Eco-Friendly for Every Budget

There are very traditional dances in a wedding: the bride and...

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:07:00 -0400

There are very traditional dances in a wedding: the bride and groom’s first dance, the bride with her father, the groom with his mother. But why not have another dance? Check out this groom’s surprise dance for his Mrs. to none other than Justin Beiber!

5 Tips for Stylish and Sustainable Green Grooms! Samantha...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 15:21:15 -0400

5 Tips for Stylish and Sustainable Green Grooms!

Samantha Abrams is back with part II of her green style blog. In this piece, she tackles eco-friendly choices for green grooms!

Many of the same ideas for repurposing/recycling bridesmaids dresses also work well for recycling tuxedos, vests, and ties—and men’s formal wear tends to be much more “scalable” for other formal and semi-formal occasions.

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Wedding Day Childcare: Keeping Kids Happy Kids bring so much...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:21:54 -0400

Wedding Day Childcare: Keeping Kids Happy

Kids bring so much excitement and fun to a wedding! They hide under tables, dance with abandon, and bring joy to everyone’s hearts with their laughter. If you’re older than 25, chances are good that many of your friends will have children. You may also have a lot of kids in your extended family. Inviting kids to your celebration is a great idea, provided you consider their needs. Kids can be difficult sometimes so try to anticipate potential problems before they arise. Give younger guests some engaging activities or toys to play with and try to arrange the space so they have somewhere to congregate together. A group of happy kids makes any event more fun. If you’re not sure how to handle a particular child (perhaps he has allergies or is very shy) don’t be afraid to consult with the parents. Chances are the parents will have lots of their own ideas for how to keep their youngster happy.

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Going Green is a Picnic in the Park! Central Park, that...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 11:27:23 -0400

Going Green is a Picnic in the Park!

Central Park, that is!

Who says you have to have carefully decorated tables with place cards, favors, centerpieces, napkin rings, and the kitchen sink? While it’s nice to serve food (especially if your wedding is a multi-hour affair) you don’t have to create a restaurant-like atmosphere. Have an eco-chic picnic in beautiful Central Park!

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Beautiful Seed Paper Styles Seed paper is a popular...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 11:13:39 -0400

Beautiful Seed Paper Styles

Seed paper is a popular eco-friendly item, and for good reason. They are symbolically powerful—seeds represent your new love and the growth of your relationship over time—and they are ecologically powerful (for obvious reasons). Planting a seed is a healing act. Watching a seedling grow tall and strong is one of the great joys that nature has to offer. Not only is seed paper 100% sustainable, it actually gives back. It’s carbon negative! Seed paper comes in many different styles and it can be used for myriad wedding-related purposes including invitations, place cards, seed holders, and decorations. Remember: seeds are regionally specific. It is very important to make sure the seed paper you use isn’t going to be spreading invasive species in new environments. Include information on where your seeds should be planted. If your guests live outside the geographically appropriate zone for your seeds, they should germinate their paper indoors.

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Outdoor Casual: The Wedding BBQ Sometimes a casual wedding can...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 11:07:00 -0400

Outdoor Casual: The Wedding BBQ

Sometimes a casual wedding can make a more lasting impression than a complex, formal affair. When guests are relaxed, they have genuine fun. They can take their shoes off, run on the lawn, eat with their fingers, and celebrate with raucous abandon. If you’re a card-carrying member of a rowdy group of friends that enjoys a good cookout, embrace your true nature with a backyard barbeque! There’s no reason to be formal if you heart is fancy free. Your wedding should reflect your idea of the perfect day. If that means backyard volleyball, a pool party, and a long picnic table packed with every possible variety of pasta salad, go for it! Even the most casual barbeque can be eco-friendly. You don’t need to sacrifice taste and fun for the Earth. Just make a few smart choices and your wedding BBQ will be the highlight of everyone’s summer.

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Eco-Friendly Pre-Wedding Fitness and Relaxation: Go...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 10:59:47 -0400

Eco-Friendly Pre-Wedding Fitness and Relaxation: Go Yoga!

Yoga is often touted as the cure-all fitness answer. Celebrities are always photographed walking around LA with their rolled-up yoga mats tucked under their arms. Experts make all sorts of claims about its benefits—from weight loss to anxiety reduction to improved focus—but, until recently, I was skeptical. I love exercising and care deeply about fitness but I was suspicious about the claims. I like to see hard, scientific evidence of a practice’s efficacy. I guess I’ve been burned one too many times by the media machine. I just assumed yoga was like diet pills, juice cleanses, or starvation diets: a seductively quick fix designed to make someone money. In the end, quick fixes never really last, and sometimes they do more harm than good. But then, a few months ago, I started having really bad anxiety. It was starting to interfere with my life in profound ways. I wasn’t seeing friends, wasn’t sleeping, and could barely eat. I was almost ready to start taking medication when a friend convinced me to try yoga.

