Naked Weapon psp

In addition to standard fare like soy candles, I’ve been seeing a lot of green stationary. One of the most interesting I’ve seen is Mr. Ellie Pooh, which if you haven’t guessed by the name is made out of 75% elephant dung. You’d never know from looking at it, and I think I would get a subversie kick out of sending my “thank you” notes printed on poop. (Especially to the relative who gave us the tacky crystal wedding coach.)

Another cool discovery was that of an eco-event planning company called Twirl Management. They work mainly in Northern California, and yes, they do weddings! The representative that I spoke with told me that they specialize in green events that don’t feel too crunchy. As she put it, “You don’t want your guests to feel like they’re at a Grateful Dead concert.”

Hmm… I know plenty of offbeat brides who’d beg to differ, but I get her point and I think it’s great that they’re focusing on making eco-chic a bit more mainstream. Anyway, there are a bunch of great caterers (including my own recent vendors) and I ate a vegan corndog that blew me away yesterday.

If you’re in the area I encourage you to check it out. Another Green Festival is happening in Seattle, WA in the spring.

• On the Waterfront move

I proudly wore my Mother’s dress from 1978 and it made for an eco-friendly, and meaningful choice. (With a few alterations – that’s what happens when you’re 5 inches taller than you Mom, and not quite a size 2. In this picture, Mom is literally sewing me into it!)

However, now I find myself torn over what to do with it. With family history attached to it, I don’t think I could bear to give it away or cut it up and recycle it. It was probably one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve ever worn, so I can’t see re-wearing it.

And sealing it up and saving it again? Even if I thought it could last another thirty years, Tim and I don’t intend to have children, so I’m not sure who I’d pass it on to. Hypothetical nieces?

I know there are plenty of crafty folks reading this blog. If anyone has any suggestions for re-using this dress, while keeping it more or less intact, I am all ears!

Now that the wedding’s over, the cards have been written, and the photo albums are made, we’re running out of projects. So we’ve been focusing on home improvement projects – or building up our “nest”, so to speak.

2012 download

Unfortunately, given the astronomical real estate prices in our area, it will be at least another five years before we can begin looking at buying a place. So we figure we might as well enjoy our apartment in the mean time. Thus, the re-decorating has begun! My exciting find over the weekend was two brands of eco-friendly paints:

Yolo Paints are available in the U.S. and Canada. Safecoat Paints have a few international retailers (though none in the UK from what I can tell.) They cost about the same, and both are VOC-free and LEED certified. The differences are that Yolo have limited color options, while Safecoat can be tinted to any hue you desire. However, Yolo’s packaging is slightly more eco-friendly. Got any other sources for “green” paints? Let me know!

Sorry for the non-wedding post today. We’re attending an out-of-town wedding this coming weekend, along with a family party, so hopefully we’ll have some stories to share!

The issue won’t be out until next spring (it’s the May/June 2008 issue), but we need to submit some pictures and a list of our resources in the next few weeks. I’m definitely going to submit this shot of our cake, but I’m a little torn on what else to submit. If you want to let me know your recommendations (or just enjoy looking at wedding photos – who doesn’t) here’s a link:

My favorite wedding photos.

One of these days I’ll get around to filling out a long recap to post on here, along with my resources. A writer is supposed to contact us soon to capture our story. The editor informed us that we’d soon be “celebrities in the vegetarian community.” I suppose anything’s possible. Two years ago they featured U.S. presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich and his wife 2012 movie 2009 .

So I purchased these cards from a local nonprofit called DrawBridge. They have a variety of cards for all occasions. The designs are by homeless children, and the proceeds go to programs benefiting these budding artists. As an added bonus, they’re even printed on recycled paper, using vegetable-based inks.

Leatherheads trailer

High Plains Drifter rip

DrawBridge isn’t the only source for cards that give back. Another program in the U.S. is called CASA Cards. And here’s a link to a PDF listing a ton of organizations that offer Cards for Charity. It looks like they’re all American sites, so if anyone knows some overseas sources, please feel free to comment about them.

So my biggest hope with our vegan wedding catering was that we’d maybe make a convert or at least find a little more tolerance from skeptical omnivores in our lives. The overwhelming positive feedback we got was one of my most pleasant surprises of the day. Even my notoriously picky Mom was asking me if I could get recipes for her. If you want to go the veggie route for your wedding I have a few tips.

1) Go buffet style. It’s cheaper and people will get to look at the dishes before selecting their choices, which might be less intimidating with unfamiliar food.

• Nightmare Detective movie

2) Make sure at least one dish is something fairly common. We did a pasta primavera that we knew most people would be comfortable with and then went a little more exotic with a wild mushroom phyllo roulade. I also think that focusing on fresh veggies is more palatable than going with meat substitutes like tempeh or seitan. If my parents can’t pronounce eat, they’re not going to eat it.

3) If your budget can handle it, try to get caterers that specializes in veggie cuisine or are creative with their dishes. Serving bland salads and flavorless tofu isn’t going to win anyone over.

4) Don’t forget the cake. Ours was chocolate cake with ganache and buttercream. I tend to think you can’t go wrong with a good vegan dark chocolate. We had people tell us ours was the best wedding cake they’d ever had and I think it’s because we focused on quality ingredients over decoration.

