels or restaurants that are green, either by serving organic menus or adopting a code of green business ethics such as recycling, buying local and donating part of their proceeds to charity. Check listings such as Green America’s (formerly Co-op America) National Green Pages.
2. Serve an organic and local menu. Supporting local farms and businesses is important and your food will be fresher. Try to find a caterer that uses local and organic ingredients to make dishes. Everything from your cake to your appetizers, even your drinks can be organic but even just a little bit counts.
3. Send out invitations printed on recycled or tree free paper. Companies like Twisted Limb offer beautiful wedding invitations made of recycled, handmade paper.
4. Wear a gorgeously green gown. Your eco-friendly wedding gown may be something borrowed, a family heirloom, a gently used dress, or a vintage beauty. It could also be made from sustainable eco-friendly fabrics like bamboo, hemp, organic cotton or peace silk. The options keep growing everyday as new eco-designers appear or traditional designers add eco-friendly selections to their lines of wedding gowns. Get your bride and groom wedding rings green also, Brilliant Earth.
5. Less is more. One option is to cut out all the unnecessary extras like favors, menus, place cards and things that are not needed. This saves resources and money. If you would like to get favors go to Beau Coup , Little Things Favors , Bella Figura , Nature's Gifts & More , The wedding favors bar , GetMarried , I do , Endangered Species Chocolate for eco-friendly favor ideas.
6. Get creative with your décor. Nature is full of beautiful items that can be sued to decorate then be returned to nature after the wedding; rocks, twigs, flowers, potted plants, trees, leaves…Use the bountiful options nature offers to create stunning decorations, centerpieces and more. Once the wedding is over these pieces of nature can be placed in your yard or garden.
7. Ditch the disposables. Forget about disposable plates, napkins, silverware and all that. Opt for rented items that can be washed and reused over and over again. If you are having a small intimate wedding you would even consider purchasing tablecloths, plates and tableware that you could reuse in your home after the wedding.
8. Candle light is extremely romantic; make it eco-friendly as well by using natural soy wax or beeswax candles. Regular candles are made with paraffin, a petroleum based product. Not a green choice.
9. Green your transportation. Arrive to your destinations in eco-style with hybrid or electric vehicles. You could even provide transportation for your guests with buses that run on biofuels.
10. Have a great green honeymoon. After your wedding plan to stay close to home or travel to an eco-resort or hotel to keep the green going after the big day.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Green Wedding
My husband and I went to dinner last night with two of our good friends, Heather and Daniel. They recently got engaged and are planning their wedding for Jan 2010. Heather and I were talking about her wedding ideas and she told me that they were going to be having an eco-friendly wedding. I thought that was such a great idea! I have read alot about this being the new wedding craze for this year and to come, but haven't done enough research on it!
Creating a wedding that isn't wasteful or polluting is appealing to more and more brides. The number of earth-friendly products and services is growing, giving the bride and groom a range of options. A lot of it is buying local fresh flowers from the Alachua farmers markets or nurseries. Or for instance, supporting a local artisan is much more earth friendly than having cheap trinkets shipped half way around the world! Eco-friendly brides and grooms are not only doing good for our envirnment but also helping the community.
Im excited about doing more research in helping Heather plan her Eco-friendly wedding in Gainesville :)
Creating a wedding that isn't wasteful or polluting is appealing to more and more brides. The number of earth-friendly products and services is growing, giving the bride and groom a range of options. A lot of it is buying local fresh flowers from the Alachua farmers markets or nurseries. Or for instance, supporting a local artisan is much more earth friendly than having cheap trinkets shipped half way around the world! Eco-friendly brides and grooms are not only doing good for our envirnment but also helping the community.
Im excited about doing more research in helping Heather plan her Eco-friendly wedding in Gainesville :)
Contributing to earth with your wedding
Your wedding announcement or invitation can set the tone for your environmentally friendly wedding. There are many options today for 100% recycled, partially recycled or completely tree free papers from wedding invitation suppliers. If you are interested in making your own invitations, the choices are unlimitied. Consider all these places for paper on your wedding day:
* engagement announcements
* save the date cards
* shower invitations
* shower thank you notes
* wedding invitaitons
* ceremony programs
* place cards
* menu cards
* wedding announcements
* thank you notes
Many brides today are communicating electronically to cut down on paper and waste. Here's a few places to check out for environmentally friendly wedding invitation options:
Earthly Affair
If your looking for something that is not your typical traditional design, Earthly Affairs has some wonderful choices. Choose from 12 different clean designs, each available in many different color combinations. Choose between either 100% post consumer paper or FSC Certified Cotton Paper.
Green Field Paper Company
They have Grow a Note cards which are tree-free. The cards are embedded with a custom mix of wildflower seeds. ...you can just toss them in the ground when you are finished and a few months later- voila! --up pop flowers!! Green Field also has in a 100% Junk Mail paper and Garlic Paper infused with garlic skins.
InviteSite
have wonderful beautiful rich luxurious tree free papers, 100% post-consumer recycled papers, archival papers (when this is important to you) and vellum papers that can be recycled.
