Green Options

As part one of Eco-Guide: How I Turned my Wedding Green illustrated, it is entirely possible to green your wedding while still keeping the green in your pocketbook.  Two mantras are tantamount — Think Household Items, not Wedding Items, and Invest Time, not Money .

In last week’s guide, I brought these two principles to life with examples from my wedding last fall, sharing how I repurposed classy but practical household objects into sophisticated wedding accents. I also discussed minimizing the dreaded DIY look through maintaining subtlety and consistency.

This week, we’ll take a look at more ways to green your wedding and introduce the last three principles: Re-Think the Must-Haves; Borrow, Don’t Buy; and Incorporate Heirlooms.

Greening your wedding doesn’t automatically mean emptying all the green from your pocketbook.

There are countless innovative ways you can have an eco-conscious wedding celebration — ways that go far beyond a hand-crafted wedding dress or an organic meal.

In this eco-guide, learn how we minimized consumerism and pulled off a fabulously green wedding by incorporating family heirlooms, repurposing everyday objects, growing our own organic flowers, questioning the must-haves…and much, much more.

Tucked in forest, perched alongside coastal sand dunes and a brief stroll from the California surf in Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula rests the Asilomar Conference Grounds.  It’s owned by the people of California as a California State Park, but the conference facilities and lodging is managed by Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts, the same company that manages other accommodations in some spectacular environs including the Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks.

You don’t need to be a conference-goer to experience the grounds or even bed down in the rustic, immaculately clean, and camp-like accommodations.  Besides being a conference hot spot, ecotravelers can stay as leisure guests.  Many also come to Asilomar to celebrate their wedding, share a family reunion or host a corporate retreat — especially if they’re trying to do it more green.

Upon arriving with my family, two Black-tailed deer greeted us just before we passed between Asilomar’s welcoming stone columns at the entrance.  The hub of Asilomar Conference Grounds — which includes 313 secluded guest rooms housed in a unique collection of historic cabins and lodges, many with fireplaces, balconies or private decks — is their Social Hall, with outdoor seating, wireless access, board games and ping pong.  During our stay, a complimentary Jazz ensemble in the Social Hall provided a relaxing way to wind down the day.  The spacious guest rooms are designed for the tranquil enjoyment of nature, so TVs, radios and telephones are refreshingly absent.

Rightly deserving its “refuge by the sea” namesake, the 107-acre Asilomar Conference Grounds both inspires our appreciation of nature and is inspired by it. The grounds got its start in 1928 as a Young Women’s Christian Association (YMCA) camp, created, built and funded by women.  California’s first registered female architect, Julia Morgan, designed the buildings on the grounds in the Arts and Craft style which embraced harmony, community and natural beauty.  Every building has a face to the ocean.  I found every door opened to the outdoors (try that at your typical convention center).

Clay Hill Farm is giving away a green wedding package to one lucky couple worth over $40,000.

“The Clay Hill Farm’s Green Wedding Giveaway contest challenges couples on the verge of a major life commitment to explore the parallel of a commitment to each other and a commitment to the earth. This is not a contest measuring green. Not at all. This is a creative challenge of exploration and awakening.”

Marriage is about commitment and compromise, so is being green. Clay Hill Farm wants to know if these two concepts can be explored in conjunction? Is there a place for green at your table?

Not like you have to ask me twice to throw a party or give me much of an excuse, but Celebrate Green! ($19), the new book from mom and daughter team Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson, makes me want to host events year round.

From the minute you get engaged, you are bombarded by questions about your wedding - what are your colors, where will you have it, when will it be? Fortunately, there are experts to help guide you in answering all of these questions. And, for eco-savvy brides-to-be, there are several options when it comes to serving up a green wedding.

For all of the green girls who will be wearing white soon, here are some books to help you take small, sustainable steps down the aisle.

Every summer when I go to visit my parents at their home on the Gulf Coast just off of Highway 30-A in the “Panhandle” of Florida, I see tons and tons of weddings. It really shouldn’t be surprising that so many people choose this gorgeous (and very eco-savvy) region of the country as the place to get married.

There are a string of eco-friendly New Urbanist developments along Highway 30-A, a long and well-kept secret until stars, like Sheryl Crow, Britney Spears and most recently, Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo began vacationing in the region. Seaside is one of the first and perhaps best examples - it is such a beautiful and surreal community that it actually serves as the backdrop for Jim Carrey’s movie, the Truman Show…yes. It is a real town, not a movie set.

It was when Jennifer Stambolsky was planning her own wedding that she found a lack of wedding invitations for the modern bride that were both gorgeous & eco-friendly. With a love of nature combined with a love of beautiful stationery, she launched EarthlyAffair.com.

Choose from two environmentally friendly papers, a premium 100% Recycled Post Consumer Recycled paper that uses no new trees and a heavyweight 60% Recycled (30% Post Consumer) Cotton paper that is Forest Stewardship Counsel certified. All envelopes are made of 100% post consumer waste, FSC certified and processed without the use of chlorine. Not only that but they are a carbon neutral business purchasing CO2 offsets for emissions caused by conducting business and shipping through carbonfund.org.

The key element to the success of any event, especially a wedding, is planning. In the savvy bride’s arsenal you’re sure to find her Wedding Binder, where all her checklists, magazine clippings and sketches lie.

I’ve always loved the designs & concepts from russell+hazel, a company who obviously adores paper and organization as much as I do. And as such, they realize that cutting down trees is not something they what to perpetuate, so each and every product they offer is made from 100% post-consumer recycled materials and most are biodegradable and/or reusable; from the spirals in their notebooks to the covers of their binders. And now, with their ultra-stylish Wedding Organizer Set, you can keep everything on track while still looking good. My particular fave is their whiteboard feature inside of the binder cover so that quick notes or sketches can be made easily and wiped away when finished.

It’s that time of year again: wedding season! Here are a few companies helping brides say eco-chic on their big day.

Here are a few tips for going green while wearing white:

The Rings: Make sure you choose conflict free diamonds and recycled gold bands if you aren’t inheriting a family ring. C5 Company, Todd Reed and Brilliant Earth are excellent designers that use recycled gold and raw diamonds thatare responsibly sourced.

The Dress: Check out ANGeLRox, Natural Bridals or Deborah Lindquist for gorgeous bridal collections that are made with organic and eco-friendly fabrics, such as hemp and silk. Heirloom dresses and vintage are also excellent choices and can be a really nice touch for your special day.

Since my wedding is coming up in two weeks, I’ve been doing some exploring into all the trendy “green wedding” options. It’s amazing how awareness has grown in the past few years! Unfortunately, having a completely green wedding can often double the already expensive costs. But if every couple made even two or three decisions based solely on environmental concerns, the planet would be as happy the newlyweds.

When planning your own wedding, consider integrating even one or two of these ideas:

Skip the disposable cameras, and ask friends to bring digital cameras. Before the wedding, set up an account on sites such as Photobucket.com or Snapfish.com, and email the login and password to your friends. After the wedding, everyone can upload the photos they took to the account, and you’ll have an instant album of candids that everyone can enjoy. And if you want to have prints, you’ll be able to print only those pictures you really want.

Besides wearing a pre-owned gown (remember, a good tailor can make an poofy 80’s gown into a stylin’ 21st century dazzler), think about using heirloom jewelry for the engagement ring and wedding bands. If you must have new, matching bands, be sure to ask the jeweler about reclaimed, recycled, ecologically responsible gold.