Green Umbrella Events

Standing on Ceremony - On greening your wedding

2009-07-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Umbra,

How about some practical thoughts on "green" weddings? My daughter is planning an outdoor July wedding in Wisconsin -- any tips? The reception is going to be outdoors at our home.

Tomm G.
Waukesha, Wis.

Hi Tomm,

This week's theme is 10-foot-pole topics! Or love! They're one and the same!

Environmental issues to consider for weddings are going to be quite similar to the everyday issues: transportation, food, non-transit energy use, consumer waste. Green weddings are a potentially awkward proposition because elaborate three-day affairs have become the cultural norm. Obviously in consideration of the environment less is more, but in the modern wedding context it might be difficult for the family to feel happy or comfortable just having a simple event, which we might call the "reduce" wedding.

The wedding industry is large, and the "green products" industry is sizable, and they have an area of overlap. The trouble with a lot of "green" consumer stuff is that it is simply substitutive. Vendors exist who can sell you all the things you would like for a regular old giant wedding, only with a green pedigree: organic flowers, organic party favors, hemp gowns, registries with ecologically minded companies. My feeling is that this is somewhat better than the traditional route, and if you want to go ahead with that kind of idea, please punch "green wedding" into your search engine. You might also read my earlier columns about rings, registries, and flying all your guests to Hawaii. My big heretical notion is: the smaller wedding (see last column for heretical notion about smaller family). Either that's possible given family politics, or it is not. Consider it thoroughly. A small guest list will mean fewer resources used in every category.

Less transportation will be the big goal, but it can be achieved in a variety of ways. Since this is likely the largest impact of your backyard shindig, let's list some emissions-reducing transport schemes. For others who haven't yet chosen their location, consider one to which guests will travel the least total miles. Try to do everything possible to reduce individual car trips from airports and hotels -- provide buses, shuttles, provide incentives to use the buses and shuttles (snacks? keeping event location secret? guilt?), have the wedding at a hotel where everyone stays, have ceremony and reception in the same location. Consider purchasing green tags to make up for unavoidable carbon emissions.

In choosing the food, look for organically grown and/or locally sourced products, as you should when possible in your daily life. Find a caterer who will work with you to use the products. Here's an unpopular but environmentally sound idea: have a vegetarian menu. Hey, speaking of unpopular ideas, how about a composting toilet at the reception? Quelle scandale! But seriously, folks, what other categories do we have? Outdoors in summer is a great choice, because you won't need to heat or air-condition the space. Any paper goods such as invitations can be printed on recycled-content paper. Any festive garments can be purchased secondhand or reused -- the tradition of using a mother's gown fits in nicely with environmental ethics. There's a whole brides-against-breast-cancer gown resale project too.

Never having planned a wedding, I'm sure I'm missing some vital piece of the event, but reduce -- go smaller and use less stuff -- seems to be the key. If you've been reading Grist, you already know the major considerations for daily life with an environmental bent. Think carefully about each step of the planning, keeping your knowledge in mind, and I don't think you can go too wrong. Besides transportation, almost everything about a wedding would happen anyway, right? People at home would eat and sleep and crumple napkins anyway. So follow your common sense, and hopefully being ecologically minded won't add to the stress of planning a big event. And congratulations.

Soothingly,
Umbra

By Umbra Fisk - 28 Mar 2007 - http://www.grist.org/

Altar-native Energy - How to green your wedding

2009-07-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

No one wants to scrimp on matters of the heart. And not a lot of lovebirds want to pass up the chance to throw a meaning-laden bash with friends, family, and bubbly that ends in a sex-crazed vacation. Who could say no to that?

But when it comes to weddings, there are greener ways to get hitched. Today, earth-friendlier versions of conventional weddings are blooming everywhere -- from "Days of Our Lives" to the pages of Modern Bride. Thanks to an increasingly robust eco-marketplace that offers everything from organic champagne to biodegradable confetti, walking down the aisle without leaving a huge carbon footprint is a piece of connubial cake. And ideas abound for alternative (i.e., non-extravaganza) ceremonies too.

All it takes is some simple planning and a bit of pruning for the guest list (do you really need to fly in your fourth cousins from Slobovia?). After that, just feel the love -- the kind that extends to your betrothed and to the ground we all walk on.

Here are a few ideas to get you started -- and we welcome those of you who have walked the eco-aisle to share your story in the comments section below.

Level One: The Baby Step

Be a skipper. As in, skip the rice tossing. It's potentially bad for birds and wildlife, and it's definitely messy. If you must provide something for guests to toss, opt for something like birdseed -- unless the event is in a wilderness area where feeding critters isn't allowed. Try skipping a few other things, too, like party favors and place cards. The industry will tell you these things are a must, but any guest who's left an event laden down with them will tell you they're a bust. If you can't bear to skip them, consider giving garden seeds as favors and writing your guests' names on stones. Don't worry, Martha would approve.

Level Two: The Next Steps

Dress reversal. Green wedding garb, like the best love affairs, shouldn't leave a trail of toxic residue behind. Buy new or nearly-new gowns at places like Encore Bridal or your local secondhand store; check out the green wedding site Portovert; or shop at Anna Cohen, a Vera Wang of the green world. And guys: keep renting those tuxes! If you could really use new threads, buy organic cotton dress shirts or hemp suits that you can wear again.

Do the local-motive. Yes, Fiji is pretty this time of year, but making your guests jet there to see you wed is guaranteed to produce a world of CO2 hurt. So get married in a central spot near the majority of your guests. And when you're buying the wedding goodies, snag them locally, to reduce the carbon costs of driving and shipping. If you can't find the shops you need, browse Co-op America's green pages to find local-organic flowers, décor, food, and drink -- including fine champagne and wine.

Bling it on. Diamonds, as we know, are a churl's best friend. Metal mining -- another nightmare -- is a No. 1 polluter in the United States, according to No Dirty Gold; a single band of gold produces 20 tons of deadly mine waste. So ring in the new: buy from the growing class of conflict-free gems, including eco-friendly diamonds and gold made with fair labor practices. Recycled jewelry glitters just as nicely.

Guide yer gifters. This is where your noblesse can really oblige. Ask people to forgo that third toaster they were about to give you and instead request gifts from a green registry like VivaTerra. Even better, encourage guests to buy carbon offsets, contribute toward an experience (skydiving lessons, here you come!), or donate to any number of cool charities via nonprofits like the I Do Foundation, which also accepts donated wedding dresses when the day's done.

Level Three: The Big Step

Say 'I Don't.' Traditional weddings doth not automatically a happy marriage make; being in love is what counts. So why not escape the headaches and pressures of party planning -- while saving major amounts of money and stress on you and the earth -- and just elope? Say your vows at city hall, vault neatly over the months of work and piles of bills, and stick the perfect landing. It's an option that bucks tradition, to be sure -- but it's just as likely to lead to a happy ending.

29 Apr 2008 - http://www.grist.org/

Green Party Tips

2009-04-13T14:28:00.000-07:00

10 ways to make your next party stylish, fun, and green.

Do as many of these tips as you can. Then reward yourself with a fresh mani and pedi for your party. Hey, even three or four of these ideas will help future generations of Nesties.

1. Evites are a must

Skip the pretty paper cards and save a tree or two. We know you love wowing your friends with your invitation creations, but you'll amaze them enough when they arrive, we promise! Plus, the Evite has a great way for you to still be clever with your post. We love uploading funny pictures and choosing pretty designs that even the pickiest guest will love. And be sure to get creative with the reply categories.

2. Use the stuff you've got

You know those dishes, glasses, and place settings you put on your registry but still haven't taken out of the cabinet? Now is the time to break them out. You'll have to do a little extra cleanup at the end of the night, but isn't reversing global warming worth an extra few minutes?

3. Personalize cups

If you insist on using disposable glassware, buy the kind made from recycled or sustainable materials (look for stuff manufactured from corn resin or sugar-cane stalk, or items labeled "biodegradable" or "100 percent recycled content"). And prevent the cup-mistaken-identity syndrome (you know, when someone takes a cup and places it next to an identical one, and then both people have to get new cups) by taking a Sharpie and marking each cup with a personalized monogram.

4. Light it up

Cut down on electricity and create a romantic (and, let's face it, flattering) glow by placing lit candles everywhere. Use soy or beeswax candles, which, unlike petroleum-based paraffin candles, won't emit toxic, sooty fumes.

5. Be thrifty

When looking for hosting odds and ends that will add a finishing touch to your decor -- like salad servers and place mats -- check out flea markets and thrift shops. As long as you wash them in incredibly hot water, you are actually getting something amazingly unique and doing your part to create less trash. After all, if you didn't buy it, it might have been thrown out.

6. Go local

Skip the produce aisle at your regular grocery store, and visit a local organic farm or market to grab your greens. Or if your supermarket chain carries a local organic vendor line, all the better. You'll not only get pesticide- and hormone-free products, but buying local items means they've had to travel only a short distance (versus thousands of miles) to get to your house. And if you haven't guessed it already, that means they used up less fuel.

7. Fill 'er up

Treat your friends to organic wines and spirits, and you'll be getting them drunk without the gunk of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Another reason you're hearing and seeing so much "buy organic" propaganda is that it supports farmers who make the extra effort to not pollute the soil, which helps Big Momma Earth.

8. Give away your decor

Decorate your pad with small organic plants -- they'll help clear the air of carbon dioxide, of course, and pump in more oxygen. Then give them away as favors. Encourage guests to plant them, and you'll be spreading that earth-lovin' love!

9. Recycle

This might be the "duh" tip of the day, but if you don't do it already, you must. Check absolutely everything you're about to throw away to see if you can use it again (even if it's to send home extra food with a guest). And if you can't use it, make sure glass, paper, and plastic products get thrown out in the recycle bin. This will preserve natural resources, cut down on junk heading to landfills, and reduce the amount of energy used and pollution emitted in the manufacturing of new products.

10. Clean up green

We've said it before and we'll say it again: Organic stuff equals good for the planet. So use spray cleaner and dishwashing liquid that won't add bad chemicals to the water supply, air, and soil. We like Method (methodhome.com) because its products smell yummy. And if you must use paper towels (reusable cloths are ideal), get recycled products from Seventh Generation (seventhgeneration.com) or Planet (planetinc.com). And for whatever waste you have (hopefully, it's not too much), use biodegradable trash bags, like the ones from BioBag (biogroupusa.com).

-- Christie Matheson
http://ideas.thenest.com/

Zero Waste Event Planning Tips

2009-03-26T21:40:00.005-07:00

Making your wedding, meeting, or party into a zero-waste event can be a clear display of your stewardship for the environment as well as an educational experience for attendees. Done successfully, there are benefits for the environment including waste management (nothing goes to the landfill) and energy savings. However pulling it off is not as easy at it might seem. There are three questions to ask yourself when planning your zero-waste event.

First, can you use durable goods such as ceramics, silverware, glasses, and cloth tablecloths and napkins? If so, use them! This is often an option when events are held in churches or halls that have their own durables. Yes, there is some extra work since they need to be washed, but there will be much less trash to dispose or which will save you some money.

When durables aren't an option and you'd like to use compostable food service items, can you avoid contamination of compostables and/or recyclables? For example, can you instruct your attendees either verbally or through signage to separate out compostables, recyclables and any remaining trash? If not, you will likely end up with contaminated compostables and/or recyclables. Most people are not accustomed to this level of separating out their waste (yet!). Recycling has been around for a long time but even now at any given airport you'll find recyclables in the trash receptacles, so people are bound to make mistakes. These factors help avoid contamination:

• Only use compostables for the event.
• Instruct event attendees as a group as to how to dispose of their waste.
• Have someone present by receptacles to instruct attendees.
• Post very clear signage on waste receptacles.

Last, if you think you can avoid contamination of your compostables, do you have a place to compost your compostalbes? Check with your municipal waste facility to ask about drop-off composting options or commercial composting facilities in your area. You can also look for local composters at findacomposter.com. If there is a local commercial or municipal composting facility, be sure to ask which compostables they will accept. Many do not accept bioplastics.

Composting at home might be an option, but certified compostables are meant to be composted in commercial or municipal composting facilities where high temperatures and humidity are achieved. Most home composts do not achieve such conditions. Compostables made from paper and bagasse (residual from sugar cane) or other non-plastic compostables will likely break down more successfully in the home setting than compostable plastics, although information on home composting of bioplastics is lacking. Also consider the amount of compostables you will generate. If you have a family reunion for 50 people and a 3x3x3 foot bin, you will likely end up with an overflowing bin for a while.

Compostables require composting to fully break down and complete the biological cycle, but unfortunately not everyone has access to a commercial or municipal composting facility. Compostables can be used in areas where there are no composting facilities or home/farm composting options, but the benefits of using them are much less (if any). Bioplastics in landfills may last as long as traditional plastics, and landfilling them breaks the biological cycle that sustains us.

Author Description: Lynn Zanardi Blevins, MD, MPH is the founder of http://compostablegoods.com, a company offering compostable and biodegradable items and dedicated to the promotion of cradle to cradle product design. Dr. Blevins is a medical epidemiologist, an environmentalist, and an enthusiastic home composter.

http://ezinearticles.com/

7 Tips for Planning Your Green Wedding

2009-03-26T21:40:00.001-07:00

At $20,000, the average wedding in the United States is not cheap, to say the least. It's rare to have that kind of spending power. So put your love and your wallet to work for the environment with these great green wedding ideas.