Sweet Invitations
Several collections of handmade invitations that are made from discarded and shredded cloth using petals, flowers, silk, grass, colors, glitters which are acid free and 100% recycled.
Tasha Rae Designs
Specialize in custom designed invitations and have a wide variety of recycled papers to choose from. No charge for samples, however, Tasha suggests you donate a few bucks to your favorite charity instead!
Twisted Limb Paperworks
offers a large line of handmade 100% recycled post consumer waste invitations. This is great company that walks the walk - at least half of their studio's energy is provided by green electricity, and water used in the papermaking process is recycled from the studio's dehumidifiers & air conditioner whenever possible. 10% of their profits are donated to environmental conservation efforts each year.
* engagement announcements
* save the date cards
* shower invitations
* shower thank you notes
* wedding invitaitons
* ceremony programs
* place cards
* menu cards
* wedding announcements
* thank you notes
Many brides today are communicating electronically to cut down on paper and waste. Here's a few places to check out for environmentally friendly wedding invitation options:
Earthly Affair
If your looking for something that is not your typical traditional design, Earthly Affairs has some wonderful choices. Choose from 12 different clean designs, each available in many different color combinations. Choose between either 100% post consumer paper or FSC Certified Cotton Paper.
Green Field Paper Company
They have Grow a Note cards which are tree-free. The cards are embedded with a custom mix of wildflower seeds. ...you can just toss them in the ground when you are finished and a few months later- voila! --up pop flowers!! Green Field also has in a 100% Junk Mail paper and Garlic Paper infused with garlic skins.
InviteSite
have wonderful beautiful rich luxurious tree free papers, 100% post-consumer recycled papers, archival papers (when this is important to you) and vellum papers that can be recycled.
Sweet InvitationsSeveral collections of handmade invitations that are made from discarded and shredded cloth using petals, flowers, silk, grass, colors, glitters which are acid free and 100% recycled.
Tasha Rae Designs
Specialize in custom designed invitations and have a wide variety of recycled papers to choose from. No charge for samples, however, Tasha suggests you donate a few bucks to your favorite charity instead!
Twisted Limb Paperworks
offers a large line of handmade 100% recycled post consumer waste invitations. This is great company that walks the walk - at least half of their studio's energy is provided by green electricity, and water used in the papermaking process is recycled from the studio's dehumidifiers & air conditioner whenever possible. 10% of their profits are donated to environmental conservation efforts each year.
Free Wedding Invitation Catalogs
Wedding Invitation Catalogs
Clink on the link to their website and "order a catalog" for free!
The Image Gallery
Invitations and accessories that fit your image ‹ perfectly! Stylish invitations are printed with your photos for a personal introduction to your wedding. Coordinating accessories add a picture-perfect finishing touch.
Seasons of Love by Dawn features wedding invitations and accessories that will fit your fall or winter wedding - whether it is casual or contemporary!
Rexcraft truly has something for everyone! With Rexcraft's huge selection of wedding invitations and accessories, you will find everything you need to make your wedding perfect.
Seal-n-Send.com offers a wide variety of all-in-one wedding invitations that include a removable response card for your convenience.
Now and Forever offers contemporary wedding invitations and accessories that feature bright colors, modern styles and unique items.
Naturally Ever After’s collection of wedding invitations are made from quality, recycled paper containing at least 30 percent post- consumer fibers. These wedding invitations and accessories combine nature-inspired artistry with richly textured colorful papers certain to make you proud of your wedding ensemble choice.
Jean M wedding accessories and invitations offer stylish papers, ribbons, and ink colors to coordinate perfectly with each other and your wedding scheme.
What's your kind of modern? Modern Distinctions offers the perfect style of invitation, favor or centerpiece that reflects not only today's fashion, but your personality! Hence, Modern Distinctions. Distinctly modern, distinctly you.
Whether you're gettin' hitched way out West or having a traditional wedding with touches of country flair, Wedding Country by Dawn has what you need to help you celebrate in style!
Invitations by Dawn provides wedding stationery and accessories to fit your theme wedding - from elegance to Disney!
Ann's Wedding offers a large selection of wedding invitations and accessories that allows you to have the wedding of your dreams at prices you can afford!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Design-Her Gal Obsession!
I was reading through other blogs and came upon Design-Her Gals , I registered to their site and created my own gal that is just ME with my dog Blackie! What do you think?
This adorable web site allows you to personalize stationery, tote bags, stickers and more with a cute image of your illustrated self! You pick everything, from hair color to skin tone and clothes to accessories, plus a lot more options to choose from. Your "gal" can hold magazines (ahem!), pocketbooks, musical instruments, pets and basically everything and anything else you could ever imagine. I have spent way too much time designing all different versions of me (as you can see). It's addicting!
They make the perfect gift for a bridal & baby showers, Birthdays, any holidays or a special occassion!
When you sign up, they send you special discounts and promos to your email monthly.
Also..... You can send e-cards (like this one of me) which is cute for Birthdays and much more!
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