Changes for the New Year!

I've moved to:

http://www.masonjararts.com/

Go Green!

You can choose an eco-friendly approach to your weddings or events. There are so many fun and unique ideas out there for designing a wonderful wedding or event, while still being organic and beautiful. It can be a little or a lot, because every aspect of your event can be greener. A green event doesn't have to mean compromising your dream or having no style!! Look for the little green leaves on the {Real Wedding} posts to see how each couple was "green".
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I love to reuse, recycle, and repurpose items, so when a client is Eco-friendly too we can come up with beautiful crafty ideas that create less waste. For instance creating guest favors out of recycled  tin cans and wrapping them with extra invitations then filling them  with ivy plants, or maybe used the recycled tin cans for vases to put  flowers in, I also love the look of recycling glass jars filled with water and floating candles, or using old  Scrabble pieces from your childhood game. There are many eco-chic, DIY ideas out there, you just have to figure out which is best for you and your style.
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Does my event need to be 100% green? That is up to you! It can be a little or a lot, because every aspect of your event can be greener. Each one of the 2.5 million weddings this year in the United States will produce an average of 62 tons of carbon dioxide and 400-600 lbs of garbage. That's a lot of waste! If every engaged couple made just one small green choice, which would be 2.5 million greener choices a year and that is an amazing impact. According to the Green Bride Guide's research.

GREEN IDEAS:
☛ Support local companies for your guest favors or welcome baskets

☛ Support Etsy vendors, the world's most vibrant handmade marketplace – ask me about my list of unique wedding artists including: refurbished ties and bow ties, cake toppers, banners, accessories, and more

☛ Donate your flowers

☛ Hire local recycling company

☛ Don’t give guests favors, instead donate the money to your charity of choice:https://www.idofoundation.org
https://www.justgive.org
http://www.globalgiving.org
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG
http://www.redcross.org
Susan G. Komen for the Cure®

☛ Green favors – small plants if they live locally or infused seed favors that can be planted, biodegradable confetti, 100% latex balloons that are biodegradable vs. plastic balloons (bad for the ocean & ocean animals), canvas totes, bamboo, organic chocolate, and I have more!

☛ Have your ceremony and reception at the same location to cut on transportation

☛ Choose a Green Certified Reception or Botanical Garden

☛ Use Eco-friendly invitations, or just have the save-the-dates be a post card to cut on postage and paper

☛ Choose an organic caterer

☛ Choose an Eco-friendly florist

☛ Have Eco-friendly gift registry items: even Target has great Eco-friendly options now or shop these online stores: http://www.plateswithpurpose.com or http://www.dwellsmart.comor http://www.branchhome.com

☛ Use horse drawn carriages or pedi cabs to move your bridal party from one location to the next, if near by.


So what GREEN choices will you make for your wedding? Check out these great green companies to support
(If you know of other great eco-friendly companies let me know!)

http://www.noimpactbride.com/
No Impact Bride is dedicated to promoting ethical and Eco-friendly weddings.

http://eco-beautifulweddings.com/blog/
Eco-Beautiful Weddings is the first and only quarterly online magazine and daily blog dedicated to eco-friendly weddings.

http://www.ecofabulous.com
Being ecofabulous means celebrating high style with low impact. It’s about beautiful items and experiences that don’t compromise. They’re obsessed with well-designed products. Yet their definition of beauty doesn’t leave room for things that make you – or the planet – sick.

http://www.ecoandelsie.com
Eco and Elsie focusing on pretty things, wedding things, healthy things, fashion-y things, etc... that all bring a bit of eco-friendly joy to the earth and those who live here.

http://www.greenamerica.org
Green America is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1982. (We went by the name “Co-op America” until January 1, 2009.) Their mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.

http://practicallygreen.com/
Practically Green provides simple and useful tools for healthy and green living.

http://www.greenbrideguide.com
The Green Bride Guide has everything you need to plan a green wedding! Here you can find pictures from real green weddings, articles and advice on eco-chic decor, and a wide range of including: organic bedding, Recycled Glass Dishes, and eco-friendly appliances.