3 Reasons to “GO GREEN” for your Wedding.
1.Your big day can have a major impact on the environment: an Eco-Friendly Green Wedding can reduce that.
2. You want to share your “green” beliefs with your friends and family members and possibly inspire them to “go green” too.
3. You want to showcase your creative side by having a “Green” themed wedding.
Get into the Green of things
To get into the “green” of things, you and your fiancé’ should sit down and discuss your wants and idea’s for your day. From there, you can pin point different aspects and turn them green. Start by registering with venders that supply eco-friendly products with companies such as www.Greenfeet.com and www.naturalspace.com.
Stationary
You can have beautiful stationary and still be eco-friendly. Such websites as www.customepaper.com and www.greenfieldpaper.com use tree free or recycles paper for their wedding invitations and stationary while on the other hand; www.ecoparti.com and www.plantamemory.com offer a selection of plantable paper invitations and favors. You can also go the paper-less way by using websites such as www.evite.com and www.sendomatic.com that sends guests an invitation online. Another really creatively green thing to do is to make your own paper for your stationary. This allows you to completely control how you want your invitations to look. You can add seeds to make plantable paper or you can put dried flowers and herbs to give it a special look.
Homemade Paper
You will need
Lot’s of scrap paper (old bills, copy paper. Magazine pages are too glossy and newspaper will turn everything gray).
Wooden frames that should be a little larger than the size of the finished paper you want.
A window screen a little larger than the frame.
Staples and hand stapler or staple gun.
Old blender- one you don’t use for food processing *look in thrift stores.
A large rubber plastic tub.
Felt or wool larger than your frames, at least 2 per sheets of paper.
Sponge.
Rolling pin.
Additives for the paper: flowers, seeds, and herbs.
Cornstarch to mix into the slurry and make the paper easier to write on.
Flat or edgeless cookie sheet.
EXTRA’S: cookie-cutter shapes, an apron, extra towels and rags.
COLLECT a lot of scrap paper. Collect good paper- newspaper will turn everything gray; magazines are too glossy and will make everything gunky. Best choices are junk mail, office, computer and copy paper.
Rip your paper up into 1inch squares or shred it into small pieces. This helps to break down the fibers.
Once the paper is shredded, soak in the tub of warm water for at least 2 hour; soaking over night is preferable.
To make a mold, cut your window screen an inch or two larger than the frame then stretch it over the frame and staple it to the backside. If you want your paper to have straight edges you’ll want to use a second frame with no screen; this is called “deckle”. The deckle sits on the mold and defines the shape of the paper. If you want the uneven edges that are a characteristic of handmade paper, don’t bother with deckle.
After the paper is finished soaking, mix it up in your blender at the ratio of 1 cup of paper to 2-3 cups of water. Start with 2 cups; if the mixture is too thick and lumpy add another cup. You want it thick and slurry; like a really thick smoothie, not too watery or too runny. If you want to write on the paper, add a tablespoon of cornstarch. This is called “Sizing” and makes the paper less porous so it doesn’t absorb the ink.
Blend the mix on medium high until it has the consistency of thin oatmeal.
Experiment with colors adding food coloring.
Once your paper of blended into a slurry pulp, fill your tub with about 2 inches of water for every blender full of pulp.
Pour the pulp into the mold then lower the mold into the tub of water at an angle and shake to distribute the pulp evenly over the screen. If you are using a deckle, place it over the mold now, gently shake it back and forth and pull both the mold and deckle up out of the water tub gently. Let the water drain, allowing all the excess water to flow back into the tub.
If you don’t dip the pulp into the water this is the time to add materials such as seeds, flowers, and herbs. Mix them around or place them where you want them.
Use a sponge, to dry off the excess water off the back of the screen.
Lay a piece of felt or wool in top of the paper on the screen and turn the whole thing over- mold and all- onto a hard surface such as a flat edgeless cookie sheet. If the paper doesn’t come off easily, dry the back of the screen some more.
At this point, if you haven’t added your additives, you can do so at this time. You can also make imprints with leafs, or textured objects by pressing them against the paper. Leave the items there until the paper has dried.
Cover the paper with another piece of felt and roll over it with a rolling pin to bind the fibers together and to help imprint any designs. This will help your paper dry faster and flatter.
Let it dry for a day and then it will be ready to use.
Attire
The use of organic fabrics is becoming more popular as we move into an environmentally conscious era. Such designers as, DKNY, Calvin Klein, Ann Taylor and L.L. Bean, have used fabrics made from Hemp, Bamboo, Silk, and Tencel to create beautifully stylish garments. Using these organic fabrics can offer a beautiful gown while still being able to preserve the earth (www.getconscious.com). These fabrics aren’t just confined to wedding dressed, at www.bollorganic.com you can find organic cotton dress shirts for men and at www.olivialuca.com you can find bridesmaids and flower girl dresses.
