Green Wedding Directory FAQ

1. What is the Green Wedding Directory, and how can companies be a part of it?

2. What is the Green Leaf Rating System?

3. How are vendor Leaf Ratings generated?

4. What does a company's Leaf Rating mean, and how are they verified?

5. What are the criteria to be approved for the Green Wedding Directory?

6. How can vendors determine if their business will qualify?

7. How will vendors know if they are approved?

8. How can vendors increase their Green Leaf Rating?

9. How often can vendors update their listings?

10. Does Green Bride Guide monitor or edit customer ratings?

11. How can vendors advertise their Green Wedding Directory listing?

12. Can green vendors sell their products directly through the Green Bride Guide website?

13. What is the difference between a Featured Listing and a National Listing?

1. What is the Green Wedding Directory?

The Green Wedding Directory is a national yellow pages for green wedding vendors. Couples looking for eco-conscious local vendors can search our database by location, vendor type, and Green Leaf Rating to connect with wedding industry professionals that share and support their green values. Companies interested in being part of the Green Wedding Directory should click here for instructions to apply.

2. What is the Green Leaf Rating System?

The Green Leaf Rating System is our proprietary process for rating vendors' green practices. Every business in our Directory is assigned a Leaf Rating on a scale of one through five. The Leaf Ratings provide our users with a relative indication of how many green or eco-friendly practices each company follows, and the company’s overall commitment to the environment.

The Green Bride Guide Leaf Rating System uses a self-administered questionnaire that each vendor completes as part of the application process. The system then rates the response to each question and compiles the data before providing the vendor a final leaf rating from 1 to 5.

The Green Leaf Rating System has been constructed to accommodate large companies, independent artisans and non-profits alike. In order to qualify for our Directory and Marketplace, a company must earn at least one leaf. As companies increase their eco-friendly practices, they are invited to re-rate themselves.

3. How are vendor Leaf Ratings generated?

During the application process, vendors are asked to evaluate each area of their business separately. This gives them the opportunity to show in detail what steps they are taking to green their general business practices, as well as the eco-friendly qualities of the products and/or services they provide.

The evaluation questions are divided into two sections: general business practices and industry specific practices. The general business practices are broken down into ten categories: Mission Statement, Certifications, Offerings, Kitchen, Bathroom, Office Supplies & Marketing Materials, Transportation, Energy, Conservation and Health, Garbage & Recycling, and Community.

The industry specific section focuses on practices related to the vendor’s specialty. For instance, a photographer is asked a different set of questions than a baker or florist. A company’s rating reflects how green its practices are when compared to similar businesses.

4. What does a company's Leaf Rating mean, and how are they verified?

The Green Leaf Rating System has been designed to quickly and easily assess a company’s commitment to the environment.

A business that incorporates many general green practices, such as using recycled paper in the office, traveling by public transportation, or utilizing green web hosting, can earn a high Leaf Rating even if it does not exclusively offer green products or services.

Due to the nature of the Leaf Rating System, most companies only qualify for two or three leaves. As this is a self-reporting system, we trust our vendors’ integrity and ask them to report honestly. By completing our application, businesses certify that their answers are true and accurate.*

5. What are the criteria to be approved for the Green Wedding Directory?

To become an approved green vendor and be listed in our directory, a business must earn at least one green leaf. However, there are no specific green practices that a company must have in order to be approved; many different combinations of eco-friendly practices equal one leaf.

6. How can vendors determine if their business will qualify?

We encourage all vendors to apply through our system, whether they incorporate a few small green touches or are a certified green business. Since visitors to our website have a wide range of knowledge and interest in the green movement, we seek to provide a range of resources to meet everyone’s needs. We encourage companies to be as green as they can be, but we do not expect everyone that applies to earn five leaves. We believe that "going green" is a process and applaud our vendors for the steps they have taken to decrease their environmental impact. 

Approved vendors become part of our network and have access to tips and up-to-date information on trends in green business, so they can continue to incorporate more green practices and learn how to effectively market themselves as green vendors. The Green Bride Guide also offers resources and assistance to help businesses that do not initially qualify, but wish to create a more eco-friendly company.

