Planning an Eco-Friendly Wedding

I was so excited to see in this morning's issue of the Charlotte Observer an article featuring an SJB Weddings & Events wedding from this past Saturday. The article highlighted two of my favorite food vendors Tastemakers of Charlotte and Cloud 9 Confections and their use of local and organic foods to prepare what was a delectable menu for this Lake Norman wedding.

These days everyone is attempting to find ways to reduce their carbon footprint and a wedding should not be any different. There are so many ways that you can add a "green" flair to your event. None of which should effect how stylish and unique your event ends up. Remember, every little thing helps, when looking at the effect of our environment. Here are some things you can do to help reduce your events carbon footprint:

• This is an obvious one, but by reducing the amount of paper used for your event you will save so many trees. Do you really need wedding programs?
• Take a note from my bride and groom and look for caterers and cake designers that utilize local farmers and growers. It makes an amazing statement when you can say that 90% of your menu was from local farmers. Check your local farmers market for foods in your area.
  
• Skip on disposable anything. You want to use items that can be reused and recycled. So, go ahead and rent those linens, glasses, plates, tables and chairs or better yet use what you have already. You will find that a lot of linen companies are using a special process to clean their linens that do not negatively effect the environment.
• Use local flowers. Believe or not there are local flower growers in your area. Unfortunately, it may be tough to find them, but they are out there. You may have to be flexible with your selections, but it is possible to have a beautiful bouquet with local flowers. We also used stems off a cypress tree out of the brides own yard to help add some color to the tables.
  
• Believe it or not, but having your ceremony and reception in one location is an excellent way to reduce gas emissions. At least for a few hours you would have helped to reduce a few cars on the road.
  

You do not have to look at being eco-friendly as an elaborate project, but try to look at little ways you can help the environment without sacraficing the beautiful style of your event. You can do it. Trust me.

Here are a few amateur snapshots from this weekends event. I can't wait to get the professional pics!

A Beautiful Green Destination Wedding

Now who wouldn't want to get married in the shadow of this masterpiece? Absolutely beautiful! This is The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada. Now since I've shown you how beautiful the place is you'll be equally delighted to know how this huge company has placed such a great emphasis on being eco-friendly.

I was reading the November edition of Special Events Magazine and one of the featured articles was entitled "Green Plate Special", written about the Toronto-based Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. The article announced that, "This summer all 51 hotels in 12 countries will begin a brand-wide commitment to trying wherever possible to offer menus using sustainable, locally sourced, organic products as part of everyday foodservice operations."

Fairmont already has the award winning Green Partnership Guide that has helped pioneer the idea of sustainable hotel management:
The Green Partnership Guide focuses on key areas such as energy management, water conservation, and innovative community outreach programs, while also providing detailed insights on how to start, maintain and grow an environmental program, including case studies on reducing operating costs, keeping employees motivated and tracking cost savings.

I thought this was so impressive! When you see these types of practices from the hospitality and tourism industry, you know that this "green thing" is here to stay! How great is it to know that you can have your wedding at such a beautiful destination and you will not be causing harm to our environment! I think that would be considered a Green Destination Wedding!!

I've Been Green Tagged!

I have been "green tagged" by Rashana who writes the blog After YES, Before I DO & Everything In Between. So, the challenge is for me to share a few ways that I am introducing environmental sustainability in my daily life.

Well, this has been a huge topic of conversation at my house with my husband whose spent time laughing at how I've totally jumped into this. He's not making fun of me, but he just thinks its funny how I've jumped on the bandwagon. Well it's a good bandwagon to jump on, I think! But one thing he has said which definitely has me thinking is, "Just because you're recycling doesn't make you totally eco-friendly". Well, he's right, but it's a start. It's the beginning of a lifestyle change that everyone can take part in. So here are ways that I am making an effort to be more eco-friendly:

1) In Charlotte, NC we are currently in a drought so we have made conscious effort to conserve water.

• We don't run the water when we brush our teeth
• We don't run the dishwasher unless it's completely full
  
• I have lessened the time I'm in the shower in the mornings
• My two year old daughter's bath has a lot less water (luckily she hasn't noticed yet)

2) I recycle everything. I recently posted about recycling and I actually learned that there are a number of things that I can recycle that I haven't been recycling. Soon I'll need another bin.

3) I have spent an astronomical amount of time reading and researching the trends, products and vendors for eco-friendly weddings. I think it is my responsibility to be able to offer sustainable options to my clients if they are interested in green options. If you are planning a wedding or a party for that matter, take time and research the different options available. There are some great vendors out there making amazing products that make your event beautiful and keep our environment healthy.

So now, I have to tag someone else. Hmmm.... this game has been going for a bit so I have to find some folks who haven't been tagged.
1) Randi at Always Fabulous Events
2) Whitney at Brown Sugar Designs
3) Preston at Inspirations and Transformations

Recycle Please!!!

Today is Blog Action Day and I've had such a busy day that I've almost missed blogging about it. Today tons of bloggers all over are taking time to write about one topic, our precious environment. How does your environment look where you live? Are you doing anything to improve it? I know sometimes you may ask how can I help, but you'd be amazed how much help YOU can give. Well, here is an easy one for you, recycling. No matter how busy you are or how little you know about the state of our environment, you can recycle. Basically, recycling prevents the waste of materials and reduces energy. Yes all from you recycling.

