July 2007

Love, organically grown.

Image from TahoesBest

From this day forward...Start planning a sustainable future with you wedding as the stepping stone. Why not start off this new step in your lives by making socially responsible choices from this day forward! Go green! From the paper you use for your save-the-dates to the food your consume at your reception, you can make ethical, socially responsible carbon reducing decisions that will impact your future! Spend responsibly. Donate. Reuse. Recycle.

Here are some idea's that have recently caught our interest. Enjoy!

Eco Savvy Wedding Magazine!

Portovert Magazine. This magazine touts itself at the first ever magazine for Eco savvyy brides and grooms! There are three issues on their website. The premier issue (image above) a March and a May. I hope to see July's issue soon!

Here is a related article about this new magazine at lohas.com

An Eco Friendly Planning Book!

Available all over the Internet and at Cokesbury religious Supply catalog! This book will help guide you through planning a Eco friendly wedding! $19.96 with this link.

The Dress!

The dress on the left is from Rowganioue.com. From their site:

Organic European hemp and wild raw silk: a dream come true...on your wedding day. Recently, the mainstream media have been picking up on the new trend in weddings, which really is one of the oldest "trend" of all: organic hemp wedding clothes (in Japan, hemp is the traditional fabric of choice for the bride and groom). Our sustainably-made eco-elegant organic hemp wedding gowns and suits have been extensively covered in the media, including such magazines and newspapers as The Washington Post, Instyle Magazine, Natural Home Magazine, USA Today, and more.

The dress in the middle is from Threadhead Creations.

From their site:

Each of our clothing items is individually handcrafted, meaning no imports,outsourcing or mass production. Here you will find hemp and cotton clothing forall styles and sizes.

Dress on the bottom: Conscious Clothing:

The fabric of the gown, produced by Santa Fe (N.M.)-based Conscious Clothing, is a hemp/silk blend in a satin weave. The fibers are 60% hemp, 40% silk.

The Rings!

On the left: GreenKarat - Effecting Change Through Recycled Gold - Responsible indulgences! We love the statement! On the right: Sumiche jewelry certified eco-gold and conflict free diamonds.

Read more about 'Conflict Diamonds' here on our site.

Read more about the issues of 'Dirty Gold' here at NoDirtyGold!

Paper Products!

Left: Favor from tenderseedcompany.com Right: from Custompaper. Made from recycled
Post consumer used, chlorine free/bleach free recycled paper! Palatable papers, handmade paper you make yourself! Use hemp or knaf paper for a tree free event.

The Flowers!

OrganicBouquet to the left. Lavender from LocalHarvest. Two pounds for $49.85! Next, CaliforniaOrganicFlowers has a 'kit' just for weddings.
What is more natural than flowers?! Nothing, as long as they are grown correctly. Have a pesticide free wedding! Read this article by Cait Johnson, Assistant Producer, Care2 Healthy Living Channels, then choose a -local- florist or farm that can assure you that your roses came straight from the earth showered with nothing but love.
How about using dried lavender instead of rose petals for guests to toss as you recess? 100% bio degradable!

Favors!

From GreenWorldProject! Why give a picture frame or bottle opener? many of these items never make it home and if they do, are left in a drawer.Give something that will grow.

Rice paper napkins & water soluble tossing confetti!

Get these rice paper napkins (top) from Ecoparti! Many colors and prints to choose from! One hundred percent bio-degradable. Again Ecoparti does it right (below) with biodegradable and water soluble tossing confetti! Using tree alternative fibers in your paper goods is a great way to save a tree & the rain forest!

Organic catering!


This catering company; Back to Earth got Bride's magazine top trendsetter award in 2006!

Back to the Earth makes vegetarian and vegan dishes and uses local farmers for their goods.Many catering companies are realising that being socially conscious will bring them business. And right they are. We are here and have money to spend with the right folks doing business in the right ways.

More Way's to Go Green!

Carpool! Set up a system. Keep 50 cars off the road by making a carpool easily accessible and well organized.
Linens Make your own. Use them after the wedding for your home tables. Convert extras into tablecloths, runners and place mats. Rent! Renting is an environmentally sound way to decorate your reception! Reuse with little to no waste!
Plastic! No more plastic forks! You know you can purchase bio degradable plates and utensils? Go here and find out more from BranchHome. How about renting silverware/ dishes and avoid the disposable aspect of your event all together.
And, to risk repeating ourselves, RENT! Rent the vases you use, theplates, the silverware, the linens. Rent and archway, rent a runner, Rent a flex car for your get away!

Links to the Best Eco Friendly Wedding Supplies , Articles,
Blogs and Advice

on Going Green with Your Wedding!

How to make your wedding Green!

Here at WikiHow.Com A fantastic article describing in wonderful detail how to have yourself an organic wedding! We highly suggest you read this article! All the advice found here is good and will bring you down to earth.
Eco-Chic Weddings - Our friends over at WeddingFinatic wrote a great articel on having a green wedding! Read it!
DIY Bride - 10 ways to go Green!
Better Homes and Gardens - A slideshow of idea's for an Eco Friendly Wedding.

Green Wedding Sites:

Green EleganceWeddings What a great site! A 12 month planning time line- Eco friendly!
OurGreenWeddingList.com - Has great tips on how to have a green wedding!
GreatGreenWedding
Blueskybridal - .From the site: There's no guilt when you shop at Blue Sky Bridal -- all of our bridal accessories and wedding dresses are organic, recycled, or fair-trade. Seattle based.
Ethical Weddings - A Blog that has a lot of great information. Check out the real weddings section! Join their forum and get their newsletter!

Gift Registries

Registerlocally - Register for your wedding gifts from local vendors who are eco friendly and socially correct.
This quote from their site:

Steer clear from registering at big-box stores. More money stays in communities when it is spent at local, independently owned businesses. For example, The Anderson Village Study determined that for every $100 spent in their stores, local businesses give back $68 to their local economy. By contrast, for every $100 spent in national chains, those companies return only $43.

Greenfibres - All things green. Gift registry!
GreenFeet - Great products and a gift registry.
HippyShopper - Get your gifts for your attendants here!

Party Supplies:

Ecoparti- All your party supplies from a small company that has ecologically friendly products!

CustomRibbon - Made of all the right stuff!
TheOrganicPages - Search for products and vendors that share your ethics and ideals.

Wedding Dresses:

Wholly Jo's - an ethical wedding gown designer and dressmaker based in Uxbridge, West London.
Bhive - has an online registry as well as many other products that makes this site a must visit.
GetConscious- Conscious Clothing since 1995. Very nice gowns!

Invitations and Paper Goods

NotFromATree- is a division of NotFromABox.In a nutshell, ALL of our wedding and party invitations are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled cardstock using soy-based inks

DragonflyCardDesigns - Ethically correct company.
CustomPaper from OfTheEarth - Not just paper, but ribbon, pressed and dried flowers as well.
CheapWeddingIdeas have some templates here that out great for open office and word! Check her site out while you are there!

Flowers

OrganiceFlowerGuide - Find vendors in your area!

Charitable Giving

The i do foundation Charatable Giving at it's best.

Living Green/ Eating Green

IdeaBite- A sassier shade of green. Love it!

TreeHugger A lot of great articles. Read Tree Hugger and find out that being Green may be easier than is seems.

Corbon-info - This article point sout the problem with corbon neutal. Find out all about it here.

Begreennow - Carbon Calcuator. Find out what you can do, with this handy calculator!

Bhive - What is organic cotton? Read this article and you'll be in the know. Wonderful products and resources as well.
OrganicConumers - How to be a green consumer and more.
LocalHarvest - Get local. Here is your first step!