7. How will vendors know if they are approved?

Once a week, we review vendor applications and publish new listings. Approved companies receive an email with our welcome materials and a link to their listing.  

Those that do not qualify will also be notified, and provided with tips and resources for greening their business so they can re-apply after implementing eco-friendly practices.

8. How can vendors increase their Green Leaf Rating?

We encourage vendors to use the Green Leaf Rating System as a guide to help them adopt more green practices.

Using the Leaf Rating System as a blueprint, vendors can review the specific criteria affecting their ratings, and find opportunities for incorporating more eco-friendly practices to increase it. Green opportunities may range from small steps that can be implemented immediately for little cost, to larger investments that can be adopted over time.

No matter what their business model, budget, or resources, vendors can find ways to incorporate eco-friendly elements into their day-to-day operations. Our educational resources help each company find the green solutions that work for them to increase their Green Leaf Rating and lower their company’s impact on the environment.
 
9. How often can vendors update their listings?

Using the log-in on our homepage, vendors can access their accounts at any time and edit any information they wish.

Our vendors are encouraged to use our simple system to update their profiles to reflect new initiatives, new contact information, etc. Businesses are responsible for keeping the information about their company and products up-to-date.

When new green practices are added to a vendor listing, the system will automatically update the leaf rating to reflect these changes.

10. Does Green Bride Guide monitor or edit customer reviews on vendor profiles?

While we do monitor customer reviews as they come in, and read them carefully before they go live on our site, we do not edit their content. We reserve the right to exclude any review that includes profane, derogatory or hurtful language. Unfiltered customer feedback is important to the credibility of our Directory, so all posted reviews are unedited.

11. How can vendors advertise their Green Wedding Directory listings?

Once a vendor's listings are approved, they receive our “Approved Green Vendor” badge. We encourage them to display their Approved Green Vendor badge on their website and in their printed materials, to let people know they are credible green vendors with a proven track-record.

Approved Green Vendors can also request a custom-designed table tent to display on a shop counter or at shows. Table tents are 6” high and have the same logo as our digital Approved Green Vendor badge. 

The right to use the Green Bride Guide Approved Green Vendor badge and logo is a revocable privilege and the actual Green Leaf Rating and design remains the copyright of GreenBrideGuide.com

12. Can green vendors sell their products directly through the Green Bride Guide website?

We are currently working on building a Marketplace where vendors will have the capability to list and sell their green products directly to the many thousands of engaged couples who visit our site each month.

The Marketplace will launch in mid-2012, and having a vendor profile on the site is an essential first step for businesses who wish to participate in this new initiative.

Vendors who are interested in being part of the Marketplace when it launches should contact Samantha Grasso, our Shop Director.

13. What is the difference between a Featured listing and a National listing?

The top subscription levels in our directory are the Featured and National listings. Although they are priced the same and are considered to have the same value, the difference is in how these listings come up in search results. Featured listings are ideal for the localized vendor. With a Featured listing, a company will appear highlighted and at the top of all searches where they fit the category and region searched. For example, a photographer in Chicago with a Featured listing will come up at the top of all searches of the entire US, Chicago, Illinois or radius of the zip code entered, depending how a user is searching. Among the Featured listings in any search, companies are sorted by leaf rating.

National listings appear in all searches of the chosen category nationwide, and are not restricited by city, state or zip code. Instead of appearing at the top, they are filtered in among all of search results which are sorted by leaf rating-but appear in a much wider range of searches than the Featured listing. Higher leaf ratings appear closer to the top. National listings are ideal for online companies that can service the entire country, retailer stores with an online component, or other types of businesses that are not restricted by location.

*Note: Any vendor that over-rates a business or product will be removed. The Green Bride Guide compliance staff conducts random checks for accuracy, and visitors to the site are encouraged to flag companies that they believe are not honestly representing themselves. Flagged companies will be checked for accuracy as they are reported, and may be temporarily suspended during the investigation.