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Green grooms!

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:28:39 -0400

Green grooms!

Rita and Jim Head Celebrate Second Wedding at Green...

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:19:25 -0400

Rita and Jim Head Celebrate Second Wedding at Green Resort

James Head and his bride, Rita, wanted a simple beachside wedding. “This was a second marriage for both of us,” he said. “We wanted to focus on us, and didn’t want the attention and complexity that comes with an elaborate wedding.” When they couldn’t find a pastor in Antigua who would officiate their dream wedding on the beach, James and Rita decided to double up: The ceremony was held at their local church in Maryland. Six days later, they renewed their vows on the shores of the Caribbean Sea, at the Galley Bay Resort & Spa. “What seemed like a setback or disappointment at first turned out to be a mixed blessing,” James said.

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Must Have Makeup Picks for your Honeymoon! The eco-conscious...

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:10:36 -0400

Must Have Makeup Picks for your Honeymoon!

The eco-conscious bride does not need to forgo makeup or the perfect hairdo in order to be green. However, before you sign over your face and hair to the salon stylist, educate yourself about product alternatives. If you want it all professionally done, find a salon that uses some of these eco-lines: “green,” “organic,” or “eco.” Suggest these to your stylist or buy your own products. This has the added advantage of allowing you to look eco-fabulous after your wedding day and well into your honeymoon!

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Eco Honeymoon Highlights: Amazing Green Friendly...

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 11:55:03 -0400

Eco Honeymoon Highlights: Amazing Green Friendly Adventures

Your honeymoon should be the perfect combination of magic, romance and excitement. It should bring you somewhere you’ve always wanted to go, or somewhere that sets just the right stage for you and your new bride or groom. It doesn’t have to be exotic, but exotic sure is fun! Here are some eco-luxurious honeymoon hotspots to tempt and enthrall. Elevate Destinations, a Green Bride Guide partner, specializes in high quality eco-luxury, from the ocean to the forest and everything in between. We’ve got some custom honeymoons designed to be green and fabulous, no holds barred!

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Repurposed Jewelry for Your Big Day I had no idea what jewelry...

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 11:45:38 -0400

Repurposed Jewelry for Your Big Day

I had no idea what jewelry to wear for my wedding. I don’t wear jewelry very often and when I do it’s usually something simple like a thin gold chain or an antique silver bracelet. Before my wedding, I was getting suggestions from all sides. My mother wanted me to wear her favorite necklace, my best friend wanted to put me in costume jewelry, and my fiancé was pushing for no jewelry at all. In my confusion I turned to Etsy, the Internet’s treasure trove of originality, cleverness, and style. I wanted something recycled, something that represented our eco-friendly theme, but it also had to be beautiful. I wanted my jewelry to have a story and I wanted it to be something unexpected. During my search I came across so many incredible pieces. I had a tricky color scheme and an antique dress so, while a lot of my finds were spectacular, they weren’t right for my wedding. That doesn’t mean they won’t be right for yours! Here are some of my favorite repurposed Etsy baubles.

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Getting started: Early Planning for the Perfect Green...

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 11:37:25 -0400

Getting started: Early Planning for the Perfect Green Wedding

Getting married is one of the most wonderful things in the world but it can also be one of the most stressful. On top of dealing with the multitudes of people who all have to coordinate their efforts—the caterers, florists, venue managers, musicians, officiant, photographers, etc.—there are the financial concerns. Unless you have the good fortune to have help (or are financially comfortable yourself) you may be wondering how you’re going to pay for everything. Your guests may also present some logistical hurdles: your sister hates her bridesmaid dress, your mom hates your prospective mother-in-law, and your aunt is allergic to everything. The headaches may seem endless but take heart! If you plan carefully at the beginning, your choices later will be much easier. Here are some early planning tips for your big day.

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Keeping Bridesmaids Eco-Friendly with Smart Dress...

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 11:28:28 -0400

Keeping Bridesmaids Eco-Friendly with Smart Dress Choices

Bridesmaids’ dresses are notoriously event-specific. Most bridesmaids only wear the dress once. It sits in their closets collecting dust while they enjoy being $1,000 poorer. It’s not an ideal situation for the bridesmaid or the planet. The bridesmaid may harbor resentment over the steep price tag and buying a dress that’s only worn once is a waste of effort, money, and materials (fabric, electricity, fossil fuels, and water). In many cases, bridesmaids look just as lovely in simpler, cheaper styles. Often, brides are heavily invested in a certain look. That’s okay but it may require a little bit of creative thinking. Think about practical cuts, everyday colors, and durable fabrics. If your bridesmaids can get wear out of their dresses, everybody wins. The bridesmaids get to enjoy a fancy new frock, the earth is saved from one more wasted dress, and you can feel good about how you handled the situation.