Using organic fabrics isn’t the only way to tackle the 3 R’s motto. Buying gently used wedding gowns can also help. www.Makingmemories.com takes gently used bridal gowns and then resells them. The proceeds go to making wishes come true for breast cancer patients and www.blueshybridal.com takes 10% of their proceeds from each sale and donate it to charity.
Always a rule of thumb when trying to be eco-friendly, whatever you buy new, make sure you can use it again.
The Big Day
Choose a location that is beautiful without any to little decorations like a rose gardens, beach, museum’s, and art galleries. Forgo decorating with the crepe paper and balloon and try using ribbons, bows or something that can be recycled later. Rent or borrow what you can such as a trellis, gazebo, tables and chairs, unless you think you will need them again. Finding a location that can host both your ceremony and reception will save on gas for your guests as well as eliminate your out of town guests from getting lost.
Getting married on an exotic beach or location would be beautiful but your concern is that your family and friends wouldn’t be able to afford to attend. Web cast your wedding. Ranging between $250-$750 dollars this is great for families that cant travel to your location or if you want your wedding to take place in a unique destination such as The Hawaii or a cruise. Service should include reservation of your own web space, time of broadcast, an archive for those who missed it, and the option to download it later and save it on a DVD. www.Webcastmywedding.net www.Vowcast.com.
Flowers can be a beautiful addition to your wedding. Whether in the bouquet or as a centerpiece, they add life to the occasion but most flowers are treated with harmful chemicals to preserve quality during shipping. Choosing flowers from a certified organic florist not only is more eco-friendly, but for some flowers, they can be edible. What a treat for your guests to have a centerpiece that they can taste. Organicbouquet.com will ship their organic flowers directly to you. If you want to choose fake flowers, make sure to purchase the flowers made of natural products not synthetic.
Choose a “Green Photographers”. They are photographers who use digital cameras and upload their photos to a computer for you to view and choose the proofs you want. This saves paper and eliminates the use of harmful chemicals that are used in developing pictures. Say “NO” to disposable camera’s for your guests and encourage them to bring their digital camera and upload their photos onto www.shutterfly.com or www.flickr.com for an album that everyone has access to enjoy.
It is amazing the strides we are taking to preserve the earth and it’s environment
More and more people are going “green” but being environmentally conscious doesn’t stop at household products and eco-friendly vehicles. You can have a beautiful wedding and do it while being eco-friendly at the same time. For more info and support on a Green Wedding, visit any of the website’s below.
www.Greenfeet.com
www.naturalspace.com
www.customepaper.com
www.greenfieldpaper.com
www.ecoparti.com
www.plantamemory.com
www.evite.com
www.sendomatic.com
www.getconscious.com
www.bollorganic.com
www.olivialuca.com
www.Makingmemories.com
www.blueshybridal.com
www.Webcastmywedding.net
www.Vowcast.com
www.organicbouquet.com
www.flickr.com
www.shutterfly.com
www.coopamerica.org/pubs/greenpages
Etiquette
Solicited Excitement
Getting married is wonderful news that you hope your family and friends will share in the joy with you but let’s face it, not everyone will have the same enthusiasm as you. Here are a few tips on how to and properly solicit your excitement.
At work, letting your boss know of your news allows him/her to anticipate your request for leave. Make sure to keep them up-to-date on any time you may need off.
It isn’t required for you to announce it to your co-workers unless you want to, however, keep in mind how they may feel if you choose not to invite them.
Be conscious of how much you talk about it with your friends. Even though they are interested, doesn’t mean they want to hear every detail of your planning every time you see them.
Be conscious to those who recently departed from their significant other. A break up is hard enough without having someone smush the “Joy’s of Love” in their face.
The more you talk about it to people the more you are going to hear a ton’s of advice during this time. Don’t be too focused on your ideas that you may shut even greater idea’s out. Be humble and listen.
Rule of Thumb: If your tired of all the advice remember that people will stop talking about it when you stop talking about it.
Among these advice giver’s are family members or soon to be family members. This can get very annoying so stay calm, stay polite and decline with grace:
o “That sounds like a great idea, I will keep that in mind.”
o “ I appreciate your input, I will make sure to bring that up to my wedding planner and see what he/she thinks about that.”
Keep in mind; these are people who are going to support your wedding as guest’s and gift givers.
For more advice and tips you can contact me via email at walker.elana@gmail.com or by phone at 919-753-8624.