Before accepting or making a proposal, make sure you are starting the marriage off on the right foot with an eco-friendly ring. Conflict-free diamonds are a must. Try Polar Bear Diamonds, which follow strict labor and environmental guidelines. Another great option is Green Karat, which makes unique styles from recycled metals and responsibly mined diamonds. Any wedding needs something old, and something new -- which category will your ring fit into? A timeless vintage ring can be chic and trendy, not to mention environmentally responsible.

It's all about the dress. Make a statement in vintage, organic or sustainable materials. But don't stop with the bride's gown. Now, we know every bride tells her bridesmaids their dresses can be worn again; but it's important to truly choose wedding party dresses that can be worn again and cherished forever (not tossed out the day after). One rule of thumb: Fuchsia is not green.

Does lacy paper inscribed with checkboxes for prime rib or salmon, and its own little return envelope, really signify modern love? Paperless e-vites might be the most eco-friendly way to go, but if you want something more traditional, try recycled paper and ask for an online RSVP. Skip the printed directions and other info often stuffed into the envelope, and make your guests' first stop a Website with all the details.

A large part of your wedding dollar is spent on the location. If possible, choose a venue nearby most of your guests to cut down on their drive or fly times. If you have a botanical garden or park you support locally, why not ask if you might use the venue for your reception? If booking a hotel, consider a fuel-efficient shuttle to ferry guests to and from the ceremony and reception. Who wants a parking lot full of cars in their wedding photos anyway?

Local is the name of the game here. Check out wineries and breweries in your area. If there are none (or your guests' palates are too refined for anything but Chateauneuf du Pape) choose an organic or biodynamic wine alternative. For your meal, talk to the farmers at your local market to see what will be fresh at the time of your wedding, and see if you can order ahead. If you are working with a caterer, discuss local seasonal foods that you'd love to see on the menu. Chocolate strawberries for a spring bride? Yum.

How often can you shamelessly tell people exactly what gifts you want? Why not ask for some more meaningful items than the shiniest fondue pot in the store? (If you need help, check out our eco-chic wedding gift list.) Or register with a charitable registry like the IDoFoundation, which donates a percentage of the money spent on your gifts to a charity of your choice. Of course, the most eco-friendly way (although not as much fun) is to ask for no gifts at all... so if you don't need 'em, let your guests know.

To have and to hold... to pollute and to poison? Many traditional wedding flowers are doused with pesticides and shipped from halfway around the world. If you don't want to start your marriage with that kind of carbon footprint, try organic flowers or find out what flowers grow locally. Instead of traditional centerpieces, try potted plants that can double as gifts to your guests. (For some beautiful options, check out our organic flower ideas.)

A marriage is about love and a commitment to a shared future. The choices you make at your wedding can frame a lifetime: Live well by doing good. Your commitment will be everlasting. Shouldn't your wedding be sustainable, too?

Here's wishing you continued love for each other and the environment long after you say "I do."
Find tips on taking a great green honeymoon, as well as other green wedding suggestions, here.

http://www.thedailygreen.com/

100% Biodegradable Umbrella

2009-03-05T12:22:00.000-08:00

With the last few weeks of winter finally drawing to a close, we can begin to look forward to the renewal that spring showers and the subsequent greenery promises. What better way to help you get a head start on greening your spring wardrobe then by introducing you to ‘The Brelli’, a 100% biodegradable umbrella? Good riddance to deflated black umbrellas littering city streets or piling up in landfills and neighborhood refuse bins. The Brelli aims to introduce us to a new era of rain gear - one where the life cycle of an umbrella is something that we can finally rely on and also factor into the seasons ahead with a clear, eco-friendly solution.

Stylishly crafted out of sturdy bamboo (a renewable resource) with a printable bioplastic canopy, The Brelli will apparently completely biodegrade in 18 to 24 months (though we would hope that there would be no need to dispose of it!). This artfully constructed umbrella is made in two sizes, a stow away 37″ diameter and a sidewalk parading 52″ diameter. Whether rain or shine, we hope that you will consider The Brelli as a possible way to clear the clouds of confusion when it comes to accessorizing in sustainable style.

Available at Fred Segal in Santa Monica and Jussara Lee in NYC (see website for details)

http://www.inhabitat.com/

Host the ultimate eco-affair — in your own home

2009-02-06T16:47:00.000-08:00

For guilt-free entertaining, use planet-friendly alternatives to usual goods
By Marisa Belger - TODAYShow.com contributor - Aug. 19, 2008

Forget movies, concerts, and dinner out. These days my favorite social activity takes place in the comfort of my own home. That’s right, I’ve become an entertainer. From breakfast to brunch, midday snacks to light supper, even multicourse dinners and cocktail soirees — I’ve found that there’s nothing like gathering a bunch of people in the cozy comfort of your personal space.

But as I move deeper into my role as hostess and continue to throw parties both big and small, I’m starting to feel twinges of eco-guilt. The usual entertainment accoutrements — disposable plates, cups and silverware; one-use decorations; processed snack food, etc. — can be incredibly tough on the environment. In this era of all things sustainable, I guessed that there had to be planet-friendly alternatives to the usual party, but I wasn’t sure where to start.

Enter Celia Chen, ex-event planner and current editor-in-chief of Notesonaparty.com, an online magazine dedicated to entertaining. Chen knows how to throw a party, and today she’s equally versed in hosting the ultimate eco-affair. She recently answered a few of my questions, and I’ve now got what it takes to give my events a necessary green facelift.

I want to host a greener party — where should I start?
Take your party outside. Find a venue that incorporates elements of nature and host your event early — you’ll use less energy if you take advantage of natural light by hosting your event while the sun is still shining. Find a garden or terrace for drinks at sunset — it’s Mother Nature’s entertainment!

I’ve got hungry friends. What about the food?
Contrary to what you may think, an eco-friendly menu does not consist of bland, vegan food. If you serve organic and locally grown food, you can have pretty much any type of cuisine you desire, but without nasty pesticides, chemical additives or antibiotics.

Most leading grocery or specialty-food stores now offer organic produce and hormone-free meat. Or, find a local green market and support local farms and food artisans. Food that is in season and sourced locally is better for you and the planet. It’s fresher because it doesn’t have to travel as far to get to your plate.

If you don’t have time to prepare the food yourself, hire a green caterer in your area. In New York City we turn to Sage Events, a local sustainable caterer (operating since 1997) that prepares delicious food sourced from local family-run farms.

You can also set up a farm table with local artisan cheeses, organic fruits and vegetables and freshly baked bread.

They’re thirsty, too. Is it possible to serve eco-friendly cocktails, beer and wine?
Better ingredients make better cocktails, so stock your bar with organic wine and beer as well as spirits that are made in a sustainable way. Parducci is an organic winery that’s powered by solar panels and wind energy and also uses earth-friendly packaging. Peak Organic Beer has four signature brews made with barley and hops that are grown without pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

For eco-chic cocktails, we like to use Reyka, an Icelandic vodka made at a distillery powered by geothermal steam and to stir in natural mixers from Stirrings.

Disposable plates and silverware can’t be good for the environment, right? What are the alternatives?
When possible, use glassware for your events instead of plastic (which is made from petroleum) or paper (which ends up in the landfill). Tableware and glassware can be rented from local rental companies or through your caterer. They can deliver right to your door and will take away all the used items afterward — no dirty dishes to wash!

If you are dining outside and need a nonbreakable alternative, there are a few companies that make clear cups out of polymer, a substance that is made from corn and is 100 percent biodegradable. And Preserve by Recycline has great-looking tableware and cutlery sets in different colors made from 100 percent recycled plastic.

What about décor? How do I create a party atmosphere that will make both my guests and the planet happy?
Be creative with your décor. Buying mass-produced, disposable themed décor is unoriginal and, if you only use it once, pretty wasteful. You can find interesting ways to create atmosphere with everyday items. For example, vintage tea tins make great vases. Or find brightly colored fruit that’s in season to display as an edible centerpiece.

You can also buy seasonal flowers from the green market or an online retailer like Organic Bouquet that specializes in sustainably grown, fair-trade flowers. Their roses come in many different colors and smell amazing. Small potted plants are also an easy way to incorporate florals without having to arrange cut flowers. They can be given to guests as they leave or be enjoyed by you after the party.

And invites?
Go digital! The best way to save paper (and money) is to send a digital invitation. Pingg.com is a new online invitation and event management company that offers a great selection of modern images. Not only are the invitations free of advertising, but the interactive Web pages will let you upload photos, video and even set up a gift registry.

If your event is more formal, try paper invitations that are made from 100 percent organic cotton and printed with vegetable inks that are nontoxic. One of my favorite stationery companies is Smock, which handprints the most exquisite wedding invitations and birth announcements. They are the only letterpress printer in the U.S. that uses paper made from bamboo, which is a renewable resource.

There’s always so much left over at the end of a party. What’s the best eco-move for extra food, flowers, etc.?
Dealing with your post-party cleanup is the least glamorous part of your event, but an important aspect of being green. Sending your guests home with leftover food and bouquets of flowers is a thoughtful way to lessen your load.

You can also put out different bins for recycling bottles, cans and paper. This sends a low-key green message and helps to educate guests. If you hire a green caterer, they will be in charge of separating compostable food from garbage and will dispose of it properly.

Leftover food that hasn’t been touched can be donated to your local food bank. Make arrangements beforehand and find out their specific requirements.

What if you don’t have access to eco caterers and other green vendors? Can you still throw a sustainable soiree?
If eco-friendly vendors are scarce in your neighborhood, hop online to see what might be delivered to you. Or, be creative and use what you already have in your home. Vintage items and heirloom tablecloths are eco-friendly because you are continuing to use them and not buying something new.

Marisa Belger is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience covering health and wellness. She was a founding editor of Lime.com, a multiplatform media company specializing in health, wellness and sustainable living. Marisa also collaborated with Josh Dorfman on “The Lazy Environmentalist” (Stewart, Tabori, and Chang), a comprehensive guide to easy, stylish green living.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

Green Partying: Five Easy Steps

2009-02-06T16:40:00.000-08:00

By Maureen Ryan - Published: May/June 2006

When Andreea Matei, a marketing consultant in New York City, started planning her dream wedding, a simple, green theme came to mind. "I wanted it to be reflective of how we live our everyday lives," says Andreea, who buys only organic produce, uses low-VOC paint in her home and sticks to the most natural shampoos and lotions she can find. In order to throw a "green" wedding, Andreea and her financé wanted to incorporate as many organic, local and natural options as they could.

For invitations, they used recycled paper. Instead of renting out a hall, they exchanged vows on a beach at Lake Michigan. Bouquets were handpicked from a neighbor's garden. They served locally grown food, regional wines and herbal "gardens in a bag" as wedding favors. "Although we couldn't find everything organic, we were flexible and made sure we had alternatives. In the end, everyone told us our wedding was truly inspiring," Andreea says.

Whether you're planning a wedding, a simple cocktail hour or a graduation bash, these simple tips can help ensure that your party is as green--and inspiring--as can be.

A Green Party Checklist

1. Invitations

Many art and stationery stores carry recycled paper products, but try to avoid purchasing invitations that have non-recyclable aspects, such as plastic or heavily coated papers.

*Twisted Limb makes uncoated, recycled invitations and stationery by hand (paper starts at $.75/sheet; www.twistedlimbpaper.com).

*Vickerey sells recycled paper handcrafted from the bark of the Lokta bush, a tree-free resource in Nepal ($10 and up). Their Memento boxed note cards are $13.50 and up (www.vickerey.com).

*Go totally paper free--and save time and money as well--by sending your guests an electronic invitation. Log onto www.evite.com or www.regards.com.

2. Setting and Ambience

The ideal place to throw a green party is, naturally, outside. If weather permits, welcome your guests to an evening in your backyard or on your front porch, back deck or rooftop. The surrounding greenery and sky will provide a beautiful ambiance.

Candles can brighten any setting and help keep the bugs away. The choices below use fiber wicks free of metals such as lead and are free of synthetic fragrances, which contain hormone-disrupting phthalates. To guard against fires, protect candles from the wind and never let them burn unattended.

*Way Out Wax's natural hemp citronella candles, made of pure vegetable waxes and citronella essential oils, will discourage bugs from infesting your green party ($19.99). Other candles are scented with summery essential oils of rosemary, orange or eucalyptus. In freestanding pillars (from $6.79); encased in cobalt blue glass holders ($11.49) or 8-oz. tins ($6.79); or votive candles that also make nice party favors, sold in boxes of 18 ($30.60; www.wayoutwax.com, 888-727-1903).

*Tall, 100-percent beeswax tapers with all-cotton wicks burn clean ($7 and up; www.candlebeefarm.com). Protect them in Yin Yang holders, made from recycled wine bottles ($39.95/2; www.abundantearth.com, 888-51-EARTH).

*Find a post-consumer-recycled glass holder for votives ($11.50) or a drip-catching saucer for pillar candles ($23.50) in ocean aquas, blues and greens (www.katescaringgifts.com).

*Feeling extra festive? Try stringing LED white lights from Innovative Energy Solutions ($13.95 for a Candlelight string; www.inirgee.com), which use 80 to 90 percent less energy.

3. Food and Drink

Serve raw foods: Fresh salad greens and strawberries are coming into season. To find greenmarkets near you, see www.ams.usda.gov.

*If you don't feel like cooking, there are eco-friendly catering companies around the country. In New York City, The Cleaver Co. uses organic raw materials that come from local family farms (www.cleaverco.com, 212-741-9174). Or chef Jon Tierney will cater a green menu, from savory hors d'oeuvres to dreamy sweets (www.jontierneycatering.com, 917-538-5511).

