Posted by ecoadmin in Green Event Planning, Living Green

Here is a cheat sheet of the eco-friendly components I included in my wedding, as well as some pictures of the day.  If you want more detail, or ideas on how to go green for your big day, please read below…otherwise, just check out the photos and download the cheat sheet of what I did to start help get your creativity pumping!

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GOING DEEP INTO THE DETAILS

THE DRESS

So it goes without saying, this is a very important part of this whole ordeal.  Before I got engaged, I remember thinking the number of wedding magazines was excessive, but as a “bride to be” I was thankful to be able to take a look at practically everything that was out there.

As part of my research, I spent several months online looking into particular designers and buying magazines as I traveled for my job.  I got bridal magazines showcasing the local details and dresses when I was in and out of airports across the country.  My wedding ended up being – northern California meets New York Style, with a touch of Philly flare.

It goes without saying that your dress can be anything you want it to be.  If you are looking for a green option for your dress, you can go in several directions.

VINTAGE

If you are buying vintage, there are tons of great online resources for you to browse. If you specifically want a vintage dress, check out Vintage Wedding, Cherished Bride, and The Frock. Also start looking around your local thrift stores and consignment shops, because you never know where you may find your dress.

If you decide you want to buy a vintage dress, keep in mind that dresses can be altered to fit you if they are too big, but not very easily if they are too small.

ECO CONSCIOUS DESIGNERS

If you want to go eco-friendly, but vintage is not your thing, there are several designers and that re using organic materials and environmentally friendly fabrics.  Below are just a few:

• Adele Wechsler – She has an Eco Couture dress line with beautiful dresses made from organic materials and vegetable dyes.  She designs each dress with features from the environment in mind.
• Annatarian – Unique dresses from vintage remnant fabrics along with bamboo, organic cotton, peace silk.
• Nicole Lenzen – NY-based wedding dress designer does custom dresses and gowns with eco-friendly fabrics
• Olivia Luca – Portland-based custom dressmaker for both brides and bridesmaids.
• Tara Lynn – Designed Miss Vermont’s Pageant Gown, and creates handmade wedding gowns from hemp with beautiful appliques.
• Leanne Marshall – Eco-star from Project Runway, who designed a short wedding dress from hemp silk, bamboo and cotton.
• Natural Bridals – Atlanta-based designer whose gowns are glamorous, unique and have a bit of southern charm.
• Poetic Justice Gowns – Charlotte, NC-based designer with sweet handmade dresses.
• Puridee – Santa Monica-based designer with absolutely stunning flowing gowns, that look and probably feel like wearing a nightgown.
• Threadhead Creations, Rawganique, and Conscious Clothing – All three carry dresses for those looking for something simple, natural and sustainably-made.
• Wai-Ching Bridal – Seattle-based designer with exotically hand-dyed, and luxuriously handmade dresses to order using peace silk and hemp fabrics.

WHAT I DID

My wedding dress was a design called “Sunray” in lemon crème and came from Adele Wechsler’s “Eco Couture” line.  The beauty of this dress was the intricacy in its simplicity.  I loved this dress, it was perfect for my big day and when I was done, I wanted to be sure someone else could enjoy it as much as I did.  After I returned from our honeymoon, I had my dress cleaned and prepared for another bride to be.

WHAT TO EXPECT

You will need to schedule an appointment at the bridal boutiques you wish to visit.  I chose the boutiques I wanted to visit by searching for places that had designers I recognized from my style search.

I had no idea what to expect when I went into a bridal fitting.  I scoured the Internet for what I would need, grabbed all of the magazine pages I had torn from my magazines, and headed into my first bridal boutique.

I am not going to lie to you, if you are a private person you will need to get over it…and fast.

After you have selected several dresses, you are taken back into a large fitting room with mirrored walls.  An associate will get you into the first dress that you have chosen, you evaluate.  The whole thing seems pretty tame, but before you know it, you have dresses flying on and off your body at the pace of a tornado.  These things go over your head and get zipped, tied, and buttoned before you have time to catch your breath.  If you were not being treated like a princess during the entire ordeal, a girl might consider herself slightly violated if unprepared.

Here are a list of things you should keep in mind before you go to the boutique:

• Minimize your entourage.  It may seem like fun to have a little mini party with several people helping you choose your dress, but trust me, when it comes to making this choice less is more in the opinions department
• Trust the professionals.  You have a lot of people in your ear when you are choosing your dress, but there is only one person who gets paid for their knowledge on the subject
• Wear a strapless, white bra
• Do not wear a lot of makeup so you avoid getting it on all of the fabulous dresses
• Make sure you have on white undies that will minimize lines
• Plan your meal so you are not bloated before you go into your fitting

CEREMONY DETAILS

THE LOCATION

Picking your ceremony location says a lot about what is important to you, and helps your guests discover cool places around where you live.

WHAT I DID

I got married at Tyler Arboretum, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving horticultural, historic, and natural resources. Tyler Arboretum encompasses 650 acres of renowned plant collections, champion trees, historic buildings, and 20 miles of hiking trails through woodlands, wetlands, and meadows.

THE FLOWERS

Every wedding needs gorgeous flowers!  Going sustainable with flowers includes things like going with a local grower and florist, and making sure you incorporate things you can re-use to minimize the amount of fresh cut flowers.

WHAT I DID

Nancy Schreiber, a Chester County gardener and florist, designed the floral arrangements for my wedding. Nancy used locally grown flowers in all aspects of the ceremony and the boutonnières on the groom and best man are designed from hops grown in her backyard.   At the ceremony, Nancy suggested we use bushes and shrubs with bright accents in decorative pots to make the ceremony pop in the beauty of the arboretum.  The other benefit of using bushes and shrubs is that they can be reused and planted in your backyard after the ceremony!