And on one final note, VegNews magazine has an annual vegan weddings issue featuring real couples. Their deadline to submit is this Friday, Aug. 31st. So if there are any other veggie brides and grooms out there, not only do I want to hear from you, but you should apply to be featured in the magazine.

We went to the Stanford Inn, a vegetarian “resort” in Mendocino, California. We rented a hybrid car for the three hour drive which took well under a tank of gas. I put the word “resort” in quotes, as this location was so much more. Their restaurant recently made the switch form “vegan-friendly” to “everything on the menu is vegan by default,” but some dishes have the option to add cheese, or eggs.

In addition to boasting some amazing meals, the Inn is an animal sanctuary. They have rescued horses and llamas on site – presumably also for composting purposes, as everything grown there, including their lush flower gardens, is organic. Food leftovers are composted as well. There were also adorable resuced cats all over the place, which was one of the highlights for us, as several of them lived outside our barn suite, and made us miss our little guy less. They’re pet-friendly as well though so I suppose we could have brought him along.

We felt much better about indulging knowing that we were doing so at a place with such a strong commitment to the land and to animal welfare. Ok, I guess the canoe trips, organic wine, hot tub, and massages helped us relax a little too. More of our honeymoon pictures can be seen here.

And not to upstage Katie’s last post, go add Ethical Weddings on Facebook. I’m on there as well if you’d like to add me.

Striptease rip I agree that the required travel isn’t particularly earth-friendly. But as someone doing her best to plan a green wedding, herself, I take a bit of offense when people are called out on such things. Wedding planning is such a delicate balancing act. You’re often restricted by your region, budget, family pressure, and more.

Perhaps this bride had a family church that was important to her, but wasn’t near any reception sites. Maybe she’s loading everyone up in a big bus to transport them or purchasing carbon offset credits. Or maybe she doesn’t need to make excuses because she’s working hard to minimize the impact in other areas.

I’ve noticed backlash against environmentalists because many people tend to see it as an “all or nothing” lifestyle. But what I think is most important to note is that it’s not a contest- anyone can make a difference in little ways. The same goes for weddings. With so many other things to worry about, why bankrupt yourself in order to afford pricey organic caterers? Instead see if you can compost the trash afterwards, or donate leftovers to a charity.

And instead of throwing around words like “hypocrite” we should be celebrating the efforts we see, no matter how small. Sustainability doesn’t apply exclusively to the environment – it applies to your sanity. And with just one week till my wedding, I’m learning just how valuable sustaining my sanity is!

I hardly know any married couples, so before I encountered this website I turned to a forum at a more “traditional” wedding site. I posted a query: when can I expect people to start using my registry, and how should I handle guests who decide to bring us tangible gifts anyway, as we don’t want a gift table at the reception.

Seems innocuous enough, right? Apparently not. I was told that it was offensive to “force” people to contribute to charity. (Didn’t realize I had a gun to people’s heads.) I was accused of being overly political and my favorite phrase of the day: “Your wedding should not be used as a fundraiser.”

Now I have no objection to traditional registries (particularly those couples I’ve seen out there registering for more eco-friendly items.) But aren’t all registries “fundraisers” in some sense? For the record, we did indicate that gifts were not necessary, but that if people really wanted to give them, this was our preference. We also chose causes that we didn’t think would be divisive. Are there really people out there who are anti-literacy?

What gets me though, is that even as I re-tell this story here, I find myself having to defend the decision and my beliefs. Really the point I should be making is: You can be political at your wedding if you want to be! My fiance and I are political people who’ve never made any attempts to hide our beliefs. Our values are what drew us together in the first place – why shouldn’t they be integrated into our wedding?
Perhaps having an opinion does not befit the blushing bride. Naysayers will call me anti-romantic and say that weddings are about love and devotion. Of course they are. But my beloved and devoted fiance and I recently went to City Hall to get our government-sanctioned marriage license.

Like it or not, marriage is also a political act. If we’re going to make that commitment I think it’s about time that we started talking about ALL aspects of marriage, and not just the ones on the cover of bridal magazines. What do you think, ethical brides and grooms? Agree? Disagree? Let me know!

So that’s exactly where I started my little potted flowers, and today I’m so excited to report my very first bright red poppy! This is just about the prettiest thing I’ve ever successfully grown, so I’m quite proud. Unfortunately, it’s going to take more than one poppy to create 5 bouquets and a dozen centerpieces so I’ve called for back-up.

I’m lucky to live not too far from California Organic Flowers who will be supplementing my decor with a wedding package of about 20 bunches of various flowers, freshly picked from their garden. I love that it’s a husband and wife team, and that I’ll be directly supporting the farmers (and their pesticide-free methods!)

There’s a growing number of sources for organic flowers for those who are interested. In the U.S. Organic Bouquet has been getting a lot of buzz, though they mainly specialize in gift bouquets. The UK’s answer to gifts of cut flowers is Organic Flower Company.

Local Harvest will help you find an organic flower farm in your area, if you’re in the U.S. And this organic food directory lists a number of UK options.

Fantastic… except for one thing. Now that I have this lovely flower, the idea of cutting it off and watching it wither makes me a little sad. I started wondering about whether it’s even ethical at all to use cut flowers. In retrospect I wish I’d maybe gone the potted plant route for centerpieces. It’s amazing how creating something gives you a whole new appreciation for its life.