*City Bakery, in addition to its greenmarket lunch menu, Nirvanic cookies and chocolate and lemon tarts, also caters (212-366-1414, 310-656-3040). Also check out "Birdbath" at www.buildagreenbakery.com.

*Back to Earth, based in Berkeley, California, is known for its organic and local meats, fruits and vegetables (www.backtoearth.org, 510-528-3987).

*Whole Foods Markets prepare handy party platters of vegetables, fruits, breads and dips and cheese--and can customize an organic dinner menu (www.wholefoodsmarket.com).

*Also see www.organicweddings.com and the organic foods by mail list at www.thegreenguide.com.
Desserts
It's getting easier all the time to find organic treats at local bakeries, patisseries and creameries. Or for nationwide shipping, try:

*Dancing Deer Baking Co.'s decadent preservative-free cakes and cookies, freshly baked when you order (cookie packages start at $14.50, $19.50/cake; www.dancingdeer.com, 888-699-DEER).

*Organic lemon raspberry or chocolate cheesecakes ($34.95) or fruit pies ($26) come flying to your rescue from Diamond Organics (www.diamondorganics.com).

*Global Exchange sells Fair Trade Certified Gold Coin chocolates stamped with fair-trade messages ($6.99/40 pieces; www.globalexchange.org).

Beverages
*R. W. Knudsen's Organic Juices are in great taste for any age group, in Concord Grape, Blueberry Pomegranate and Orange Carrot ($2 and up; www.knudsenjuices.com).

*Frey Vineyards, in the Redwood Valley of California, has produced award-winning organic and biodynamic sulfite-free wines since 1980 ($7.50 and up; www.freywine.com).

*Samuel Smith Organic Ale & Lager, from the Old Brewery in Tadcaster, England, is delicate, fruity and full of fresh hops (prices vary; www.merchantduvin.com). Wolaver's refreshing Organic Beers, brewed in Middlebury, Vermont, contain a special house yeast (prices vary; www.wolavers.com).

*Maison Jomere distills certified organic spirits. Their Juniper Green Organic London Dry Gin has received numerous awards, and their Papagayo Organic Spiced Rum is made from organically grown sugarcane and is as smooth as can be. Not to mention the UK 5 Organic Vodka (prices vary; www.maisonjomere.com).

*New find: Sacred Grounds' certified organic coffee is grown on small, family farms (starting at $9.95/12-oz. bag; www.sacredgroundscoffee.com, 800-425-2532).

*For more brands, see the Wine, Beer and Coffee Product Reports at www.thegreenguide.com.

4. Favors

You may want to give your guests a small gift--for instance, a cup that they can drink from and take home, cutting down on dirty dishes and waste.

*Try a 100-percent recycled glass tumbler or goblet from Green Glass's new Modern Collection ($25/set of 4; www.greenglass.com).

*Memories of your party will flourish as your guests grow Good Luck Gardens in a Bag ($8; www.wishingfish.com) or Windowsill Herb sets of starter pots containing lemon mint, oregano, thyme, rosemary and sage ($27; www.gardeningbulbs.com).

*Endangered Species Belgian Chocolate Bug Bites are made of organic milk or dark chocolate and come with endangered insects trading cards ($28.99/64 pieces; www.mothernature.com).

*Send kids home with organic cotton dogs, cats, rabbits and elephants ($9.95 and up; www.store.yahoo.com).

*Get kids thinking big with Tree in a Box kits, which provide everything needed to grow a tree from seed ($2.50 and up; www.treeinabox.com).

*Other great summer favors for nature lovers: birdfeeders, gardening sets and wildflower presses ($18 and up; www.naturalplay.com).

5. For the Table

It's always greenest to use washable linens, napkins, cutlery and dinnerware.

*Start setting the mood with the table. Rawganique sells organic hemp and French linen tablecloths (starting at $54) and matching napkins ($10.95), in vibrant colors like burgundy, russet orange, olive and alpine meadow (www.rawganique.com, 877-729-4367) .

*Bamboo plates are light and nonbreakable ($4-$20; www.bambuhome.com, 877-226-2829). Handcrafted seaglass plates and bowls by Riverside Design Group make cool summer settings ($132/4-piece set; www.pangaya.com, 800-872-6618). Also see "Dishes and Glassware," GG #111.

*When you must use paper, try to buy recycled, such as Seventh Generation's paper plates, which are made from 100-percent recycled paper, with a minimum of 83-percent post-consumer materials. They are also whitened without chlorine bleach ($1.39; www.seventhgeneration.com).

*Mix and match with Marcal's paper napkins, multicolored and also made from recycled paper ($3 and up; www.marcalpaper.com).

*Finally, keep your clean-up simple: Set up a recycling center in your kitchen or backyard. Use one container for aluminum, one for glass and one for compost--guests will enjoy helping to sort. And use earth-friendly cleaners like baking soda. See the new Household Cleaning Product Report at www.thegreenguide.com.

http://www.thegreenguide.com/

The Frill Is Gone

2009-02-06T16:39:00.000-08:00

How to green your office holiday party
Published: 26 Nov 2008

They say it's a "no-frills holiday season" this year -- with the economy hitting the skids, many companies are putting the brakes on lavish holiday-party spending, and some are nixing their parties altogether. But just because you have to cancel the fireworks show doesn't mean you can't have a good time. If your company is celebrating the holidays this year, consider this a memo on how to plan a lean, green, and still-enough-fun-that-you-regret-it-the-next-day occasion.

Here's where to start. Got more ideas, or examples of stuff your company is doing? Let us know.

The Baby Steps

Make yours a paperless office. As frequently noted, society hasn't done so well with that "paperless office" prediction. But when it comes to holiday cards and invites, that's the way to go. Send an electronic invite, send a plain old e-mail, or heck, stand up and shout your invite through the cube farm. If you must print on paper, look for a company that uses recycled stock. (See Resources for a few to get you started.)

But load the copier with used or recycled paper. Hey, if people are gonna get drunk and photocopy their asses, you don't want them wasting perfectly good sheets.

The Next Steps

Work the pretty. When it comes to decorations, keep it simple. Buy a few plants, gather up some others from around the office -- yeah, even the half-dead ones -- and cluster them for an outside-in décor (just be sure you know whose desk they go back to). Ask staffers to contribute a favorite holiday item or their kids' artwork to brighten up the scene (just be sure you know whose kid they go back to). Or use food as decoration -- it's pretty, it's colorful, and when it all gets eaten, your Decorations Clean-Up Subcommittee will be happy. For lighting, try LED strings or candles (the non-yucky kind) -- or have your party in the daytime so lights aren't necessary.

Eat and greet. The best thing about a holiday party should be the food. If your affair is catered, ask about local and organic options. Request linens and silverware instead of disposables. If you're planning to have your shindig at a nearby establishment, support a local business instead of a faceless chain. And if you're inclined to raise the bar, consider biodynamic wines, organic beers, or your own occasion-specific organic cocktails. Provide recycling bins, and either compost leftover food or donate it to a local organization.

Cut the crap. Don't give out pewter pens or umbrellas stamped with your company logo to every staffer -- it creates waste and inspires frustration. Instead, if you have that money to spare, put it into the next paycheck or a gift card. If staffers are pushing to uphold gift-giving traditions, consider a white-elephant exchange, and make it the kind where you bring an item from home, not purchase something new. And if custom dictates that you absolutely must give something to your (greedy, planet-fucking) clients, look into green options geared toward corporations (see Resources, below).

The Big Step

Call the whole thing off. Follow the lead of companies like Viacom, which is giving employees extra paid days off this year instead of splurging on a holiday bash. Or look into a "Big Little Holiday Party" -- these collaborative events, catching on around the country, bring small groups together for one whopper of a good, impact-sharing time. Or hold your holiday party in January -- after the frenzy of the holiday season is over, when people need a diversion, and when food and facility costs aren't jacked up beyond all reason.

Whatever you do and however crunched your finances may be, be sure to show your employees the love. After all, where would you be without them?

http://www.grist.org/

A Green-Chic Event

2009-02-06T16:38:00.000-08:00

Monday, July 30, 2007

Wolfgang Puck Catering and The Bridal Bar are set to host an eco-friendly evening of organic fare, organic cocktails and sustainable event décor at one of Wolfgang Puck’s special event spaces, The Annex at Hollywood and Highland on Tuesday, July 31st from 7pm to 10pm.

Overlooking the Hollywood skyline, guests will experience unparalleled organic cuisine by Wolfgang Puck Catering, eco-friendly cocktails by VeeV Spirits, green decor by Tic Tock Couture Florals, Classic Party Rentals, Arriba L&H, and LED Lighting by ELS Lighting. Guests will be welcomed into this wedding oasis by the sounds of RedShoe LA, toasting with martinis and mojitos infused with organic cucumber and dining on foods such as mascarpone, anis and black pepper-stuffed local figs and fresh, chilled lobster salad.

The event will expose attendees to inspiring and environmentally-friendly ways to plan for weddings and special events. The use of cloth cocktail napkins instead of paper, florals from local growers, and invitations on 100% cotton (or tree-free) paper; this event will feature the top designers and ideas in the world of green weddings.

In true green spirit, this event will also give back as after the evening has concluded. For every guest in attendance, a donation will be made to the Griffith Park Restoration Fund through TreePeople, a Los Angeles based non-profit dedicated to education, restoration and environmental healing. Our goal is to once again make Griffith Park a natural destination for weddings.

Wolfgang Puck Catering is a pioneer in the green event movement, providing quality foods with healthful benefits for its guests. “For Wolfgang Puck Catering, it’s all about WELL™. We are dedicated to treating our bodies, our produce and animals, our farm families, our purveyors and, always, our customers, well. We do so by striving to provide our customers, at any given price point, the freshest, organic and humanely-treated ingredients, the most delicious, innovative tastes, the best in genuine hospitality, and the highest-quality products we can. Only then can we truly meet Wolfgang’s standards for “Eat, Love, Live!” Marketing Director Clare Davis explains. On July 31st guests will experience Wolfgang’s love of life and living WELL™ first hand.

The Bridal Bar is an interactive event resource library in Los Angeles dedicated to assisting engaged couples to find their perfect vendor match. The Bridal Bar represents green event producers, florists, photographers, and caterers among others in a variety of price points, styles, and areas of expertise in order to assist every bride-to-be. The Bridal Bar’s services are complimentary to the public and many of their talented vendors’ works can be seen at Weddings by Wolfgang Puck on July 31st. The Bridal Bar, through its business practices, vendors, and educational outreach is dedicated to removing the footprint weddings make on our planet.

http://www.brendasweddingblog.com/

Green is the New White

2009-02-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

Thursday, December 13, 2007

When it comes to weddings, we all think of white. The bride wears white. The cake is white. Calla lilies and doves. But the hottest trend in weddings for 2008 won't be white - it'll be green, as in organic.
'Great Performances' On-Trend with “Eco-Friendly” Offerings

"Green" is the new white. Or at least figuratively speaking when it comes to recent trends in weddings. As more and more couples are seeking ways to incorporate organic, sustainable practices into their ceremonies and celebrations, white is taking a back seat to green. From “100-mile menus” to seasonal floral arrangements, wedding industry professionals are now offering engaged couples a whole host of green options. And none more so than Great Performances, one of New York’s most innovative and prominent catering / events concerns, distinguished by a singular dedication to locally grown food and sustainable agriculture.

The company, who recently inked a deal to operate all the banquet space at New York’s legendary Plaza Hotel, has seen the green trend really take off. As an Event Director for Great Performances, Porfi Figueroa has his finger on the pulse of what’s hot in the wedding industry. “Couples are now using more and more seasonal and organic products, and are coming up with creative ways to make use of what’s available. The Internet has been a huge factor in propelling the green wedding trend, as it provides an invaluable resource for researching ways to incorporate local / seasonal accents into events.” Figueroa once had a couple use banana leaves woven into plates to use for hors d’oeuvres, and in place of chargers.

Great Performances’ main wedding venue, Wave Hill, a 28-acre estate built in 1843 in the style of an English country residence with sweeping views of the Hudson River and Palisades, is an ideal location for those seeking to add an element of natural beauty to their event. The Riverdale location just outside Manhattan offers a green setting for a couple to exchange their vows, and while couples may choose the venue for its exceptional setting, they’re also able to offer their guests menus reflecting locally grown, organic produce, vegetables and meats, as Great Performances not only maintains strong relationships with local farmers, but also owns and operates Katchkie Farm in Kinderhook, NY.

“Having the ability to source various ingredients from our own farm, as well as other local farms, gives couples the option of making their wedding a truly sustainable event,” says Christopher Harkness, Executive Chef of Great Performances. “Daily contact with local farmers, including our own at Katchkie Farm, ensures that we are in tune with what’s fresh and most seasonal. We offer our clients an organic experience and do our part to help support the local economy.”

And while the food and location can speak to a couples’ desire to go green on their big day, there are other aspects that can be “greened” as well. Figueroa suggests some of the following:

• Choose a signature cocktail, one that incorporates a seasonal bent and ties in with the general color scheme.

• Make your floral arrangements representative of your event locale; check if there’s a flower that’s unique to the area and incorporate it into your event.

• Simplify – look around at what’s blooming and growing and it will guide you to creating a seasonal and fresh menu.

Great Performances brings consummate culinary skill and originality to the table. The company, founded in 1979 by Liz Neumark, is an acknowledged leader in the high-profile events arena and the first caterer in the country to own and operate an organic farm as a year-round resource for locally grown produce. In addition to the company’s singular embrace of sustainable agriculture, Great Performances has carved a niche as the foodservice partner of some of the city’s most prestigious cultural institutions, including The Plaza, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Sotheby’s. Great Performances currently has seven establishments on its restaurant roster. For more information on Great Performances and its Katchkie Farm, visit www.greatperformances.com, www.katchkiefarm.com or call 212-727-2424.

http://www.brendasweddingblog.com/

From Planning to Honeymooning...

