Tip of the Week
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Eat your Veggies (and wear them, too!) If you want to take a non-traditional approach to the typical flower bouquet and centerpieces, why not use vegetables? There are more leafy greens in season during the fall and winter months, plus, your centerpieces can function as an edible piece. Brightly colored radish and carrot boutonnieres are another great way to add a splash of color to a time of year when flowers are scarce in certain regions. Try a sculpted vegetable bouquet made to look like flowers, a bright purple head of cabbage or carry a broccoli, asparagus and artichoke arrangement with beautiful dark green kale tucked inside. Image Credit: Rootedinloveweddings.wordpress.com |
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Green Your Halloween You can green your Halloween wedding in both big and small ways. It all depends on what you can handle budget and time-wise and what is most important to you. If you want to avoid several bags of trash at the end of the night, use reusable and compostable cutlery and serving ware. Prepare your dips and other treats in real pumpkins and compost them afterwards. Ask your caterer to serve desserts in glassware instead of plastic and request that organic, local and seasonal ingredients be used in everything you eat. Use decorations from year's past or look for neat vintage decor and more to give your halloween party a classy old school vibe. Image Credit: Glorious Treats |
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Choose Recycled Sterling Silver and Gold Jewelry Metals are mined from the earth, and mining is a dirty business. Some of the perils include soil, water, and air pollution; deforestation; human rights violations; worker injuries and the displacement and marginalization of local communities. The "No Dirty Gold" campaign estimates that the gold used to create one ring produces twenty tons of mining waste. When you buy rings and jewelry made from recycled materials you are supporting green businesses and avoiding the demand for new metals and more unsafe mining practices. Look for a local jeweler in your area who uses recycled metals and ethically produced gemstones in all of their designs. Image Credit: Rutilated Quartz Engagement Ring by BendTheFish on Etsy |
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Dress in Eco-Chic Couture Couture is perfect for brides. Not only do these high quality custom designs flatter a woman's shape, but they also are unique constructions made from the best materials and designed especially for the wearer. More green fashion designers are hitting the runways every year. Look for wedding gowns made from hemp, organic cotton, peace silk, vintage fabrics, bamboo and tencel. You won't have to worry about harsh dyes or chemicals in your gown since organic fabrics do not contain bleach or pesticides. Find your dream green dress today. Image Credit: GreenBrideGuide.com |
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Green Your Photography Many photographers and videographers offer earth-friendly products and services for your wedding ceremony. Some make small changes, like using recycled paper in their offices or photo developing chemicals with less abrasive and harsh side effects on the earth. Many camera companies now use recycled plastics for their products or green batteries. These are rechargeable and recyclable and actually deliver more energy than typical Nickel Cadmium batteries. Ask your photographer if they offer eco-friendly photo album packages on recycled, acid free papers, or if you want to skip the album, go digital and create a wedding album or photo collage without the paper waste. To store your camera there are bags made with sustainable fabrics made from recycled plastic bottles. For your honeymoon, you can repurpose camera straps from seat belt buckles or other sustainable materials so that you can easily carry your camera around on your neck with a strap made from reused parts and fabrics. |
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Donate Your Dress Purchase a once-worn designer gown at deep discounts, and help a worthy cause! Brides Against Breast Cancer's National Tour of Gowns is a series of traveling gown shows that are chock full of couture wedding dresses at a fraction of their retail price. Breast cancer affects one in seven women. Every purchase helps grant a wish for a terminally ill woman with breast cancer. You can also find places that accept your old bridesmaids dresses for breast cancer charities and other worthy causes. Princess Project and Donate My Dress both accept formal dresses of all kinds to give teens the opportunity to attend formals and weddings in style. Image Credit: Emmalinebride.com |
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Fashion Forward Fall Trends Green weddings are gaining in popularity in 2013 and eco-couture wedding dress designers are not far behind! Choose organic cotton dresses over just plain old "cotton" which is one of the most heavily pesticided crops on the planet. Peace silk, hemp, jute, tencel and more are amazing to work with and make for elegant wedding dress material. You won't have to worry about your dress looking like a hemp sack--more and more eco-couture designers are coming out with amazing dresses. This year detailed open backs, layering, sashes, pastel shades and neutral tones are all the rage. You can find any of these style trends in sustainable fabrics. Image Credit: Dresses by Claire Pettibone, AppleBrides.com |
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Autumnal Acorn Accents Think of all the ways you can adorn your autumn wedding using fall accents. Our current favorite is the acorn! You can create acorn napkin rings, picture frames, jewelry and even mini wax filled candles. While you are out collecting, think about other natural items that you can turn into beautiful decor. Dried fall leaves can be decoupaged to a white pumpkin for a beautiful effect. Pillar candles can be adorned with twine, a pretty charm and an acorn, too. Press fall leaves into a plain white recycled paper guestbook and you have a beautiful autumn book for guests to sign. Sheaths of wheat, gourds, and cattails also look beautiful in vintage vases or scattered along your aisle. Image Credit: Tipnut.com |
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An Autumn Wedding That's Nice as Pie Pie brings us back to a time when everything was made from scratch. It reminds us of our grandmother's kitchens and rolling out dough with aprons on. If you serve pie at your wedding you can highlight the local fruits in your area or make the pies ahead of time and freeze them. Ask your local baker if they can provide you with organic flour and cage free eggs. Instead of getting stuck with the traditional vanilla or chocolate wedding cake, a pie offers so many options: cherry, berry, pecan, apple, pumpkin and coconut cream are just a few. Pies are also less expensive than wedding cakes and you can enlist the help of friends and family to bake several pies. Not everyone knows how to make a wedding cake, but it is far easier to find those who can piece together a great pie. For a rustic presentation, place pretty wood stands down for the hot pies to rest on instead of plastic dishware. Place a different type of pie at each dinner table and encourage guests to mingle when they cross paths at the cherry pie table or the key lime pie corner. Image Credit: Newport Wedding Glam |
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An Ice Cold Brew? "I Do!" Craft beers are the latest wedding craze to permeate the United States. Luckily, many craft beers are also organic, so this is a great green wedding idea for those who love to pour the perfect head. Try some unique approaches such as craft beer flights in place of cheaper run-of-the-mill beers. Craft beers provide endless flavors, beautiful colors and a classier spin on beer. You can send guests home with organic beer making kits or bottle up some of your favorite from the brewery where your wedding is taking place and ask for a personalized label. If beer is not your drink of choice, consider a vineyard wedding with biodynamic wines and a stunning natural backdrop to boot! Image Credit: Fabarla.com |