TRANSPORTATION

You really only need to think about transportation if your ceremony and reception are in two different locations.  You may also want to consider providing public transportation routes in and around your wedding for guests who decide to make the wedding a vacation and stay for a couple of days before or after your big day!

WHAT I DID

We rented two school buses to shuttle all of our guests from the ceremony to the reception at the Westin Hotel in Philadelphia.  Using buses lowers the carbon footprint of their wedding by reducing the number of cars on the road as a result of the festivities.

RECEPTION DETAILS

GIFTS FOR KIDS

If you are having kids at your wedding, you will want to think of a way to keep them entertained while their parents are enjoying your big day.  Some people hire a babysitter and have them take the kids in a separate room while the parents are enjoying the reception, and other people let the kids join in the big day with their parents.

WHAT I DID

We had parents and kids stay with each other since many of the children at our wedding were fairly young.  Welcome bags for families with children include boxes of Eco-Planet cookies (small cookies shaped like windmills, electric cars, etc), coloring books and a copy of the Earth-Friendly Edition of The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss.

FAVORS

Wedding favors are often the detail that takes the most time and preparation because you have to create so many of the same thing.  I saw some really cool ideas for favors, like hand-sewn sunglasses cases from felt, but I opted to go with candy because most people forget their favors anyway, and who doesn’t like a sweet snack before the meal

WHAT I DID

Each guest at our wedding received a terra cotta pot filled with candy and lollypop shaped as a flower.  A tag announcing we offset the carbon footprint for all of our guest’s travel was attached to each terra cotta pot and a card explaining how we calculated our wedding footprint was placed on each table.

CENTERPIECES

Centerpieces can be a very expensive undertaking, and are often very wasteful because any fresh cut flowers are thrown out after the festivities.  Finding cool and unique things to do for the tables can show your individuality and can accent your commitment to being green!

WHAT I DID

I used glass cylinders that house river rocks, a white unscented pillar candle, a couple of green mums, and water to create a clean and relaxed look.  Using this centerpiece, as opposed to a traditional centerpiece, cuts down on the amount of fresh cut flowers that end up getting thrown away at the end of the celebration.

FOOD

Depending on the place you choose for your reception, you can do your entire reception with sustainably-farmed food.  Many places have some sort of menu with this in mind, so be sure to ask when you are looking at locations.

WHAT I DID

The menu at the Westin Hotel in Philadelphia is based on sustainable, locally grown items.  This includes locally grown produce, locally raised meats, cage free eggs, and hormone free meat.

OTHER DETAILS

WELCOME BAGS

Welcome bags are small things that really help your guests feel welcome when they are traveling in from out of town.  Inside you will want to include a little note to say thank you for coming to your big day, the directions to the ceremony and reception, and a few little snacks for them to have in their hotel room when they arrive.  The morning your guests are due to arrive, you will want to head to the hotels where they are staying and drop them off at the front desk so they receive the bags when they check in.

WHAT I DID

I chose items for the welcome bags that could be purchased in bulk orders to reduce the amount of packaging and waste.  I also included a little note and some directions to places close by they may want to check out.  The welcome bags were made from recycled paper and we made sure to include the URL for our wedding website again so they had access to all of the information we supplied for our guests.

HAIR AND MAKEUP

Many brides already have products they are comfortable with, and are not interested in rocking the boat on one of the biggest day of their lives.  If that is you, go for it girl, the last thing I want to do is come between a girl and her products!  However, if you are interested in going green in as many ways as possible, do some research and try some things out a few months before your wedding.  You may find you like a green alternative better than what you are used to.

WHAT I DID

All of my styling products came from Aveda, a hair care company that uses organic and naturally derived ingredients all of their styling products.  A stylist from Jean Madeline, (an Aveda salon), designed the hairstyles for me on my big day.  My makeup choices for the ceremony include a combination of Aveda and the Plant Love line of Cargo cosmetics.

CUFFLINKS

There are a lot of cool and subtle things you can do for the groom that are green and look manly.  Online research will be your best friend here, but thinking about things like the cufflinks, shoes, and boutonniere are a good place to start.

WHAT I DID

The cufflinks for my husband and his Best Man were crafted from sterling silver and recycled vintage typewriter keys.  I bought theirs at www.eco-artware.com, but they can also be found on Etsy (www.etsy.com).

GIFTS FOR BRIDESMAIDS AND ATTENDANTS

Gifts for bridesmaids and attendants are a way for you to get creative with the green theme and will help the special people you have chosen to be part of your day remember your wedding.

WHAT I DID

I bought my matron of honor and her attendants a guide to “green” beauty and a Plant Love makeup from Cargo.  Plant Love is an eco-friendly beauty line that features a collection of 20 lipsticks, many designed by Hollywood stars, that are cased in tubes made entirely of corn.  The lipsticks are packaged in flower paper boxes that contain wildflower seeds and can be planted in your garden.  The Plant Love line from Cargo is designed with the environment in mind.

YOUR WEDDING’S CARBON FOOTPRINT

Offsetting your carbon footprint is one of the most eco-conscious things you can do and it is relatively inexpensive in the grand scheme of things.  By purchasing offsets for your guests travel, whether they come to your big day by car or by airplane, sends a clear message about your commitment to the environment.

WHAT I DID

Since I am a partner in an environmental consulting firm that specializes in carbon footprint analysis and offsetting, I offset my “wedding footprint” by using the carbon calculator on our website (www.sustainourplanet.com).  I input all of the flight information for guests traveling by plane, vehicle mileage for guests traveling by car, and the carbon footprint created by the bus going to and from the ceremony.  At each table, guests receive information about what a carbon footprint is and how our wedding footprint was calculated.