2009-02-06T16:35:00.000-08:00

Fairmont Offers Advice for Green Weddings
Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something...green? That's right - Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, a pioneer in responsible tourism practices, now offers a variety of eco-chic options for couples looking for a greener wedding day. Wedding planners from British Columbia to Sonoma to Washington, D.C. offer up surprisingly simple yet elegant and easy ways to celebrate that special day while also respecting the environment. In addition to selecting Fairmont for eco-accommodations (properties across the portfolio offer energy-efficient lighting, water-conserving showerheads, toilet and tap aerators, among other services), prospective newlyweds can choose from a host of green ideas, including:

Pre-wedding Planning
Invitations, Menus and Place Cards: Robert Mikolitch, director of catering at Fairmont Washington DC, suggests working with a printing company that uses recycled paper and soy-based ink for invitations, menu cards and place cards.

Event Location and Time: Mikolitch also recommends choosing a site that promotes environmental awareness and scheduling the wedding during the day to use less electricity and more natural light. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has been promoting green practices longer than any other hotel group and strives to help its guests leave a lighter footprint when traveling - brides and grooms to-be can choose from 51 hotels and resorts in twelve countries for their eco-wedding or honeymoon.

Reception Ideas
Menu Composition: Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa's wedding consultant, Kelly McLeskey, offers an eco-a la carte menu with the option to use any or all of the green alternatives to tailor a couple's wedding ceremony, including personalized menus that highlight local organic produce, wines and coffees. Additionally, brides and grooms to-be can serve meatless hor d'oeuvres and seafood options that are not depleted, over-fished or on the endangered list.

Transportation & Parking: California's Fairmont hotels, including The Fairmont Miramar, Santa Monica; The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa; The Fairmont Newport Beach; The Fairmont San Jose and The Fairmont San Francisco, offer complimentary overnight parking for hotel guests traveling in Hybrid vehicles, another option for transporting guests to and from the ceremony and reception.

Linens: The Fairmont Washington DC's Mikolitch says to rent linens in natural colors, tinted without toxic dyes and to rent cocktail napkins as opposed to paper napkins.

Post-Wedding & Honeymoon
Floral Arrangements: Fairmont’s eco-experts at British Columbia hotels, including The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, The Fairmont Vancouver Airport, The Fairmont Waterfront, The Fairmont Empress and The Fairmont Chateau Whistler, suggest sourcing locally grown flowers and plants and donating floral and plant arrangements to nursing homes and hospitals after the ceremony.

Eco-Activities & Buying Local:
Sign up for activities and buy souvenirs from local artisans and companies to support the local economies. Take an eco-tour or plant a tree – Bermuda's Fairmont Southampton offers Leave It Green, a program that provides newlyweds an opportunity to commemorate their vows by planting a native Bermuda Cedar seedling on-site at the golf course or at the hotel as a symbol of eternal love and devotion, ultimately contributing to the hotel's reforestation project. Additionally, The Fairmont Mayakoba, an ecologically diverse resort on Mexico’s Yucatan, works with Community Tours Sian Ka’an, a local tourism network from the nearby Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage site, to encourage guests to visit the Reserve and thereby generate revenue for the communities of Sian Ka’an.

With more than 50 distinctive hotels and 22,000 hotel rooms around the globe, Fairmont continues to lead by example with innovative environmental programs and an unwavering attitude to growing the movement of overall environmental stewardship. Under the innovative leadership of its corporate environmental affairs division and hotel-based Green Teams, 26,000 employees have taken on the role of environmental ambassadors helping to protect the habitat, resources and culture of the places where we, and our guests, work, live and play. For more information on Fairmont’s environmental initiatives, visit www.fairmont.com/environment.

http://www.brendasweddingblog.com/

Eco-Friendly Wedding Invitations

2009-02-06T16:34:00.001-08:00

Wednesday, April 23 2008

Since yesterday was Earth Day and I wrote about organic wedding cakes, I decided to continue with green weddings for another day and let you know about some online resources for eco-friendly wedding invitations. I'm sure there are many more out there, so if you know of any others or you own an eco-wedding invitation business, please let me know by leaving a comment.

InviteSite.com carries Eco Wedding Invitations that use treefree and post consumer recycled papers. Their invitations are sold as DIY kits and you can either print them yourself at home or have Invite Site print them for you inhouse using vegetable based inks.

Earthly Affair strives to give you the most original and unique wedding invitations using 100% recycled paper, earth friendly printing methods, an eco equipped studio, and carbon free shipping. I absolutely love Jennifer's invitation designs.

Tasha Rae Designs uses papers that are 20-100% post consumer recycled and/or made by companies that use Well Managed Forests. Also, with each eco-friendly order, a tree is planted.

Botanical Paperworks offers plantable wedding invitations and favors that recycle into flowers. You simply plant the seed-embedded paper to grow the flowers indoors or in a pot.

Naturally Ever After offers a collection of wedding invitations are made from quality, recycled paper containing at least 30 percent post-consumer fibers.

Other resources include:
Bella Figura
Festivale.net
Twisted Limb Paperworks
Sweet Invitations

http://www.brendasweddingblog.com/

10 Steps to a Green Wedding

2009-02-06T16:27:00.000-08:00

By Jennifer Hattam - Published: March 29, 2007

Every engaged couple wants their wedding day to be a special celebration that reflects who they are and what they care about. Going green is a great way to make the festivities unique and meaningful--and show friends and family just how fun, beautiful, and delicious a sustainable lifestyle can be. Here's how to start planning the kind of wedding the online nuptial gurus at TheKnot.com have anointed "the hot new thing":

1. With this ring...
A green wedding begins where any engagement does: with a ring. Don't start off on a sour note. The beautiful alternatives to "blood diamonds" (those that are mined in war zones and fund conflicts) include:

* vintage rings, whether a family heirloom or an antique find (you can even have old gold melted down and refashioned)
* lab-created diamonds (greenKarat's are set in recycled gold too)
* diamonds mined in peaceful Canada or Australia, like those from Brilliant Earth, Cred Jewellery, or Leber Jewelry's Earthwise line
* diamonds certified as "conflict-free" under the Kimberley Process, an ongoing effort to reform diamond mining in Africa (ask your jeweler the questions in Amnesty International's buyer's guide)
* one-of-a-kind wooden bands

2. Location, location, location
Your choice of venue sets the tone for your wedding day--and accounts for a big chunk of the money you'll be laying out. Spend it wisely! Consider:

* choosing a setting that's convenient to the most guests to minimize travel impacts
* having the ceremony and the reception at the same place, or providing ecofriendly transportation between them
* picking a unique local spot--like an art gallery, nonprofit space, organic restaurant or farm, green hotel, botanical garden, or green-roofed building--that supports a cause you believe in
* an outdoor setting that will infuse the whole event with a natural sensibility (and require less decorating too!)
* arriving at the ceremony in a horse-drawn carriage, cycle rickshaw, or hybrid car
* offsetting your guests' travel (or asking them to do it as your wedding gift)

3. Please join us...
Your invitation is the first impression guests will get of your green wedding. Look for:

* recycled, handmade, or plantable papers processed chlorine-free and printed with vegetable- or soy-based inks
* tree-free paper made out of hemp, banana stalks, bamboo, kenaf, or organic cotton
* a printer who will use paper with a high percentage of post-consumer recycled content
* papers that aren't metallic or plastic-coated, characteristics that make them hard to recycle
* opportunities to reduce paper use, like sending a postcard (instead of multi-enveloped notes) for your save-the-date, or using online invitations and a wedding blog to let people know about the bachelor/ette parties, rehearsal dinner, and gift registry

In your invitations, let guests know about the ecofriendly hotel and transportation options in your area, whether it's hybrid rental cars or directions to the ceremony on public transportation. And don't forget to pick up some extra green paper products for your guest book, place cards, and thank-you notes. (You will be writing thank-yous, won't you?)

4. The final fling
Plan bachelor and bachelorette parties that will keep the green theme going:

* Stay local (and spend more time with your friends, and less dealing with travel stress).
* Offset your trip if you choose a "destination" party.
* Travel by train (and start the party early in the bar car).
* Indulge in organic wine (or beer) tasting or an organic spa treatment.
* Take a class and learn to make your own wedding flowers or jewelry.
* Do something low-impact and outdoorsy like a camping, surfing, sailing, kayaking, or fishing trip.

5. Here comes the bride...
...in a gorgeous hemp-silk gown. When it comes to outfitting the bridal party, green options abound. You can:

* go vintage (and update your look as necessary with tailoring and modern shoes and accessories)
* pick clothes made from hemp, bamboo, and organic cotton or silk--or find a dressmaker who will make a one-of-a-kind item out of these sustainable fabrics (men's suits and shirts come in organic cotton or wool too)
* borrow an elegant gown from a stylish friend
* buy something you'll wear again (and let your bridesmaids do the same)
* accessorize with a unique recycled purse and/or jewelry
* use vegetable dyes on your shoes (or go barefoot for a beach wedding)
* accentuate natural beauty with all-natural makeup
* donate the dresses to charity after the event

6. Set the stage
Add beauty and style to your wedding décor, naturally. Here's how:

* opt for organic flowers
* find a florist who's diligent about recycling packaging and will source locally raised flowers
* have bridesmaids carry matching purses or silk bouquets instead of cut flowers
* decorate with branches, dried grasses, grains, greens, berries, or live plants (potted or dried arrangements can double as favors)
* choose beeswax or soy-based candles over those made with paraffin, a petroleum byproduct
* arrange to have decorations moved from the ceremony to the reception (if you opt for separate sites)
* use leaves or other natural objects as place cards
* throw biodegradable confetti or organic rose petals instead of releasing butterflies
* donate the flowers to a hospital or rest home at the end of the day

7. Eat, drink, and be merry
Showcase green gustatory pleasures (and spoil your guests) by basing your menu around local, organic, and seasonal foods. Don’t forget the organic wine, beer, and spirits, and the free-trade, shade-grown coffee and tea! Some tips:

* Ask the venue's preferred caterers and bakers if they can do your event organically.
* Find a local organic restaurant that does off-site catering.
* If your wedding won't be complete without a specific type of food, get married when it's in season.
* Find a caterer you trust to pick the best seasonal selections (since you may not be able to taste those exact items ahead of time).
* Consider vegetarian selections and seek out cruelty-free meats and wild, rather than farmed, fish.
* Make sure the venue offers comprehensive recycling facilities, and ideally composting too.
* Have your cake decorated with organically grown flowers or other natural materials instead of plastic toppers.
* Rent real glassware, dishware, and linens instead of using disposables.
* Go for a chic eclectic look by mixing and matching thrift-store plates and dishes (and donating them back when you're done).
* Use biodegradable utensils and dishes made out of cornstarch, potatoes, wheat, or sugar cane--if your venue can compost them.
* Make arrangements to donate leftover food to a local food bank or homeless shelter.

8. Lasting memories
Whether you prefer film or digital photographs, look for a photographer who will do digital proofs to save paper and chemicals. Avoid single-use cameras, but ask friends with digi-cams to share their photos with all the guests online in a free Flickr group or Snapfish group room you set up for your wedding.

9. 'Tis better to give...
OK, OK, giving and receiving are both great! For your gift registry, consider:

* asking for gifts to charity instead of material goods
* registering with the I Do Foundation or another site that gives a percentage of gift purchases to your chosen cause
* registering with stores that offer local, fair-trade, handmade, organic, or other ecofriendly products like Branch, Gaiam, Greenfeet, GreenSage, Ten Thousand Villages, UncommonGoods, or VivaTerra.
* registering for outdoor gear or contributions to an ecofriendly honeymoon
* creating a custom wish list of ecofriendly items like a fresh-produce subscription from a local farm, organic gardening supplies, organic linens, park and museum passes, gift certificates to organic restaurants, and subscriptions to green publications or memberships in green causes

For your favors, give something your guests will really use and enjoy, not disposable plastic souvenirs. Some ideas:

* gourmet organic chocolates or another organic or local food item
* attractive bags of fresh or dried organic herbs
* seeds in a commemorative container
* reusable cloth tote bags
* a small plant
* natural soaps
* soy or beeswax candles
* a compact fluorescent lightbulb
* a downloadable playlist of your favorite songs
* a small charitable donation in each guest's name
* place cards made of seeded paper that can be planted at home

For your helpful, loyal attendants, you'll want to up the ante a little, perhaps with:

* gift baskets of organic skin-care products
* recycled jewelry, wallets, handbags, or drinking glasses
* selections of organic coffees, teas, and chocolates
* recycled paper journals and stationery
* great bottles of organic wine

10. Happily ever after...
Begin your new life with a honeymoon that's light on the Earth. Consider:

* going somewhere local (you're going to be spending a lot of time in that hotel room anyway)
* engaging in ecotourism, which can be as rugged or luxurious as you want it to be (find listings that suit your style through Conservation International, National Geographic, Planeta.com, or ResponsibleTravel.com)
* taking a trip that benefits an environmental group; perhaps boating in Florida's Dry Tortugas, birding in Alaska, or walking the Italian Alps with Sierra Club Outings
* skipping the cruise and taking a relaxing, romantic train trip
* getting around at your destination by renting bikes or taking public transportation (the better to enjoy the sights instead of arguing about your spouse's driving habits)
* staying in a family-run B&B or inn, a luxury teepee or yurt, or a green hotel that's working to save resources and reduce waste
* offsetting your trip’s carbon dioxide emissions

http://www.sierraclub.typepad.com/

The Three R's of Wedded Bliss

2009-02-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

By Maureen Ryan - Published: May/June 2007

Once regarded as barefoot-hippie fests, earth-friendly weddings are finally coming into their own. "Many couples are looking for ways to incorporate their values and consciousness into their big event," says Corina Beczner, founder of Vibrant Events, an eco event-planning company in San Francisco. But there are a lot of shades of green, she adds. "It's really up to the couple how far they want to go, based on what's most important to them."