1.Your big day can have a major impact on the environment: an Eco-Friendly Green Wedding can reduce that.
2. You want to share your “green” beliefs with your friends and family members and possibly inspire them to “go green” too.
3. You want to showcase your creative side by having a “Green” themed wedding.
Get into the Green of things
To get into the “green” of things, you and your fiancé’ should sit down and discuss your wants and idea’s for your day. From there, you can pin point different aspects and turn them green. Start by registering with venders that supply eco-friendly products with companies such as www.Greenfeet.com and www.naturalspace.com.
Stationary
You can have beautiful stationary and still be eco-friendly. Such websites as www.customepaper.com and www.greenfieldpaper.com use tree free or recycles paper for their wedding invitations and stationary while on the other hand; www.ecoparti.com and www.plantamemory.com offer a selection of plantable paper invitations and favors. You can also go the paper-less way by using websites such as www.evite.com and www.sendomatic.com that sends guests an invitation online. Another really creatively green thing to do is to make your own paper for your stationary. This allows you to completely control how you want your invitations to look. You can add seeds to make plantable paper or you can put dried flowers and herbs to give it a special look.
Homemade Paper
You will need
Lot’s of scrap paper (old bills, copy paper. Magazine pages are too glossy and newspaper will turn everything gray).
Wooden frames that should be a little larger than the size of the finished paper you want.
A window screen a little larger than the frame.
Staples and hand stapler or staple gun.
Old blender- one you don’t use for food processing *look in thrift stores.
A large rubber plastic tub.
Felt or wool larger than your frames, at least 2 per sheets of paper.
Sponge.
Rolling pin.
Additives for the paper: flowers, seeds, and herbs.
Cornstarch to mix into the slurry and make the paper easier to write on.
Flat or edgeless cookie sheet.
EXTRA’S: cookie-cutter shapes, an apron, extra towels and rags.
COLLECT a lot of scrap paper. Collect good paper- newspaper will turn everything gray; magazines are too glossy and will make everything gunky. Best choices are junk mail, office, computer and copy paper.
Rip your paper up into 1inch squares or shred it into small pieces. This helps to break down the fibers.
Once the paper is shredded, soak in the tub of warm water for at least 2 hour; soaking over night is preferable.
To make a mold, cut your window screen an inch or two larger than the frame then stretch it over the frame and staple it to the backside. If you want your paper to have straight edges you’ll want to use a second frame with no screen; this is called “deckle”. The deckle sits on the mold and defines the shape of the paper. If you want the uneven edges that are a characteristic of handmade paper, don’t bother with deckle.
After the paper is finished soaking, mix it up in your blender at the ratio of 1 cup of paper to 2-3 cups of water. Start with 2 cups; if the mixture is too thick and lumpy add another cup. You want it thick and slurry; like a really thick smoothie, not too watery or too runny. If you want to write on the paper, add a tablespoon of cornstarch. This is called “Sizing” and makes the paper less porous so it doesn’t absorb the ink.
Blend the mix on medium high until it has the consistency of thin oatmeal.
Experiment with colors adding food coloring.
Once your paper of blended into a slurry pulp, fill your tub with about 2 inches of water for every blender full of pulp.
Pour the pulp into the mold then lower the mold into the tub of water at an angle and shake to distribute the pulp evenly over the screen. If you are using a deckle, place it over the mold now, gently shake it back and forth and pull both the mold and deckle up out of the water tub gently. Let the water drain, allowing all the excess water to flow back into the tub.
If you don’t dip the pulp into the water this is the time to add materials such as seeds, flowers, and herbs. Mix them around or place them where you want them.
Use a sponge, to dry off the excess water off the back of the screen.
Lay a piece of felt or wool in top of the paper on the screen and turn the whole thing over- mold and all- onto a hard surface such as a flat edgeless cookie sheet. If the paper doesn’t come off easily, dry the back of the screen some more.
At this point, if you haven’t added your additives, you can do so at this time. You can also make imprints with leafs, or textured objects by pressing them against the paper. Leave the items there until the paper has dried.
Cover the paper with another piece of felt and roll over it with a rolling pin to bind the fibers together and to help imprint any designs. This will help your paper dry faster and flatter.
Let it dry for a day and then it will be ready to use.
Attire
The use of organic fabrics is becoming more popular as we move into an environmentally conscious era. Such designers as, DKNY, Calvin Klein, Ann Taylor and L.L. Bean, have used fabrics made from Hemp, Bamboo, Silk, and Tencel to create beautifully stylish garments. Using these organic fabrics can offer a beautiful gown while still being able to preserve the earth (www.getconscious.com). These fabrics aren’t just confined to wedding dressed, at www.bollorganic.com you can find organic cotton dress shirts for men and at www.olivialuca.com you can find bridesmaids and flower girl dresses.
