Green Weddings #4~Flowers
Flowers
Your wedding flowers can be a place where you can make conscientious decisions, which can greatly affect the environment. Cut flowers, as you may already know, are quite toxic, both to the environment and to the workers who grow them. Choose a florist who uses organically grown, in-season, local flowers. This will remove the need for long-distance transportation. An interesting idea is to force your own bulbs in other words, grow your own flowers in your home. You’ll have to start a few months early, but you can grow anything from tulips and daffodils to begonias and pineapple lilies. There are also suppliers of organically farmed cut flowers that you can support. They have a fairly strict set of guidelines for growing practices to protect both the environment and the farm workers, and the flowers will be healthier for you and your guests to enjoy. You can also support your local farmers and buy your flowers at your local farmers market. Reuse your flowers that day by transforming ceremony flowers into table decorations at the reception. Similarly, ceremony decorations can be used to dress up the dance floor. After the party, donate them to a local hospital or senior citizen center or send them home with your guests. Another option is to have your centerpieces double as favors. Gather small perennials or baby bushes together and then have your guests take them home to plant.
Green Weddings #3~ Invitations and Stationary
Invitations and Stationary
Stationary makes up a big part of your wedding when you consider all of the places that paper can be used: engagement announcements save the date cards, shower invitations, shower thank you cards, wedding invitations, ceremony programs, place cards, menu cards, wedding announcements, and thank you cards. That’s a lot of paper, and often wedding invitations include non-recyclable elements such as plastic, so it all goes to landfill. Let your invitations set the tone of your wedding and let everyone know about your environmentally friendly wedding choice. Choose stationary that is made from post-consumer recycled paper, and stay away from bright whites, which use a lot of chemical bleach. You can also get tree-free paper that is made from recycled coffee beans, recycled denim, organic cotton, or hemp fiber. How about organic cotton invitations that contain wildflower seeds which will grow if planted? Your love can bloom literally as well as symbolically. Another option is to send save-the-dates through an email. There are many sites that provide this service for free and you can design it right there. Another option is to set up a wedding website and send the link to everyone. This is a fun way to display all of your wedding festivities and planning.
Green Weddings #2~Transportation
Transportation
Ideally, a local venue would be the most environmentally friendly choice. A local venue would cut down on transportation. When you’re transporting guests use vehicles, which run on LPG or bio-diesel, or hire a horse and carriage, rickshaws or cycles. If you have many guests traveling by cars, it may be more eco-friendly to hire a coach to transport them all. Having your reception and ceremony in one location will also reduce traveling. The main thing to remember here is to try to minimize the amount of driving your guests will need to do.
Green Weddings #1~Attire
Weddings in 2008 are going green and I don’t mean the color! Brides and grooms are becoming more conscious of the environment and incorporating eco friendly ideas. Turning your wedding green can be done in a variety of ways. The following series of posts will give you great ideas for every aspect of you wedding!
Attire
Ahhh… the wedding dress. It’s the first thing a bride thinks of when planning her wedding, but how can you make this an eco friendly choice? The most eco friendly way is to use a gown that has already been worn. You can find a great vintage style dress or even check out second hand stores and ebay. Another option is to wear your mother’s dress. A few alterations can bring a dated dress up-to-date in no time flat. Plus, this dress will have a sentimental value that the others lack. If having a new dress is important to you, consider earth friendly fabrics such as hemp, organic cotton, linen, tencel and silk.
Ditch the Bouquet!
Here is a brilliant idea! Instead of the traditional bouquets, ditch them altogether and have your bridesmaids carry fun parasols down the isle. You can save the traditional bouquet for yourself or join your bridesmaids in carrying a parasol of your own. There is a plethora of styles out there to choose from and this will add a bit of uniqueness to your wedding. This idea works best for an outside wedding with a more casual feel. This idea would probably not work as well in a cathedral. So keep your venue in mind when opting for this fun and unique idea!
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DIY Towel Cake
Bridal Shower Towel Cake
A towel cake is a fun and simple centerpiece idea for any bridal shower. This is a great table decoration that the bride can actually use again. This design is sure to be the hit of the party!
Materials and Tools:
Towel Sets – 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels and 2 wash cloths. – #3 or #5 widths. Any color (130 inches)
– Any color (1 bag of 100)
Silk Rose– Any color (1 ) Sharp Scissors, Measuring Tape or Ruler.
Step 1. Roll the Towels: Fold each hand towel in half lengthwise twice. Start with one end and roll the towels up as shown. Set aside. Repeat this process with the wash cloths. Fold each bath towel in half lengthwise and repeat the folding until the width of the towel is roughly 6″. Roll the two towels together in the same way as the hand towels. You should now have the three layers of the “cake.”
Step 2. Add the Ribbon: Cut the satin ribbon into 60″, 40″ and 30″ lengths. Tie the large piece around the bath towels as shown. Repeat for the other two cake layers. When complete, stack the cake layers starting with the largest layer at the bottom.
Step 3. Add the Details: Once the layers are stacked, move the cake to the final location. Pop the rose off of the stem and place it on top of the cake. Sprinkle rose petals around the cake, remembering to put a few on the layers.
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Sandsational Cake!
Having a beach themed wedding? Then this cake is perfect for you! I love how this simple design is made into a beach themed wonder. The design on the cake is reminiscent of waves, while the seashells add the beach aura. My favorite part, however, is the brown sugar that surrounds the cake to give the appearance of sand. The little couple is pretty cute as well. Don’t you think?
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Trend Alert~ Fruit!
The newest trend in the wedding scene is adding fruit to your centerpieces. Fruit is added to give a little spice to a traditional flower centerpiece. Fruit can go solo, piled high in hurricanes or decorative bowels, and make a stunning impression. It is also a great addition to centerpieces because of the wonderful colors available. Kiwi and lemons are a favorite among florists and deservedly so! They are beautiful to look at. When adding fruit to a centerpiece, keep in mind which fruit is in season for your wedding. You will want fruit that is in season so that is will be in its most beautiful state. It’s sometimes hard to find good fruit when it’s out of season.
Perfect Purple Inspiration
Purple is no newbie to wedding colors. (But it did get a revamp when Pantone named Orchid the color of the year!) Its a mature, romantic color that still brings a pop to your big day. If you’re planning a wedding, especially a Spring or Summer ceremony, consider using purple as your theme. Its a lovely way to bring freshness to the decor!
Check out our article on Orchid Weddings for even more purple inspiration! TRENDING: Orchid Weddings for Spring
And be sure to customize purple bachelorette party shirts!