For starters, here are some simple tips:

1. Reduce: Cut down on materials with a large impact. Jewelry is one of Beczner's biggest pet peeves. "[Mining] is so destructive to our Earth," she says. Arsenic and mercury used in gold mining can easily seep into waterways, endangering people and animals. Plus, diamond shipments may be infiltrated by conflict diamonds, which are traded in order to fund civil wars—wars in which nearly 4 million people have died. Seek out antiques, or recycle the gold or platinum from family members' rings to create a unique, personal design.

Another way to reduce? "Don't serve a buffet-style dinner," Beczner says. "They always go to waste." Serve a sit-down or family-style dinner instead.

2. Reuse: Renting ensures that things will be reused, and "absolutely no plastic cups or bottles!" she says. After the event, donate flowers and centerpieces to charities, hospitals or retirement homes.

3. Recycle: Recycle everything you can and consider biodegradable and compostable utensils, like those from Nat-Ur (www.nat-urstore.com). Set up recycling stations and compost if possible.

Whether you want to go all green or not, here are some products that will incorporate every shade of green into your big day.

Save the Date

Twisted Limb invitations combine recycled office paper, junk mail, grocery bags and grass cuttings (www.twistedlimbpaper.com, 812-876-9352). Tree-free-paper invitations are available from www.invitesite.com.

Looking Good

Polar Bear Diamonds sells Canadian diamonds mined in strict adherence to worker and environmental protection laws (www.polarbeardiamond.com, 877-861-6675). GreenKarat's Celestial Love band contains recycled platinum ($425), and the Gatsby Redux diamond engagement ring and matching band, with synthetic gems, are cast in either recycled gold or recycled platinum ($1,350; www.greenkarat.com, 800-330-4605).

Wear an organic cotton, hemp, recycled-textile or cruelty-free silk dress, such as those sold by Wholly Jo's (www.wholly-jo.co.uk) and www.mycorset.com (512-762-2918); Rawganique offers organic hemp and linen dresses and shirts (for men) (www.rawganique.com, 877-RAW-HEMP). "Once worn" gowns donated to the I Do Foundation are resold, and 20 percent of the profits go to the charity of your choice (www.idofoundation.org). Underneath, feel sexy with Ciel's organic-cotton underwear collection (www.thenaturalstore.co.uk).

For safer cosmetics, see the new Cosmetics Product Report at www.thegreenguide.com/reports.

X Marks the Spot

An obvious destination for a green wedding is outdoors—in a park, a backyard, on a beach or even in an organic garden. Find gardens through Local Harvest (www.localharvest.org) or the Organic Trade Association (www.ota.com). If you're set on a hotel, Greenseal independently certifies lodgings based on rigorous criteria, including recycling policies and energy-efficient appliances (www.greenseal.org).

Historic buildings and museums that belong to non-profits are popular as well. Remember: Having one location for your ceremony and your reception cuts down on fossil-fuel use and pollution.

Set the Mood

Create ambience by using renewable soy or beeswax candles with lead-free wicks, such as the soy candles from Way Out Wax (www.wayoutwax.com, 888-727-1903). Find beeswax tapers at your local farmer's market or through Cottage Stillroom (www.cottagestillroom.com, 800-395-BSWX) and the Beeswax Candle Company (www.beeswaxcandleco.com, 866-724-9300).

Locally grown flowers cut down on shipping pollution. Otherwise, California Organic Flowers (www.californiaorganicflowers.com, 530-891-6265) and Organic Bouquet (www.organicbouquet.com, 877-899-2468) ship nationwide and sell flowers certified by Veriflora, which prohibits pesticides and promotes worker welfare.

Dig in!

Support your local community by serving locally grown food, or opt for organic caterers. In California, Back to Earth Catering serves vegetarian and vegan fare, free-range meats and healthy fish (www.organiccatering.com, 510-652-2000). In the Northeast, search the Northeast Organic Farming Association (www.nofa.org) for assistance. Brides also can contact natural grocers such as Whole Foods (www.wholefoods.com) or Trader Joe's (www.traderjoes.com). Finally, the Chef's Collaborative lists restaurants that serve local and organic food (www.chefscollaborative.org, 617-236-5200), while the Organic Bakery Association (www.ecobusinesslinks.com) can provide sources for organic cakes.

Gifts Galore

Get: Create a guilt-free registry at Green Sage, which stocks eco-friendly gifts (www.greensage.com). Select a charity at JustGive and ask guests to make donations in your name (www.justgive.org).

Give: Offset guests' travel carbon emissions; see "Shifting Into Neutral"

http://www.thegreenguide.com/

Carley Talks Trends on The Today Show

2009-02-05T23:05:00.004-08:00

The Today Show recently stopped by The Knot headquarters in New York to chat with editor in chief Carley Roney about green weddings. Carley proved that you don't have to sacrifice style in order to have a socially conscious bash. Here's a closer look at some of Carley's tips and her top picks for environmentally friendly vendors.

Green Tip #1: The Invitations
Between the inks, toners, and solvents, it takes many chemicals to create traditional invites. Finding a stationer that uses alternatives like recycled paper and vegetable- and soy-based inks is a great way to go green. Green Field Paper Company embeds wildflower seeds into their tree-free papers, and uses soy-based inks and recycled-paper envelopes.

Green Tip #2: The Gown
Eco-friendly brides have lots of options when choosing their gown and accessories. You can purchase a gown made of organic materials such as silk. Wear a vintage gown, either from a family member or purchased at a vintage store. Opt for vintage jewelry or borrow pieces from friends. Check out this gown made of 100-percent pure silk by designer Monique Lhuillier.

Green Tip #3: The Toast
Let you guests toast your marriage with organic wine. True Organic wines are certified by the USDA National Organic Program and have become much more popular over the last couple of years. When making your wine picks, think about Frey Vineyards, the oldest organic winery in the country, which has been around since 1980. Not only are Frey wines eco-friendly, they taste amazing and sell at a great price point.

Green Tip #4: The Cake
In addition to a menu that is based on organic or locally grown foods, consider serving a wedding cake made of organic ingredients. This cake from Chef Lori Ann Blethen of Wildflowers is 100-percent organic, including the butter, eggs, sugar, strawberries, and flour. Even the decorations are organic, as Lori opted for organic fondant and used organic sugar to make the flowers.

Green Tip #5: The Favors
Candles are a must for weddings, but paraffin candles are produced from not-so-earth-friendly petroleum. We love soy wax candles by Welcome Home Candles, which are hand-poured with fragrant, 100-percent soy wax (a natural resource). Also, be sure to check out the Beeswax Candle Company, which produces 100-percent beeswax candles that have been filter polished (not bleached) to their natural, creamy white color. Beeswax candles give off a delicious honey scent too.

For more favor ideas, check out The Knot Shop's eco-weddings boutique.

http://wedding.theknot.com/

Should You Donate Your Gown?

2009-02-05T23:05:00.003-08:00

Get a Not-so-new Gown

Purchase your gown secondhand -- reducing fuels used in creating a new gown and lessening demand for overseas labor. One option is the Brides Against Breast Cancer campaign, run by MakingMemories.org, which hosts trunk shows across the country featuring donated gowns as well as new gowns and samples from designers and bridal salons. Proceeds fulfill wishes for terminal breast cancer patients.

Donate it to Charity

If you aren't planning on saving your dress as an heirloom, donate it to charity after the wedding. You can either give your gown to an organization like Making Memories, or sell it (be it through a consignment shop or online) and give the profits to the charity of your choice.

Consider Couture

There's also the option of having your gown custom made with natural fabric (most likely silk or a silk blend) that you've purchased yourself. If you don't have a seamstress near you (or the cash to afford a gown that's completely custom), Conscious Clothing, based in Santa Fe, NM, creates wedding gowns that range from traditional to trendy, and feature all-natural fabrics (visit GetConscious.com).

Don't Forget the Maids

Ask them to donate their dresses to charities such as The Glass Slipper Project (GlassSlipperProject.org) or the Fairy Godmothers Inc. organization (FairyGodmothersInc.com), both of which work to put dresses in the hands of underprivileged teens who can't afford a prom dress. It's a much better fate for the dresses than sitting in the back of closets -- trust us.

http://wedding.theknot.com/

Organic and Earth-Friendly Reception Ideas

2009-02-05T23:05:00.001-08:00

Reduce & Reuse

The key to a wedding that's eco- and style-conscious is to simplify. Reusing accents or materials doesn't just save money, it saves resources. Work with what you've got nearby (and in season) and feel good about your efforts.

Choose a Site with Significance

Look for a space that will benefit from your event, like a museum, a cultural organization, or an art gallery. Ask how the site will use your fee (hopefully toward new programs and upkeep of the institution). Want an outdoor event? Opt for a botanical garden, arboretum, or the grounds of a historic home -- it's likely you can even find one run by a nonprofit organization.

Recycle Your Decor

Decorate your ceremony space with items you can reuse at the reception, whether it's topiaries that go from the altar to the entryway or arrangements that decorate the program table and dress up your guest book area. You'll save money and waste less. When the evening is over, plan to donate the pieces to a nursing home or hospital. Call ahead to see if you can arrange a pickup from your site.

Decorate with Bamboo

A great and modern-looking option, bamboo is considered one of the most sustainable materials on earth -- it can grow up to two feet a day, "So it takes only three to seven years to mature, as opposed to 120 years for some nice oak!" explains Ariel Dekovic, coauthor of 365 Ways to Save the Earth. Use tall stalks of curly bamboo in centerpieces, or choose bamboo chargers for your reception tables. And of course, mini stalks of lucky bamboo are always a favorite favor.

Arrive in (Low Emission) Style

A Prius limo? That might not yet be a reality, but there are ecologically friendly options out there. If your wedding is near the water, leave your ceremony in a canoe. We've also seen couples depart on tandem bicycles, rickshaws, or old-school conveyances like a horse and buggy.

Light Soy Candles

Candlelight isn't only romantic, it's energy efficient. Look for soy candles -- they're made from a renewable resource, are cleaner and longer burning than regular candles, plus spills are easy to clean (just use soap and hot water). They're available in nearly every size, shape, color, and scent you can imagine.

http://wedding.theknot.com/

Till Stuff Do Us Part

2009-02-05T22:47:00.000-08:00

Till Stuff Do Us Part: On wedding registries again
By Umbra Fisk - Published: 16 Jun 2008

Question:
Hi Umbra,

I'm getting married in August, and I've registered on Heifer International, but am looking for other ways to offer gift-givers a way to buy socially conscious and green gifts. Since "green," fair-trade, and organic are all the rage, could you recommend any good online places to find eco-friendly products other than the obvious (Whole Foods, REI, etc.)? I want to be sure I support the right places instead of the wannabes.

Charla
Seattle, Wash.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Answer:

Dearest Charla,

Congratulations. I hope all the wedding advice and tips in the Grist archives have been helpful to your event planning. I know they help me every year as I revisit the green wedding. No, no, I don't get married every year. Each spring we hear from concerned betrothed persons, and I go back through the Grist archives, read what my colleagues and readers have suggested, and remix the ideas, along with some new ones, into one sparkly brew of love.

Mind you, some of my own home-cooked suggestions have been pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. I still believe that registering for durable, well-made products that you are certain to use is the way to go. "Gift" too often means something you don't really need that looks nice and decorative and seemed safely inoffensive to the giver. A "green gift" then becomes an unnecessary item made of bamboo. The biggest favor you can do yourselves and the planet is to figure out what you actually need, make that clear to your givers via direct communication or a registry, and not ask for anything above or beyond those needed items.

I laud you for registering on Heifer, not only because Heifer is great, gives to others, does good ecological work, and won't result in unnecessary gear, but also because you have provided your guests with a way to express their own social activism on your behalf.

All that said, I think it is also OK to register for things that you want. As for the "wannabe" question, that can be hard to muddle through, unless you have months to do research on each corporation. Today, we find some big companies taking positive steps: Target is phasing out PVC, even Wal-Mart is undertaking corporate greening. On the other hand, a smaller store that sells all-hemp or "natural" gear doesn't necessarily have meaningful green credentials -- a lot of the goods at all-natural sites are geared toward ye olde gifte shoppe type gifting. That's why I think the key here is the products themselves. If you find a pile of ecologically mild, desirable items at a store you respect, then go ahead and patronize their website. It may be Amazon (they sell cast iron pans ...), and that wouldn't necessarily be bad.

If that seems too obvious, our readers and authors have suggested a variety of helpful www shops: Just Give, a charity registry; Felicite, where you can build a registry out of various favorite online stores; Co-op America's Green Pages, a directory of "screened and approved green business"; and Green Home and Green Culture, two bamboo-filled sites. The Grist holiday gift guide from a couple of years back has gobs of suggested gifts and locations, and I have even flirted with the topic myself.

You might find local craftspeople whose products fit your values, and figure out some kind of registry process with them, either through their website or via email. Marrying people have also enjoyed asking for donations to the honeymoon, which gets back to the green idea of giving experiences, not things. Sometimes, though, you just want a KitchenAid mixer.