Using organic fabrics isn’t the only way to tackle the 3 R’s motto. Buying gently used wedding gowns can also help. www.Makingmemories.com takes gently used bridal gowns and then resells them. The proceeds go to making wishes come true for breast cancer patients and www.blueshybridal.com takes 10% of their proceeds from each sale and donate it to charity.
Always a rule of thumb when trying to be eco-friendly, whatever you buy new, make sure you can use it again.
The Big Day
Choose a location that is beautiful without any to little decorations like a rose gardens, beach, museum’s, and art galleries. Forgo decorating with the crepe paper and balloon and try using ribbons, bows or something that can be recycled later. Rent or borrow what you can such as a trellis, gazebo, tables and chairs, unless you think you will need them again. Finding a location that can host both your ceremony and reception will save on gas for your guests as well as eliminate your out of town guests from getting lost.
Getting married on an exotic beach or location would be beautiful but your concern is that your family and friends wouldn’t be able to afford to attend. Web cast your wedding. Ranging between $250-$750 dollars this is great for families that cant travel to your location or if you want your wedding to take place in a unique destination such as The Hawaii or a cruise. Service should include reservation of your own web space, time of broadcast, an archive for those who missed it, and the option to download it later and save it on a DVD. www.Webcastmywedding.net www.Vowcast.com.
Flowers can be a beautiful addition to your wedding. Whether in the bouquet or as a centerpiece, they add life to the occasion but most flowers are treated with harmful chemicals to preserve quality during shipping. Choosing flowers from a certified organic florist not only is more eco-friendly, but for some flowers, they can be edible. What a treat for your guests to have a centerpiece that they can taste. Organicbouquet.com will ship their organic flowers directly to you. If you want to choose fake flowers, make sure to purchase the flowers made of natural products not synthetic.
Choose a “Green Photographers”. They are photographers who use digital cameras and upload their photos to a computer for you to view and choose the proofs you want. This saves paper and eliminates the use of harmful chemicals that are used in developing pictures. Say “NO” to disposable camera’s for your guests and encourage them to bring their digital camera and upload their photos onto www.shutterfly.com or www.flickr.com for an album that everyone has access to enjoy.
It is amazing the strides we are taking to preserve the earth and it’s environment
More and more people are going “green” but being environmentally conscious doesn’t stop at household products and eco-friendly vehicles. You can have a beautiful wedding and do it while being eco-friendly at the same time. For more info and support on a Green Wedding, visit any of the website’s below.
www.Greenfeet.com
www.naturalspace.com
www.customepaper.com
www.greenfieldpaper.com
www.ecoparti.com
www.plantamemory.com
www.evite.com
www.sendomatic.com
www.getconscious.com
www.bollorganic.com
www.olivialuca.com
www.Makingmemories.com
www.blueshybridal.com
www.Webcastmywedding.net
www.Vowcast.com
www.organicbouquet.com
www.flickr.com
www.shutterfly.com
www.coopamerica.org/pubs/greenpages
Etiquette
Solicited Excitement
Getting married is wonderful news that you hope your family and friends will share in the joy with you but let’s face it, not everyone will have the same enthusiasm as you. Here are a few tips on how to and properly solicit your excitement.
At work, letting your boss know of your news allows him/her to anticipate your request for leave. Make sure to keep them up-to-date on any time you may need off.
It isn’t required for you to announce it to your co-workers unless you want to, however, keep in mind how they may feel if you choose not to invite them.
Be conscious of how much you talk about it with your friends. Even though they are interested, doesn’t mean they want to hear every detail of your planning every time you see them.
Be conscious to those who recently departed from their significant other. A break up is hard enough without having someone smush the “Joy’s of Love” in their face.
The more you talk about it to people the more you are going to hear a ton’s of advice during this time. Don’t be too focused on your ideas that you may shut even greater idea’s out. Be humble and listen.
Rule of Thumb: If your tired of all the advice remember that people will stop talking about it when you stop talking about it.
Among these advice giver’s are family members or soon to be family members. This can get very annoying so stay calm, stay polite and decline with grace:
o “That sounds like a great idea, I will keep that in mind.”
o “ I appreciate your input, I will make sure to bring that up to my wedding planner and see what he/she thinks about that.”
Keep in mind; these are people who are going to support your wedding as guest’s and gift givers.
For more advice and tips you can contact me via email at walker.elana@gmail.com or by phone at 919-753-8624.