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Gussy Up Your Green Groom! Don’t let your groom fall to...

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 11:20:08 -0400

Gussy Up Your Green Groom!

Don’t let your groom fall to the wayside during the planning process. He can wear creative upcycled cufflinks that show off his personality and add a quirky touch to your wedding. These handcrafted vintage atlas custom cufflinks from Etsy are perfect for a traveler or anyone who loves vintage. Gift them to your groom on the day of your nuptials for a keepsake he’ll cherish for years to come. A vintage bowtie can also add flair to your wedding pictures!

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Photo

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 15:05:22 -0400

Eco-Friendly Atheism: A Skeptic’s Wedding Most people in...

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 12:23:00 -0400

Eco-Friendly Atheism: A Skeptic’s Wedding

Most people in the United States associate the traditional wedding with church. The movies are full of couples walking down an aisle with pews on either side. Stained glass colors the sunlight as a priest performs the ceremony. After the “I Do’s” the couple walks out the massive doors, hand-in-hand, while guests throw rice and snap photographs. It’s the quintessential American wedding and yet, an increasing number of Americans will never set foot inside a church. Atheism is on the rise and with it, Atheist couples: people who want to divorce religion from marriage entirely (so to speak). My husband and I are Atheists and we’re also self-identified skeptics. This is another growing movement of people who value critical thinking, logic, and fact-based reasoning over superstition, hearsay, mysticism, and bad science.

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Eco-Friendly Sunglasses for your Afternoon Outdoors So, you’ve...

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 11:53:58 -0400

Eco-Friendly Sunglasses for your Afternoon Outdoors

So, you’ve decided to get married outside, surrounded by the beauty of nature—the birds, grass, trees, and flowers. You’re excited to stand in a field or by a forest, on the beach or near the mountains, to commit yourself to the person that you love more than anyone else in the whole world. While you’re fantasizing about your ceremony and subsequent outdoor fiesta, you may not be thinking a whole lot about the sun. Strong sun has put a damper on many an outdoor wedding, as brides and grooms squint to see their loved ones and guests shield their eyes during the most important moments. Protect your eyes with some eco-friendly shades and put your anxieties aside! You’ll be elegant, like a Hollywood actor or actress, while you enjoy the comfortable brightness of your partner’s glowing face. Eco-friendly frames are made from 100% sustainable and biodegradable materials. Many of them are surprisingly inexpensive to boot!

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A Clever Recycling Strategy: Coordinate! You’ve chosen your...

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 16:05:11 -0400

A Clever Recycling Strategy: Coordinate!

You’ve chosen your venue and the date of your wedding. Congratulations! It’s so exciting to know where the big day will be happening. Now you can picture yourself standing in the space. You can start to envision your decorations and tables. Now the planning really begins! Unfortunately, for many couples, the planning gets out of control rather quickly. For example, I had no idea I’d have to pay for chair covers, candles and napkin rings. When every detail costs money, it’s way too easy to go over budget. Save money, time, and the environment by coordinating with other couples getting married in your venue on the same weekend. Many couples will be happy to share, especially if you offer to split the cost. This is a twist on another new and fabulous eco-wedding strategy: the wedding co-op. While co-ops involve multiple couples and can involve multiple venues, dates, and styles, coordinating with other couples using your venue is much simpler. This works especially well for outdoor weddings but it’s a great strategy for any style of celebration.

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Play it Safe: Eco Self-Care the Week Before Your Wedding You’ve...

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 15:59:00 -0400

Play it Safe: Eco Self-Care the Week Before Your Wedding

You’ve finally finished planning! The RSVPs are in, the food is paid for, the venue is prepped, the decorations are done, and the dress is hanging in your closet (covered in eighteen layers of protective plastic no doubt). Everyone in your life is telling you to relax and rest up but that may feel completely impossible. Instead, you’re sitting at home obsessively going over every last detail. You may be tempted to do something wild in your last week as an unmarried person. You may be considering a wild night of drinking or an intensive day at the spa but be careful! Anything you do to your body this week will likely still be in effect on your wedding day. This is a time to take care of yourself and to avoid anything that could have disastrously unexpected consequences. Here are some tips for playing it safe during your pre-wedding week. Some of them offer eco-friendly alternatives to the pre-wedding-week preparations while others are just common sense.

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