Covetously,
Umbra

http://www.grist.org/

Nice Day for a Green Wedding

2009-02-05T22:42:00.000-08:00

How to marry your sweetheart and love the planet
By Suzanne Gerber, for The Green Guide - Published: 08 May 2003

When high-school sweethearts Alicia Gomer and Mark Wittink got engaged in December 2001, they pledged that their wedding would reflect their commitment to ecological issues. Gomer, who is working on an M.S. in environmental science policy, and Wittink, a project director at the Resource Conservation Alliance in Washington, D.C., were "shocked at the lack of green options in wedding planning. We had no idea what a consumptive, high-impact industry weddings can be," Gomer says.

About 2.4 million couples get married every year in the U.S., at an average cost of $20,000 per wedding, generating total revenues of some $70 billion, according to theknot.com, an online wedding resource. "Since you'll probably spend more on your wedding than any other single expenditure except your car or home, it's a chance to support and open markets for local, organic, recycled, and recyclable goods," says Eric Brown, communications director for the Center for a New American Dream. Michelle Kozin, founder of Organicweddings.com, a full-service, green-wedding-planning company, agrees. "You have a captive audience you can influence with your choices," she says.

Where to begin? Here's a green-wedding checklist.

Venue and Food

About half of the average wedding budget is spent on the venue and the caterer, Kozin says. Gomer had dreamed of having her June wedding at a vineyard in the Finger Lakes, near her hometown of Ithaca, N.Y., but she couldn't find one willing, or able, to serve organic food and wine. Then she thought of the 150-year-old Rose Inn. At first, the food-and-beverage director was reluctant, but he was won over after Gomer explained the health and environmental benefits of food grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, in ways that protect soil, water, and wildlife. As a result, all the food for their wedding, except for wild Alaska salmon (which is not overfished), will be organic and local. (Using local food translates to less fossil fuels used for transportation and fewer post-harvest pesticides.) "We're still sampling local and organic wines. That's the fun part," Gomer says.

When selecting a venue and caterer, Kozin recommends:

* Consider supporting a location and/or a nonprofit organization that's already interested in or dedicated to green causes: parks, museums, or retreat centers, for example.

* Rather than having everyone come to you, consider choosing a venue close to where the majority of your guests live. This will help cut down on the environmental costs associated with travel.

* For the same reason, hold the ceremony and reception at the same venue and help your guests arrange carpools.

* If you're looking at a hotel, inn, or restaurant, ask if the food director will cater to your organic and local wishes. If not, ask if you can bring in your own caterer, baker (Gomer's is a family friend), and wine purveyor.

Flowers

"Most flowers come from countries where pesticide usage isn't as regulated as it is here. And, since flowers aren't a food crop, they're seldom tested for pesticide residues," says Margaret Reeves, staff scientist at Pesticide Action Network in San Francisco. "In Latin America and Africa, the laborers on flower farms are mostly women of reproductive age, and exposure to excessive pesticides can be particularly harmful," she adds.

Some safer options:

* Choose organic fresh flowers. Seek out a local provider, if possible, or try organicbouquet.com.

* Grow your own, or force bulbs if not in season.

* Use dried or silk flowers or decorate with fruits or greenery.

* For more information on choosing environmentally friendly flowers, see our Valentine's Day column.

Invitations, Programs, and Menus

According to a June 2002 report by the U.S. EPA, close to 40 percent of the material in U.S. landfills is paper. Gomer's and Wittink's save-the-date card was printed on recycled junk mail; they also could have used old U.S. currency or denim. (See Creative Papers Online or Handmade Paper Online.) If you're going to buy paper, look for a non-chlorine-bleached product with at least 30 percent post-consumer waste. Other green-leaning engaged couples have sent out save-the-date cards by email, translating into an environmental savings in paper and transportation fuel.

Apparel

"Synthetic fabrics cost less, but polyester is petroleum-based," Kozin says. While cotton suits a spring or summer wedding, it uses an average of 5.8 pounds of pesticides per acre. The most environmentally friendly cotton is certified organic and either not dyed or tinted with gentler natural vegetable dyes. At least one web merchant, Jinjor, offers organic cotton "garden wedding" gowns. (Also check out the International Organic Cotton Directory or the Organic Cotton Site.)

Although Organicweddings.com offers organic cotton and cotton-and-hemp dress shirts for men, Kozin favors a silk-hemp blend for the natural wedding dresses she designs. Better still, you can buy vintage or choose a beautiful dress you can wear again. "I already had a silk crepe dress. It's simple but beautiful," Gomer says.

As for the ring, gold mining releases poisonous cyanide and mercury into the environment. Silver is lower impact, or you can have vintage gold rings resized. For more information on environmentally friendly wedding rings, check out what Grist environmental advice columnist Umbra Fisk has to say on the subject.

Favors and Gifts

As favors, Gomer and Wittink decided on organic cloth bags. Other options include:

* Giving organic chocolate or small jars of local honey from your farmers market.

* Making a charitable donation or planting trees in your guests' names. (See The Green Guide's Nursery Forest program to donate in support of tree-planting.)

* Requesting or registering for green gifts such as energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs, organic cotton linens (see Heart of Vermont or Gaiam.com) or an organic cotton, chemical-free mattress. See Ecomall.com for more environmentally friendly gifts, and visit the Green Guide's website for product reports on organic food and wine, clothing, paper, appliances, bedding, and more.

* Note: Do not release butterflies, which can disrupt wild butterflies' migration and spread disease or parasites, according to the North American Butterfly Association.

Cleanup

Use as few disposable items as possible, to avoid adding to landfills. Request that cleanup staff separate recyclables. If guests don't pick your tables clean, compost the flowers, or, if they're still fresh, drop them off at a nursing home, hospital, or other venue that will appreciate them.

Honeymoon

Gomer and Wittink plan to honeymoon in an eco-friendly way in Tahiti. "We want to find a lodge that employs local people in management roles, that gives money back to the community, and that treads lightly, using solar energy." Look to Co-op America's Green Pages for help with finding truly environmentally friendly eco-tourism. (And read a related Grist article on a green travel agent.)

For more and more couples, getting married provides a natural time to vow to treat the planet, as well as one's spouse, with respect and love. "A wedding is a time of hope for the newlyweds," Gomer says. "Why shouldn't it be that for the environment, too?"

**Suzanne Gerber, former editor of Vegetarian Times, is a freelance writer and editor based in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Green Guide is the premier source of information for environmentally conscious consumers.

http://www.grist.org/

An Eco-Chic Affair

2009-02-05T21:53:00.000-08:00

By Elena Donovan Mauer

Jessica and Jason go organic with luscious local food and ravishing natural décor elements at their Bodega Bay bash.

For Jessica Hawley and Jason Miller, it was important to honor and respect the environment throughout their wedding day. “Jason and I are very much into nature and it’s a big part of how we live,” says Jessica. She, a natural perfumer, creates custom scents from the earth’s offerings, and Jason, a flight instructor and musician, appreciates the great outdoors from his vantage point in the sky. “For the wedding we wanted to enhance—not clutter up—the experience of being in a natural setting,” she says.

The couple was drawn to the Sonoma Coast Villa in Bodega Bay, California, a resort with beautiful Italian-style architecture, outdoor spaces and a private garden to provide fresh organic food for the big day. To pull it off, they enlisted Joannie Liss of Joannie Liss Events to plan the details and Eden Rodriguez of End Design—which specializes in sustainable events—to create the décor. Together, Eden and Jessica chose a warm color scheme of purple, rust, burgundy and yellow, appropriate for the Tuscan-style touches they planned to add.

A variety of local organic flowers, including tuberose, jasmine and cottage roses, was chosen for the arrangements, as well as plenty of fragrant herbs. “I thought there really should be a fabulous natural scent throughout the wedding and reception,” says Jessica. “Best of all, the flowers weren’t wasted. Afterward, all the petals were dried, given to guests and reused in a variety of ways.” In fact, the entire event was planned with an emphasis on conserving as many resources as possible; they included many reclaimed antique décor elements, natural products and even an eco-friendly lighting scheme. “We made every effort to reduce our use of paper products,” says Liss.

On the sunny August wedding day, the ceremony took place on a lawn on the Villa’s grounds, with guests seated in a circle around the bride and groom. “We had four aisles, representing each of the cardinal directions,” says Jessica. In lieu of flower girls, five friends scattered petals down the aisles. A rabbi, who is a family friend, married the couple in a Reform Jewish ceremony, during which they drank wine from a shared cup.

Jessica, who collects vintage bottles, chose to decorate a nearby patio with antique glassware. There, guests enjoyed cocktails and such passed hors d’oeuvres as organic vegetable crudités and figs in puffed pastry.

Guests found their seating cards tied with twine to Ball jars holding soy candles and birdseed. With the candles lit, they carried the jars in procession to the reception tent, where they found more vibrant colors, fragrant flowers, glass vases and soy candles—all with a subtle Tuscan vibe. “It was magical,” says Jessica. “When Jason and I walked in, we were in awe of how beautiful it all looked.”

The crowd enjoyed a meal of organic, locally grown foods and an evening of live dance music that included plenty of Stevie Wonder tunes. “We danced the night away,” says the bride. “It was high-energy fun!” Close friends and family stayed for an after-party, snacking on veggie burgers and enjoying jam sessions led by musician friends. “We didn’t want the wedding to end; it was such a fabulous, intimate, special, memorable day,” says Jessica. “And keeping it green just felt good.”

Our Favorite Memories

* “It was fitting to have our guests seated in the round at the ceremony. We really felt enveloped by their love.”
* “Jason and I had our first dance to ‘Crazy Love’ by Van Morrison. We’d heard it when we fell in love on Jason’s boat. No choreography was necessary—it was pure, sweet magic.”
* “During the reception, Jason got on stage with his guitar and played a song he’d written for me. It was so spectacular that I don’t have the words to describe it. It was an emotional moment.”
* “The after-party took place in the courtyard, which had been set up to look like a lounge with couches and lots of giant, colorful pillows. Our musician friends were able to hang out, grab an instrument and play. It was like having a really great bonfire without the fire!”

The Feast

First Course
Organic Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing

Entrée
Free-Range Organic Chicken Breast with Lemongrass
Portobello Mushroom Strudel
Organic Roasted Baby Vegetables with Rosemary Blue Potatoes

Dessert
Wedding Cake: Chocolate Cake with White Buttercream Icing and Apricot Filling

http://www.bridalguide.com/

The Year of Eco Decorating

2009-02-05T20:55:00.000-08:00

By PENELOPE GREEN - November 29, 2007

ONE mark of a really good party has always been an almost biblical catalog of waste and excess, lovingly expressed in gallons of Champagne, acres of fabric, plywood and red carpet, and jetloads of exotic flowers. But in a year dominated by talk of the green movement, such practices can be viewed not just as unseemly but as downright anarchic — and not in a good way.

Pity the party planners and designers who have to grapple with the new calculus — mostly for public institutions and organizations for which the benefit or awards gala is a yearly rite — and still make a shindig look as if it cost six figures. “Can a party be sustainably produced?” is a question asked recently by several of these planners and designers, whose work has often influenced ambitious party hosts at home. The answers they have come up with are both intriguing and confounding.

“I started to think about all this stuff because I’d be going to events and the invitation would be printed with the words, ‘This is a green event!’” said David Stark, the very conceptual event designer who has made his name creating parties for institutions like the Whitney Museum of American Art, “and there’d be burlap tablecloths and green lighting — and I don’t mean fluorescent bulbs but the color green — and somebody would stand up and say, ‘Change starts here!’ and I’d think, You’ve got to be kidding.”

If waste is endemic to a party, Mr. Stark asked himself, how could that waste be rethought?

“I wasn’t so naïve as to think we wouldn’t be using a lot of stuff,” he continued, “but I wondered how that stuff could be more thoughtful. And then the artist in me wanted to present a commentary, not just a solution.”

And so it was that Mr. Stark, who had been commissioned to put together the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s awards gala last month, directed the museum to shred its office paper for six months, producing a harvest that he augmented with 12 years of his personal tax returns and his own office’s papers. He then turned the resulting 6,000 pounds of paper strips into giant topiaries and chandeliers, floridly archaic shapes fashioned from trash. It was the language of excess — those topiaries recalled the gardens of Versailles — expressed in the material of frugality.

The endeavor was not without contradictions or mishaps, said Mr. Stark, who had to comply with the museum’s fire codes requiring that all that material be flame-proofed. “So then we had to find the organic fire retardant guy,” he continued, “and for two and a half months we were dipping 6,000 pounds of paper in fire retardant and then trying to dry it out by spreading it on the floors of our warehouse.” As the date of the event loomed closer, Mr. Stark looked out upon the soggy landscape, realized he needed help, and bought three energy-hogging commercial dryers to finish the job.

“I’m certainly not going to do it again,” he said, “but I learned a thing or two.”

Mr. Stark came to recognize, as have others in his line of work, that there aren’t yet enough resources out there to make every event fully green. For all the parties like the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation benefit, for which Mr. Stark chose saplings as centerpieces — for those guests who didn’t take them home, Mr. Stark said, “we made arrangements for them to go to a forestry” — there are those like the Costume Institute’s Chanel party at the Metropolitan Museum of Art two years ago, decorated with 7,000 gardenias and 25,000 pounds of boxwood, all of which “went into the Dumpster,” said David Monn, the event’s designer.

“There hadn’t been an infrastructure on the back end to help us,” he explained. “But this year I’ve found the guy who can chip the greenery into compost. We’re figuring it all out.”