I know in my city of Charlotte, NC we have the CURB IT program which encourages all residents of the city to recycle by just bringing your little red bin to the curb. Now don't bring it to the curb empty. :) Below is the list of all of the items that can be recycled in our local area and I'm sure it's pretty standard nationwide.

• No.1 and No. 2 recyclable plastics (milk jugs, liquid detergent bottles, plastic soft drink bottles, etc.) Please rinse and remove lids. Lids are not recyclable and should be placed in the garbage.
• Glass - Please rinse and remove lids. Lids are not recyclable and should be placed in the garbage.
• Magazines and Shopping Catalogues - Both magazines and home shopping catalogues are recyclable. Place them in your red Curb It recycling bin or with newspapers. A brown paper bag may also be used, NOT a plastic bag.
• Newspapers - Newspapers and inserts are recyclable. Place them under the Curb It bin or on top or beside the glass, aluminum, metal and plastic in your bin. To prevent newspapers from being blown by the wind, you may stack them on top of, beside or underneath the recycling bin or place them in a brown paper bag. Please no plastic grocery bags.
• Cardboard - Please place cardboard at curbside for recycling collection. Cardboard cannot be scheduled for bulky item collection. To ensure collection, please make sure that all cardboard boxes are empty, cut into pieces no larger than 3 feet x 3 feet, flattened and stacked neatly at curbside on your scheduled collection day.
• Plastic Bottles - Please remove the lids and crush the plastic bottles before placing them in the recycling bin for collection. Lids are not recyclable and should be placed in the garbage.
• Spiral Paper Cans - Spiral paper cans, round cans with spiral grooves on the side and metal bottoms, may be recycled. Remove any plastic or metal lids and rinse or wipe out any remaining food stuff.
• Steel Cans - Steel food containers should be rinsed out to remove any remaining food stuff before placing in the red Curb It recycling bin for collection.
• Telephone Books - Each year the City collects out-dated residential telephone books. Place your directory in the red Curb It recycling bin or place underneath with newspapers.
• Aluminum cans - Please rinse and crush cans before placing them in the recycling bin.
• Junk mail - Mail and envelopes can be recycled.
• Mixed paper
• Gift wrap

This is the easiest thing you can do for our environment. Instead of putting the plastic bottle in the trash can, just recycle it. It's just that simple. This is something I'm even teaching my 2 year old to do. Hopefully, tomorrow morning when you finish with that box of cereal you'll place it in the recycling bin instead of the trash can. Mother Nature thanks you!

Sustainable Wedding Favors

I read once that if you're giving a wedding favor to your guests it should be either something edible or useful. First, I must say that I am aware of the state of our environment and I do my part, but I can always do more. So, if you aren't having a "green wedding", but you would still like to do something to help our environment, here are a few ideas that will make an impact on your guests and make you feel great.

The I Do Foundation. Have you heard of it? I'm sure you have, but if you have not, their vision is "in time, charitable giving will become an integral part of the culture of weddings and other life events". I think that is wonderful and they make it really is easy to contribute to any charitable organization. Here is how it works:

1. You can basically support any nonprofit organization with your favor purchase. You select a charity of your choice (you can also recommend one if it isn't listed with the I Do Foundation.
   
2. You decide the amount you'd like to give. You can give a set amount or donate dollars per guests.
3. You order placecards letting your guests know that you have made a donation on their behalf to a particular charitable organization.
4. You make the donation to I Do Foundation and then they will make the donation to the organization on your behalf.

This is such a wonderful idea and it is sure to make your guests feel good and it will make you feel good knowing that you've spent money for a worthy cause.

Did you know that if every American home replaced just one light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, that there would be enough energy saved to light more than 2.5 million homes per year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars? I didn't know that. Hmm.. I need to run out and get some new bulbs! Well this would be an excellent favor for your guests with a beautiful bow and a little note explaining why they should change their bulbs. What a great gift to send each guest home with and it's USEFUL!

Another great idea is to give your guests seeds to plant a tree. This is a wonderful way for them to look back year after year and remember your wedding, but most importantly, it is a great way to help our environment. Plant A Memory is a great site to check out if you are interested in giving a gift that can help fight global warming.

I hope I've given you a few ideas that you can use to make your impact on making our environment a better one, even on your wedding day!

Blog Action Day!!! Get Involved!

One Issue. One day. Thousands of voices. I love this! Blog Action Day!!! I know a lot of us bloggers blog about cute things, things that will interest our readers, things that interest us and sometimes just mindless chatter. But on one day everyone can blog about something important...Our Environment!

In every industry, we can be doing something better to help sustain the environment. So on October 15th, let's tell people how we can do that. If you're looking for some green wedding advice, check back on October 15th and I'll give a few practical tips for you brides to be. In the meantime, if you'd like to get involved take a look at what you can do!

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

Blog Action Day is about MASS participation. That means we need you! Here are 3 ways to participate:

• Post on your blog relating to the environment on Blog Action Day
• Donate your day’s earnings to an environmental charity
• Promote Blog Action Day around the web