As we approach Earth Day 2010, I’m excited to share news of positive events related to celebrating our planet, greener weddings and giving back. Sean & Debi, the winning couple of the Clay Hill Green Wedding Giveaway, are bringing a group of inner-city NY students to Maine for Earth Day.
One of the important aspects of living a more sustainable lifestyle is educating others and inspiring them to make a difference, too. Many of these high-school age kids have never left the city, but they will now have a chance to participate in a beach clean-up and explore Maine’s natural beauty. They will top off the day at Clay Hill Unplugged where they can meet local green experts.
Clay Hill Farm—A Beautiful Green Wedding Venue!
In 1991, Clay Hill Farm in Maine became the first restaurant in the country to be certified as a natural wildlife habitat and bird sanctuary. The beautiful grounds, the nurtured habitats, the 150 birdhouses around the property…. all tell a twenty-year old story of environmental concern and care. It’s the perfect venue for a gorgeous green wedding! Read more about their green commitment . . .
Calling all green brides! Green Diva wants to hear your thoughts, ideas, opinions and feedback about eco wedding accessories. Five questions, five minutes, chance to win $250 in luxury eco bridal jewelry. Sounds like a no brainer! The top two best ideas will determine the winner and runner up.
Hurry, the contest ends on March 31!
Enter here!
The winner will receive a $250 credit toward the purchase of Green Diva eco-conscious bridal jewelry.
The runner up will win a signed copy of The Green Bride Guide book by Kate Harrison (I’ve read it and absolutely LOVE this book . . a must-read for all brides!).
Why we love Green Diva jewelry:
- Handmade jewelry by designer Katherine DalPra using recycled metals, Fair Trade gems and pearls and vintage materials.
- Each piece of Green Diva bridal jewelry comes safely packed in a special jewelry pouch crafted locally by hand from reclaimed, secondhand wedding gowns.
- Green Diva plants a tree for every piece of jewelry sold and donates more than 1% of sales to environmental projects through One Percent for the Planet.
I will be the first to admit that I absolutely love purple. In fact, it was my wedding color several years ago for my small, outdoor garden wedding. So I was thrilled when I discovered green wedding and eco-event planner Karine Brighten wore a purple wedding dress in her lovely little eco-wedding.
Why wear purple instead of white? Well, besides the fact it is a gorgeous color on her . . . Karine plans to wear the dress again. Eco-fabulous!
Karine made other eco-friendly choices too. Her invitations were done online and the ceremony was small in a beautiful redwood grove. She served all vegan food and the wedding favors were truffles (yummy!) packaged in recycled paper Chinese boxes (What color? Purple!).
Karine Brighten Events is a Certified Bay Area Green Business, and a Green Bride Guide Approved Vendor. If you live in the Bay area, you can meet Karine at the Berkeley Earth Day Festival on Saturday April 24th. And, if you sign up for her green wedding newsletter, you’ll receive a coupon code for 10% off your purchase at DreamGreenWeddings.com.
One of the most exciting benefits of blogging about green weddings is that I hear about “first-ever” new and creative products that help save our environment, while preserving time-honored wedding traditions. And, this is one of my favorites so far! Have you heard about Eco-Runners™ from Customized Wedding Creations?
The first-ever aisle runner of its kind, Eco-Runners™ are made from melted down plastic bottles. Yes, recycled plastic bottles!
On a side note: did you know that 8 out of 10 plastic water bottles end up in a landfill?* Yikes! So, anytime eco-preneurs can find a new use for recycling plastic, it’s a good thing. In fact, I just purchased a dog collar for my Golden made from 100% recycled plastic milk bottles.
Back to this green wedding goodie! These mother nature-approved aisle runners are so beautiful . . . you would never know they made from recycled fabric.
The green facts:
- Completely customizable using all-natural products and organic paints.
- Made from melted down plastic bottles, this aisle runner is 100% recycled polyester.
- Painted with water-based paints free from chemicals and solvents (no harmful dyes).
Go Green in Your Favorite Color!