A few weeks ago, Mr. Monn wrapped 28,000 square feet of a parking garage on the Hudson River in post-consumer cardboard for the Guggenheim International Gala; he also made tables, chairs, centerpieces and chargers out of the stuff. The décor was partly an homage to Frank Gehry, one of the evening’s honorees, who designed cardboard furniture in the 1970s and 80s, but also a conceptual nod to eco-sensitivity, like Mr. Stark’s Cooper-Hewitt event. (The tables and carpets went to Housing Works, the AIDS services organization, after the event.)

“Scale is important in what I do,” Mr. Monn said. “It’s about a total environment. I like to say that when I create an event I take into consideration everything as far as you can see and as near as you can touch. That scale alone depends on a lot of materials.” That said, he added sternly, “I don’t believe in gluttony. It’s one of the seven deadly sins and you can get punished for it. I’ve been thinking a long time about what I might be able to do to decrease the waste inherent in our business.”

Mr. Monn and Mr. Stark have done well with beige and brown — Mr. Stark’s design for the Museum of Arts & Design’s Visionaries awards party this month used twine, packing boxes and Bubble Wrap for decoration; after the event the museum, which is moving locations, took the packing materials home. But in a culture where the most iconic visual images of the green movement are rather less festive — like an image of Al Gore’s face, or a picture of drowning polar bears — making a decorative green statement on a grand scale has been a challenge. You have to invent your own symbols.

“That’s how I came up with Rudolph the Recycled Reindeer,” said Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys New York, who used empty soda cans like mosaics in his Christmas windows this month. “You can do this stuff at home,” Mr. Doonan said. “You can go gold with decaffeinated Diet Coke, and there’s lots of blue and silver in drinks like Pepsi and Red Bull. You can make wreathes out of old silver pot scrubbers. We’ve done a green version of the 12 Days of Christmas, which I will happily sing to you and which ends with ‘a Prius in a pear tree.’”

Speaking of the Prius, the Left Coast has been much quicker to embrace and flaunt green party planning. The turning point, said Jeffrey Best, whose company, Best Events, has been decorating awards ceremonies and their afterparties for 15 years, was the Academy Awards ceremony in 2003.

Global Green, an environmental group, approached Mr. Best with a challenge that year. “They said, ‘We’d like to do some arrivals with a green car, do you have any ideas?’ They approached Toyota and we connected them with celebrities. And that’s how the whole Prius thing started. You witnessed something that hadn’t been seen before.”

Last winter, Mr. Best designed furniture for the Golden Globes ceremony from “108-year-old wood harvested from lakes in Utah,” he said. “They wanted unique furniture and they didn’t want to cut down any trees. And instead of a vinyl press wall, we used that wood with the words carved into it. And we’ll use it all again this year.”

He added that he has purchased carbon offsets for a few of his events from Carbonfund.org.

“We’d like to do that for everyone,” said Mr. Best, who said he has broached the idea with General Motors, another client, but has yet to receive any answer. “It’s all part of the same life, right?”

Arianna Huffington recalled this year’s Emmy Awards, billed as the “Green Emmys” as a defining moment.

“At one point, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert came out to present an award,” she said, “and Colbert was wielding a leaf blower. Stewart scoldingly reminded Colbert that these were the ‘Green Emmys’ and Colbert replied that the blower ran on ‘Al Gore’s tears.’ It’s been a great transition: Hollywood has gone from the capital of conspicuous consumption to the cutting edge of conspicuous conservation.”

Back in New York, Mr. Doonan was less enthusiastic. “I think it was the Emmys where Ryan Seacrest announces, ‘Tonight’s event is green!’ and you see all these klieg lights burning,” he said. Mr. Doonan’s environmental efforts include ”satire that comes from a green place,” he added. “I’m determined to bring a bit of humor to the green movement. Think sustainable swag.” In his remarks at a recent fashion awards dinner, he promised to sell chiffon offsets at the door.

In terms of the great green ledger in the sky, there is no way for most of us to know whether expending the energy to produce 6,000 pounds of shredded paper topiaries is really a “better” choice than just flying in crates of carnations, or whether making tables and chairs out of recycled cardboard makes more sense than just renting them. As Mr. Stark pointed out, what you’re really dealing with are symbols.

James B. Twitchell, a professor of English and advertising at the University of Florida, agrees. “It’s all about symbols and sensation,” said Professor Twitchell, whose many books deal with how marketing shapes a society. “That’s what I find so fascinating about our Prius culture. We know things are wrong. We don’t know what we can do. We can’t know. And so we do what marketers encourage us to do to get those feelings we want to have. We buy the Prius, we recycle at the party, pretty much overlooking the fact that what we know about these objects and these actions comes from their marketing.”

Perhaps the greenest party this year wasn’t billed as such. Deitch Projects was the host of a do last February for the publication of the photographer Jason Schmidt’s book, “Artists.” The décor was supplied by Gelitin, four male Viennese conceptual artists who wore high heels and buckets on their heads but no pants, and who spent the evening building a plywood structure over the bewildered guests’ heads. Anthony Roth Costanzo, a countertenor, sang a 16th-century melody called “Flow My Tears.” And then the Gelitin members, along with three Icelandic artists, also men, from a collective called Moms, took the buckets off their heads and urinated — with dead-eye accuracy, said Dodie Kazanjian, a Vogue editor and one of the events’ hosts — into one another’s pails.

Talk about creative reuse. Still, even such a basic production involved an environmental no-no. In the week before the event, Ms. Kazanjian recalled, “I did see a lot of bottled water being brought into the gallery.”

http://www.nytimes.com/

Green eco-weddings in the NY Times

2009-02-05T20:48:00.000-08:00

By OffbeatBride - February 12th, 2007

A bride with a hydrangea bouquet and vegan menu, hosting an event at an eco-retreat? People using their weddings as a political platform to further their own progressive agendas? Sounds like the New York Times got wind of my wedding!

… Oh wait, no they didn't. They just finally noticed the increasing number of couples who are planning green eco-weddings, which they feature in today's article, How Green Was My Wedding.

The article seems to ignore the "reduce, reuse, recycle" aspect of environmentalism, focusing on green products couples can buy instead of suggesting that couples take the truly radical step of just buying less.

It's a decent article, profiling couples who are creatively finding ways to minimize the ecological impact of their wedding days. I especially appreciate the couple who points out that they had to make some sacrifices so that they could stay within their budget, inviting less people so they could afford to feed their guests an organic meal.

That said, I definitely get concerned when I see wedding trend articles that lay yet another financial concern on engaged couples, yet another way in which brides can whip themselves into a frenzy. "I must have tea candles on every table — and they must be SOY CANDLES!" How about just skipping the candles? As my friend Esther pointed out, it's a little frustrating that the article seems to ignore the "reduce, reuse, recycle" aspect of environmentalism, focusing on green products couples can buy instead of suggesting that couples take the truly radical step of just buying less.

Going green can simply mean going more expensive, and it’s important to pick your priorities to avoid convincing yourself you simply MUST spend a small fortune. Then again, if you’re spending that small fortune supporting organic farmers and eco-conscious vendors, it’s probably money well-spent.

And regardless of how you go green, as one engaged woman in the article noted, using your wedding as an opportunity to make an political/environmental point is "a huge opportunity for people to make choices that can affect change. It’s one of the biggest contributions you can make as a young adult." In other words, if you're going to stress about your wedding, it's better to freak out over its ecological impact than, say, whether the tulle on the back of the chairs matches your shoes.

That said, I think we may have out-greened even the New Yorkers with our wedding — did they have composting toilets?! I think not!

PS: Here are a few offbeat eco-wedding links for ya.

http://offbeatbride.com/

How Green Was My Wedding

2009-02-05T20:43:00.000-08:00

By MIREYA NAVARRO - February 11, 2007

Organic wedding bells will ring out in a scenic trail area for Kate Harrison and Barry Muchnick.

KATE Harrison’s idea of a fairy tale wedding goes something like this:
Gather more than 150 friends and relatives at an organic farm for a prewedding day of hikes and environmental tours.

Calculate the mileage guests will travel and offset their carbon dioxide emissions by donating to programs that plant trees or preserve rain forests.

Use hydrangeas, berries and other local and seasonal flowers for her bouquet and the decorations, instead of burning up fuel transporting flowers from faraway farms. Design an organic autumnal menu (same reason). Find a vintage dress to avoid the waste of a wedding gown that will never be worn again.

“It’s well worth it to start your life together in a way that’s in line with your values and beliefs,” said Ms. Harrison, 28, a graduate student at Yale, who is to marry in October. “You don’t want this event that is supposed to start your life together to come at the expense of the environment or workers in another country.”

Call Ms. Harrison the anti-Bridezilla, whose wedding is all about the planet, rather than “all about me.” People in the wedding business say the eco-friendly or “green” wedding has arrived, its appeal having expanded to spur a mini-industry of stores and Web sites offering couples biodegradable plates made of sugar cane fiber and flowers grown according to sustainable farming practices.

The quality and choice of products has so steadily improved that the green concept is spreading to other kinds of parties, allowing hosts to embrace the earth without sacrificing style, party planners and others say.

“People are making purchasing decisions based on environmental concerns,” said Gerald Prolman, the founder of OrganicBouquet.com, an online organic florist. Mr. Prolman, who said his Web site has doubled its sales yearly since it began in 2001, added a wholesale business last August to meet growing demand.

“Whether it’s food or cotton or flowers,” Mr. Prolman said, “people are asking questions: How are farmworkers treated? Who produced the product? How is the environment affected in that process?”

Eric Fenster, an owner of Back to Earth, an organic catering company in Berkeley, said that when he started his business in 2001, his clients consisted almost exclusively of social justice and environmental nonprofit groups. But that market has expanded to make weddings a third of his business.

And few events offer as many opportunities to say “I care” than a wedding, whose average cost is $25,000 to $30,000. Bridal magazines, too, have recognized the trend, and a new online site, Portovert.com, made its appearance last month, catering to “eco-savvy brides and grooms.”

MILLIE MARTINI BRATTEN, the editor in chief of Brides magazine, said that over the last five years the interest in green weddings has blossomed from a desire to incorporate a few green elements, like a vegan menu, to making sure the entire celebration won’t contribute to the depletion of natural resources. This may include finding halls that recycle, hiring caterers who use locally grown ingredients, decorating with potted plants that can be transplanted and using soy-based candles, rather than those of petroleum-based wax.

“If anything, it makes the wedding even more meaningful,” said Ms. Martini Bratten, whose magazine’s February-March issue features a planning guide for a green wedding.

Today, some in the eco-business note, even the honeymoon can be green without roughing it. “You used to have to go camping,” said Ted Ning, the executive director of the Lohas Journal, a resource guide for businesses that serve the environmentally conscious market. “Now you have these amazing luxurious spas in Africa or Fiji. You can look at different animals while getting a massage in a tree.”

But can weddings really make a dent in global warming, particularly if the couple then set out on an emission-spewing trans-Atlantic flight for the honeymoon?

Janet Larsen, the director of research at the Earth Policy Institute, an environmental research group in Washington, said that every little bit helps. “All the actions add up,” she said. “Anything individuals can do to reduce their overall environmental footprint can make a difference.” Joshua Houdek, 32, and Kristi Papenfuss, 35, are planning a “zero waste” wedding for 250 guests in August. It will take place on a farm and include compostable plates and utensils, organic and fair trade-certified food, locally brewed beer and organic wine and wedding rings that are “100 percent reclaimed, recycled, ecologically responsible gold,” said Mr. Houdek, who works as a Sierra Club organizer in Minneapolis.

In lieu of traditional gifts, Mr. Houdek and Ms. Papenfuss, an elementary school teacher, plan to ask guests to sign up for renewable energy and reforestation projects to counteract their energy consumption or to donate to the Sierra Club or other environmental groups.

The couple doesn’t think it’s too much to ask. “We’re not forcing them,” Mr. Houdek stressed, though Ms. Papenfuss said that some people have been surprised at the elements that are making an appearance at their wedding.

“We’ve had a few people say ‘What?’ when we talk about biodegradable forks that are potato-based,” she said. ‘What do you mean forks made out of potato?’ ”

For her wedding, Ms. Harrison, who is working on a law degree and a master’s in environmental management, and her fiancé, Barry Muchnick, 33, also a graduate student at Yale, plan to treat guests to a rehearsal barbecue dinner at an organic farm in Garrison, N.Y. The next day’s ceremony is to take place at Castle Rock, a state-owned 19th-century castle in a scenic trail area, followed by the reception at a golf club, whose restaurant serves organic food.

The couple are looking for shuttle buses that run on biodiesel fuel to move guests between sites, and Ms. Harrison is making pottery for her guests to take home as party favors. It all sounds like more work and expense than the traditional wedding. While Mr. Ning of Lohas Journal noted that going organic often means paying up to 20 percent more because many products come from small farms that receive no government subsidies, some brides noted that a wedding at a farm is more economical than at a hotel or hall.

“It doesn’t have to be any more or any less expensive,” Ms. Papenfuss said.

Some couples make tradeoffs so they can afford to go green. Sarah Minick, 29, an environmental planner in the Bay Area, and Siddhartha Mitra, 27, a doctoral student at the University of California at San Francisco, kept their wedding last July on the small side, about 75 guests, so they could offer an organic menu, which they said cost about 10 percent more than traditional food. The couple had their ceremony and reception in a natural setting that required few decorations, the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley. They went less green on the favors, though: they gave non-native tropical plants because they thought them more beautiful than locally grown varieties and felt their guests would enjoy them more, Mr. Mitra said.

