Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Have an Earth-Friendly Wedding

A couple planning to get married may shy away from having an earth-friendly wedding because they think it means that they must hold their wedding in a meadow while barefoot and bedecked with flowers.

In reality, a wedding can be earth-friendly and still conform to your own personal style. The key is to make the right choices to reduce your ecological footprint while still remaining chic.

Wedding Dress

Most brides dream from the time that they are little girls about their wedding dress. If you open a bridal magazine, you will see that over half of the advertisements come from wedding dress manufacturers. However, a new wedding dress can seem wasteful. Not only is there spare fabric, but a bride will only use your dress once. If a bride’s mother has saved her dress to hand down, consider wearing it instead, or purchase a used dress from a resale shop.

Consider renting bridesmaid dresses and groomsmen’s tuxedos so that they can be re-used. Bridesmaid dresses may be different styles if they are in coordinating colors to match your wedding theme.

If the bride has her heart set on a new dress that is uniquely her, choose one made with sustainable fabrics like organic cotton or silk rather than synthetic material.

Venue

The venue is frequently the first major decision that a couple will make when planning their wedding. Some couples wait to set their date based on the availability of their desired location.

When it comes to ecological venues, outdoors is still the best choice. An indoor venue such as a country club, ballroom or a fancy resort will use electricity for air conditioning and lighting.

Stylish outdoor venues may include a tent set up on a special location such as the beach where you were engaged or a pavilion at a botanical garden. Alternately, a location such as a church with floor-to-ceiling windows can also provide natural light.

Locations such as an outdoor gazebo on the grounds of a hotel or a public park will have public facilities with modern conveniences such as running water so that your guests won’t feel like they are camping. At the same time you are allowing the sun to provide earth-friendly lighting.

If you feel that you must have your wedding at a resort, choose one that recycles and allows guests to re-use their towels to save on water and energy costs that come from washing linens.

Stationary

The invitation helps alert guests to the theme of your wedding while at the same time informs them of important details, such as the fact that a couple prefers donations to their favorite charity in lieu of gifts.

Some modern couples skip the invitations altogether and rely on the internet to invite their guests, either through eVites [double check that this is correct] or a wedding webpage. Avoid using email to announce your wedding. This form of everyday communication is not formal enough.

A few couples use the theme of their wedding to send unique gifts such as a tree seedling that guests can plant. If you choose a traditional invitation, choose recycled paper and opt for a single envelope rather than an interior and exterior envelope.

Favors

Although favors are considered a gift from the couple to their wedding party as a way of saying thank you for attending, most guests end up throwing their favors out. Edible favors with biodegradable packaging are one good way to ensure that favors don’t end up in landfills. Or you can skip the favor altogether and donate to a charity in your guest’s name.

Flowers

Exotic flowers are often grown using pesticides and shipped a long way to get to your wedding. Instead, choose locally grown flowers that are in season. Look for flowers that are VeriFlora-Certified. These flowers aren’t grown using harsh chemicals. Select potted plants for your centerpieces. Potted flowers can be replanted at a later date.

Food

Most wedding guests remember the food best from a wedding. Whether it is finger food or a four course meal, food is often the center of a reception. If your budget allows for it, you can choose pricier organic or vegan food. If your budget will not allow for this, you can select a locavore caterer. Locavores are people who use only ingredients produced locally. These ingredients use fewer resources to get from the source to your table, and may be fresher and better tasting.

If the idea of having a wedding that is completely earth-friendly seems too radical for you, you can still make one or two earth-friendly choices. Every little bit helps.

The Benefits of Hiring a Wedding Planner

At one time, wedding planners were used only by the wealthy, and by celebrities who wanted to create a lavish, memorable wedding. Today, wedding planners are often hired by ordinary couples who want help in creating their special day, on time and on budget. There are several reasons why hiring a wedding planner can be a good idea.

The main reason to hire a wedding planner is because co-ordinating all the details that go into a wedding can be extremely stressful. Most weddings require hundreds of hours of planning. It is not unusual for the bride and groom to be utterly exhausted by their wedding day. This keeps them from fully enjoying what should be one of the most special days of their lives. A wedding planner will take care of a lot of the most tedious details of planning, research, and negotiating, while leaving the couple free to enjoy themselves, knowing that everything is being expertly taken care of.

A good wedding planner can save you money as well as time. It can be confusing and exhausting contacting dozens of vendors and comparing price quotes on all the different details that go into making up a wedding. A professional who has already co-ordinated hundreds of weddings successfully will be far more experienced in handling negotiations with potential vendors to get you the best price. She can also keep you from being harassed by aggressive vendors who want your business. She will know which vendors, venues, and photographers have good reputations, and which ones you should avoid.

Wouldn`t you rather wake up on your wedding day feeling relaxed and confident, instead of worrying about some detail that you may have overlooked in all the preparations? A good wedding co-ordinator will know exactly how to help you achieve the wedding of your dreams, within the budget you have available. Thousands of couples have already discovered that hiring a wedding planner makes it much easier to enjoy their big day; maybe you should hire a wedding planner too?

If you have a wedding coming up soon, you may have wondered if you should do all the planning yourself, or if you should hire a wedding planner. A good wedding planner is a professional who knows how to take care of all the little details so you can have the wedding you have always wanted. Learn how hiring a wedding planner can save you time and money, leaving you free to enjoy your big day.

Color Trends for Bridal Dresses in 2012

Wedding dresses for 2012 are making quite the splash this season with a virtual kaleidoscope of stunning shades. While many brides still prefer to maintain tradition with a beautiful white or cream-colored bridal gown, wedding dress color trends are breaking with tradition this season and offering anxious brides an assortment of lovely hues ranging from bright and beautiful crimson to lovely and soft lavender. Take a look at the sensational bridal dress color trends for 2012.

Crimson Creations—Create a vision of bold and beautiful loveliness with a stunning crimson bridal gown. This season’s selection of deep and passionate colors offers a creative alternative for the bride who throws caution to the wind and wants to break away from the tradition of the white wedding dress.

Lovely Lavender—The bride who chooses to array herself in a lavender wedding dress will no doubt be a vision of sweet loveliness. Breaking slightly with tradition, soft pastel colors offer a sense of soft romance.

Seafoam Green—An ideal choice for a “green” or beach wedding, seafoam green bridal gowns are quite the hit this year. The bride who desires to stay close to nature will love this year’s selection of seafoam green bridal gowns.

Deep Violet—Another choice for the bride with a bold spirit, deep violet wedding gowns are taking center stage this year with a wide assortment of styles and materials.

Sky Blue Sensation—Brides who adorn themselves in the colors of the sky will create quite the sensation this year. Sky blue bridal gowns portray a natural and sophisticated spirit.

Buy Wedding Dresses 2012