Cherin Szul from Customized Wedding Creations tells us that colored aisle runners are a growing trend because of the dramatic statement of color it brings to the aisle (nice contrast with a white dress!). For those green brides who have been thinking about sacrificing the aisle runner, you now have an eco-friendly choice that you can feel good about. And it gets better . . . you also have your choice of six popular colors and two sizes. What a beautiful path to green wedding bliss!
*Earth911.com
I absolutely love it when I stumble upon a beautiful new eco-friendly jewelry collection to share with you. However, my heart skips a beat when I discover a company that not only makes sustainable and eco-lovely jewelry, but is truly making a difference by implementing green business practices.
Say hello to Kateylove Jewelry—stylish, environmentally friendly jewelry made from sustainable products and conflict-free stones. Perfect for a beach wedding, green bridal jewelry, gifts for your bridesmaids, or even to take along on your honeymoon. Or, like me, just because you love it and must have one!
Summer Love!
Just in time for summer weddings, Kateylove has given us a sneak peek at her lovely new Terra collection. Katey’s passion for fashion really shines through in these sea-inspired beauties!
How Kateylove is green:
- Only uses organic and “found” materials and conflict-free stones
- Offers vegan and hypoallergenic jewelry
- Gift boxes, wrapping, cards are all printed on 100% PCW recycled paper with soy-based inks. Shipping materials are also made from recycled materials. Bravo!
- Achieved a zero carbon footprint by supporting Carbon Fund (Great program for green weddings, too!)
- Contributes 10% of every purchase to environmental organizations, including the SurfRider Foundation
- Endeavors to live green at work with small steps like energy saving practices, conservation and recycling
Fashion-forward and earth-friendly . . . what’s not to love about Kateylove?
They may come in white and ivory, but they can be considered “green.” One of the fastest-growing trends in eco-friendly weddings is buying pre-owned wedding dresses. While this is not a new concept, it’s growing in popularity thanks to greener wedding trends that seek to reduce waste generated by weddings.
Not only are more brides going green, they are also trying to save more green these days (who isn’t?). Also, more brides are selling dresses. The result? The selection of pre-owned dresses is amazing . . . designer dresses galore. PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com is one of the great Websites out there helping brides to find the wedding dress of their dreams.
I personally like how they organize the dresses to easily search by best deals, dresses they love, hottest listings, designer, size, price and more. And the selection? Wow . . . thousands of gorgeous wedding gowns to shop.
Don’t forget the shoes and accessories! Usually only worn once for a few hours, pre-owned shoes and veils are also a great option for green brides!
Please note: all the photos featured here are courtesy of PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com, and may not be available at the time of this post.
One of the biggest trends in eco-friendly wedding planning is to avoid buying wedding favors made from plastic or other non-sustainable materials. That’s why I love bamboo! Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth and releases 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees. Because of this, planting bamboo is a great way to reduce our carbon footprint and help fight global warming. (Source: Wikipedia.org)
From flooring to furniture, and now wedding favors, bamboo is being featured in more and more products for the green-conscious. Not only is bamboo a sustainable natural resource that requires less energy to harvest, it is a symbol of luck, love and happiness. Talk about the perfect eco wedding favor and decoration!
Check out our bamboo wedding favor section with real bamboo trees, as well as super cute favors made from bamboo wood!
Modern calligraphy is a beautiful form of artistic expression that is gaining in popularity, especially with eco-conscious couples planning weddings with less environmental impact (please no labels!). In fact, the more handmade and hand-crafted goodness a bride can add to her wedding, the less impact it has on the environment . . . and the more memorable and special it is for her guests.
Some of the most beautiful custom calligraphy I’ve seen comes from Amanda B. Young, founder of SWOONOVERIT Calligraphy Studio (and very popular blogger: read her wedding blog here). Amanda provides calligraphy services for envelopes, signs and even hand-painted shirts. My favorite is her hand-drawn custom maps. So adorable! And, so affordable! Amanda works closely with her clients to provide reasonably-priced calligraphy services. After all, it’s the little details that can make a big difference.