“We’re really happy with how it turned out,” the bridegroom said. “It reflected us.”

The environmentally conscious party concept is spreading. Marriott International will soon announce deals with organicbouquet.com and other vendors to make organic flowers available to customers for events, starting in the spring, said Laurie Goldstein, a spokeswoman for the hotel chain. Ms. Goldstein, who said the demand was driven by corporate meeting planners seeking to be more socially responsible, called organic flowers “the first step” to offering all-green events, including organic food and organic cotton tablecloths.

Even Hollywood is jumping on the bandwagon. For the Golden Globes last month, E! Entertainment partnered with the Environmental Media Association as hosts to a Golden Green after-party, including napkins printed with energy-saving tips. The organizers also committed themselves to planting a tree for each of the 800-plus guests.

For private parties, as for weddings, Ms. Martini Bratten advises couples that no matter how well intentioned, they should not appear to be coercing guests into contributing to a cause. Asking them to buy a certain gift or donate to a specific group is fine as long as that is conveyed as just one choice, she said. “It shouldn’t be a requirement,” she said. “Imposing your wishes on someone else is crossing the line.”

What about the host who wants to send guests home with energy-efficient light bulbs?

Many couples said that more often than not their friends and families want to make a difference, too. “I have a couple of relatives who think some of it is unnecessary, but they appreciate the mind-set behind it,” Ms. Harrison said. “It’s a huge opportunity for people to make choices that can effect change. It’s one of the biggest contributions you can make as a young adult.”

http://www.nytimes.com/

Organic Wedding Invitations For Every Budget

2009-02-05T20:41:00.000-08:00

By Marissa Brassfield - May 06, 2008

It goes without saying that a wedding is one of the most monumental days of a couple’s life; an event that comes after a great deal of planning and consideration. For couples that care passionately about the environment, an eco-friendly wedding is an excellent way to show your wedding guests the extent of your commitment to each other and the planet.

The easiest place to start is with green wedding invitations. By using recycled paper and organic materials, your wedding invitations will be more than just "save the date" cards to keep or throw away—they’ll make a statement. You don’t need to be an environmental activist to utilize the many organic wedding-invitation options. Even if your invitations are the only "green" aspect of your wedding, you’ll still save valuable resources, and you’ll have added a new layer of meaning to your wedding.

Paper Invitations
Most couples opt for traditional wood-based paper invitations. A recycled-paper invitation is the easiest way to make your wedding greener, and most stores carry a wide array. All recycled paper is not necessarily equal, however. It’s best to choose the paper that contains the highest percentage of recycled paper; this can help you quickly narrow down an intimidating field of green wedding invitations.

You might encounter some foreign abbreviations in your search for organic wedding invitations. PCW stands for post-consumer waste, and is typically accompanied by a percentage. Paper that is 100 percent PCW has been collected and recycled from users; it does not use new, or "virgin" wood. If your intent is to use traditional wood-derived paper, 100 percent PCW paper is the greenest way to go. An FSC abbreviation stands for Forest Stewardship Council; FSC paper is that which is certified to come from sustainable forests.

Although FSC paper comes from virgin wood, its forests are sustainable, so resources are not harmfully depleted. There are dozens of different combinations within these two measures of fiber content.

Tree-Free Paper Invitations
You can take your eco-consciousness to another level by considering tree-free paper, which is created from any material that can be made into a pulp. Organic cotton, banana-plant fiber, recycled coffee beans, garlic skins, recycled denim and hemp fiber are common paper alternatives. Some tree-free papers also add petals, silk or grass for a truly organic wedding invitation. There are also tree-free papers made with wildflower seeds embedded in it. This allows your guests to simply plant the invitations; just like your marriage, the invitation will eventually bloom.

Alternative Wedding Invitations
A relatively new trend in green wedding invitations is to forego a printed invitation entirely and create a wedding website. There are several wedding websites available that feature easy-to-use templates to upload pictures, program a map, add relevant events or accommodations, and even collect RSVPs. Some wedding sites even feature an option for an archived copy of the site on a CD for you to keep. After the wedding, you can upload your pictures to share them with your guests.

While you can certainly make your own website and avoid the fees incurred with some of these sites, a wedding-specific template is perfect for someone with limited knowledge of HTML and web-authoring software.

By creating a wedding website, you only need to print formal invitations for the guests that do not use the Internet, and information is easily disseminated. This cuts down on your costs by eliminating the majority of printed invitations and postage while simultaneously reducing the production of paper waste.

Green Wedding Ideas and Tips
There’s far more to a wedding invitation than the paper it’s printed on. Your invitations require many more decisions for you to make. Sometimes even recycled paper invitations are printed with traditional ink, which emits toxins into the environment. Here are some tips and ideas to help you achieve your goals for a green wedding.

Regardless of the invitation paper you choose, make sure that it is processed without chlorine. This means avoiding bright whites, which use chemical bleach to make the colors pop. If you choose colored paper, ensure that naturally occurring pigments are used rather than chemical dyes. When possible, handmade paper is best. Choose soy or vegetable-based ink when possible. These produce far fewer toxic chemicals than traditional inks. Avoid designs that feature a printed solid background so that your invitations use as little ink as possible. Pick natural embellishments for your wedding invitations like straw, wooden beads, raffia or pressed flowers.

Try to minimize the paper you use. Not only will you save money, you’ll minimize waste. Enclose a reply postcard as opposed to a card and envelope, or ask your guests to RSVP online.

Some companies feature all-in-one designs that combine invitation, RSVP card, lodging information and a photo in a folded mailer. And always remember to encourage your guests to recycle their invitations rather than throw them away.

To maximize your eco-conscious efforts, pick a printing company that does more than just stock recycled paper. Their daily operations should also be eco-friendly, with energy-efficient equipment and a recycling or composting program in use for scrap paper. Some printing companies up the ante by using carbon-neutral hosting providers for their websites, purchasing carbon offets, recycling water from building dehumidifiers and air conditioners, and regular contributions to environmental charities. Any eco-conscious business is proud to disclose their conservation efforts, so don’t feel intimidated to ask about their operations.

If you can, do business with a company that holds a green certification from a third party organization. A business that is certified to be green must pass and continually maintain strict eco-friendly operations in every aspect. Green businesses not only monitor their own consumption and waste, but also encourage employee participation in eco-friendly practices and are positive influences on other companies and organizations. Green-certified businesses are often leaders in the community, helping other businesses and the community to adopt more environmentally conscious practices. Supporting these endeavors with your business ensures that a green-certified company can continue to affect positive change.

A wedding invitation is a memento you and your guests will always have of your special day.

By selecting green wedding invitations, you reiterate your commitment to the environment and each other to all of your esteemed guests. Since there are so many degrees and levels of involvement in picking wedding invitations, you can choose the organic wedding invitations that will be special to you. If your intent is to just minimize your impact on the planet without necessarily committing to a completely organic wedding invitation, simply choose recycled paper. If you’d prefer wedding invitations that have zero impact on the environment, consider a wedding website or tree-free paper and soy ink.

An additional consideration in your wedding-invitation decision should be the business practices of the printing company you select. The printing company should do more than simply stock recycled paper; it should be an active participant in eco-friendly endeavors and practices. No matter which option you select, you can delight in the knowledge that your wedding day will be commemorated with an equally important statement of conviction—a commitment to protect natural resources.

How "Green" Are You?

They say it's not easy being green, but we beg to differ. In this day and age, conservation is key. As the ozone layer whittles away, the water supply dries up and the environmental bleeding continues, many people are taking a stand and going green. Do you know what it takes to do your part? Take our quick environmental quiz and find out.

http://www.lifescript.com/

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle

2009-02-05T20:37:00.000-08:00

July 8th, 2007 by Andrea

I’ll admit. I didn’t really plan on having a “green” wedding. But a lot of what we are doing is really turning out to be quite environmentally friendly! We ended up ordering recycled paper for our invitations and envelopes, which was almost purely coincidence. But, it was the right color and I will admit to feeling a bit better about the price knowing it was recycled. And what’s leftover from the invitations, we will use for the programs. Pretty good deal. However! This is not a post about invitations, it is about my centerpieces!

I really wanted to keep this aspect simple for several reasons.

1) I plan to only have one or two variations of flowers, mainly the mini gerbera daisy
2) I am making them myself and want to do them ahead of time
3) I need this to be cost effective so I can focus my wallet on more important (to me) things

I knew that it would basically consist of a simple vase with a few of the flowers, but just those things wasn’t doing it for me. So in a brainstorming session on the phone with my mom (usually at 8am when I am driving to work), it came to me! My fiance and I have been buying milk in glass bottles ever since we found out that Harris Teeter sold it. So, we each switched to quart sized bottles and have been stowing them away.

During the collection process I have been in a ribbon quandary. One ribbon or two? Bow or label? Stamped or printed? I finally found my answer at myownlabels.com where I found JUST the right thing! The great thing about this website is that it doesn’t have a minimum order, so it was a cinch to just order enough labels for the centerpieces. Once they arrived, it was just a matter of putting them together! I started with this:

And I ended up with this!

The silk flowers are just to see how it will come together, but I will have fresh flowers for the big show! I love the way they turned out! I can’t wait to see the whole table put together with the antique linens and china dessert plates. And the best part is, after the wedding, we can return all the bottles to Harris Teeter and get our deposit back!!

http://www.weddingbee.com/

Alternative Flower Ideas

2009-02-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

Find Your Green Thumb

Wedding flowers are symbolic of the natural world. So where better to make eco-friendly decisions? Think about pesticides and investigate the origins of flowers that you're interested in to see if they were grown in an environmentally unfriendly way. Also, using cut flowers results in a lot of floral waste. Talk to your florist about conserving: maybe you could share the bulk of the blooms with another party. More ideas:

Buy Organic Blooms

Pesticide-free petals show off a flower's natural beauty. "Conventionally grown roses are so genetically engineered that they don't even smell like roses anymore, so they are sprayed with an artificial scent," says Seo. "Organic roses smell how they should smell." If you can't find a local florist who can track down organic flowers, check out OrganicBouquet.com for a wide array of sustainably grown blooms.

Pot Your Pieces

For centerpieces and other decor elements, use potted flowers, plants, or even small trees, which can later be transplanted to your garden or yard. Ideas we love: placing potted trees strung with lights around the dance floor, or hanging escort cards from the branches of a flowering bush such as hibiscus.

Use a Flower-free Bouquet

What's trendy? Having your bridesmaids carry gorgeous fans for a Spanish-inspired affair, or silk boxes or purses filled with jeweled blooms. Look into using silk flowers too. Though sometimes more expensive, the arrangement will last forever and makes a great keepsake for your bridesmaids.

Plant a Tree

Giving back isn't limited to the wedding day. When you return home from your honeymoon, plant a tree in your backyard or the neighborhood where you got married (get permission first!). The best part? You can track how old the tree is by your anniversary.
For favors, make a donation in your guests' names to an organization that plants trees, such as AmericanForests.org

Support Local Nurseries

Your goal: locally grown, seasonal blooms. Talk to your florist about what flowers fall in this category to choose from. You can fill in with herbs, greenery, and berries provided by local nurseries.

http://wedding.theknot.com/

Green Your Wedding: Be a Cheapskate

2009-02-05T20:02:00.000-08:00

Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA

My husband and I got hitched, several years ago, before we started living la vida verde, so think of this new matrimonially minded series as a laundry list of things we would have done if we had to do it all over again-trust me, we don't. Still, it occurred to me that our wedding did have certain green elements, simply by virtue of us being starving writers living in New York City, which isn't nearly as romantic as it might sound. Here's how being dirt poor shrank the carbon footprint of our wedding:

1. We held the wedding in the day-morning actually, because I'm a brunch girl and, well, I wanted to serve brunch. There was no need for electrical lighting: Natural sunlight poured generously through the ample windows.

2. Because I'm a brunch-loving vegetarian-and because it was cheaper-90 percent of the food served was vegetarian. My then-groom insisted on throwing in some meat for the carnivores.

3. Food was prepared on site by the kitchen staff of the building. We used real linens and silverware to save on the expense of purchasing disposables, which would be pretty tacky at a wedding, anyway.

4. Two words: Cash. Bar.

5. My sister did my hair, and I did my own makeup, while one of the guests (a semi-pro photog) took the snaps, so no extra people had to travel to our event.

7. We sent our Save the Dates electronically; I also designed our wedding invitations, printing them out on my trusty inkjet printer.

8. Although our flowers weren't organic, we did our own arranging using old glass jars we had been saving. For table numbers, we used number transfers on ripped pieces of our old couch cover, which we then attached to the jars using twine and clothes pegs. (Shabby and chic!)

9. Our wedding was small-40 guests, give or take.

10. We skipped on the fancy, frilly decorations and got married in front of a vintage red door, which I just fell in love with, on the veranda.

11. No wedding party-I didn't think it was necessary and I really didn't want to spend brainpower stressing over colors, fabrics, and matchy-matchyness. Our friends weren't loaded with bags of money, either, so we didn't want anyone to buy an outfit just for the wedding.

12. No string quartet-c'mon, how clichéd is that? A dear friend burned classic jazz standards on CDs and we piped the music through the speaker system.

13. My parents stayed at our place, instead of getting a hotel room-see where my stinginess comes from? (We skedaddled somewhere else for our wedding night, of course.)

14. No expensive limo, no separate cars. Most of our guests took the subway.

15. Instead of a decked-out wedding cake, we served mouthwatering cupcakes from a nearby bakery.

Practice with me: "[Insert monetary sum]? For [insert object of desire]? Are you insane? Well, screw that, we don't need it."

Planetgreen.discovery.com