This wedcab includes such mysteries as chic chair covers (you can’t sit on a naked chair at a wedding – what would the reverend say?), sophisticated table runners and lovely wedding favours (or ‘awesome wedding favors‘ in our North American sisters’ wedcab).

Now I thought a favour was something someone did for you slightly reluctantly and for which you were then eternally in debt – or at least until you could perform a similar task that called for an equal measure of reluctance.

At least I did until I started to plan my wedding.  I then found out (thanks Wikipedia) that:

Wedding favors are small gifts given as a gesture of appreciation or gratitude to guests from the bride and groom during a wedding ceremony or a wedding reception.

The tradition of distributing wedding favors is a very old one. It is believed that the first wedding favor, common amongst European aristocrats, was known as a bonbonniere. A bonbonniere is a small trinket box made of crystal, porcelain, and/or precious stones. The contents of these precious boxes were generally sugar cubes or delicate confections, which symbolize wealth and royalty. [...]

As the price of sugar decreased throughout centuries, the tradition of providing gifts to guests reached the general populace and was embraced by couples of modest means.

As you’ll know if you read our blog regularly, we have little truck with tradition and if favours don’t form part of your green wedding masterplan, that’s fine by us.

But a little pondering led us to the conclusion that they could play a useful role in your celebrations – especially now that a wedding favour isn’t limited to the 5 sugar almonds representing fertility, longevity, wealth, health and happiness.

5 reasons to favour favours

1. Stave off hunger – a wedding day is often a long one and guests can lose their good humour waiting to get served.  An edible favour can be just what they need to keep them going till the starter!

2. A memento - make it something personal to you as a couple: a poem from your wedding ceremony, a candle with the date of the wedding, pot pourri from the flowers that make up your bouquet

3. A place marker - don’t forget the favour can double up as a place name – the chocolate with the guest’s name iced on it, the paperweight with the guest’s name engraved

4. A crafty treat - if you’ve got nimble fingers this could be your chance to put them to good use!  A handmade bag to hold choccies, a crocheted heart, a dried flower bookmark?

5. An ethical wedding opportunity – make the chocolates Fairtrade (we had Divine chocolate hearts), give a wedding favour that represents a donation to your chosen charity, or what about wild flower seed wedding favours that your guests can plant when they get home?

These days pretty much anything goes.  Here are a few of our favourites.

American Bridal has a great range of eco, earth-friendly wedding favours:

Personalised flower seed wedding favours

Your guests will get 300 mg of wildflower seeds, which should cover around 20 square feet. You can customise the packets with the colour and design you want, and then add 3 lines of text which could include a thank you or suitably sweet sentiment, your names and the date of your wedding.

Eco-friendly photo album wedding favors

I also love these:

Made from recycled paper with a natural-twine loop to fasten, your guests will enjoy picking their favourite photos from your day to remember in this bijou album.

If you’ve got time, you could even get them started with a photo of you and your other half or (if you’ve got even more time and sufficient photos!) both of you with the relevant guest.

Charity wedding favours

Many charities now give you the option to make a donation on your guests’ behalf in lieu of a favour.  The NSPCC offer personalised wedding favour cards and pin badges as a keepsake and to let your guests know where the donation has gone.

Plant pot favours

Getting green-fingered again, Beau-coup has found these gorgeous mini bamboo plants to delight your guests.

Eco tote bag favours

Or if you really want to ram the green message home, you could present your guests with these “Reuse, conserve, recycle, sustain” eco-friendly tote bags.

Heartfelt favours

From another of our lovely Ethical Weddings suppliers, The heartfelt project, come these handcrafted, feast-for-the-eyes wedding favours which are sewn by a group of women in Makapanstad, South Africa.

Whether you go for a key ring, bookmark or fridge magnet, each favour gives a small donation to a local HIV/AIDS and TB charity, and helps to support the heartfelt ladies and their families.

Chocolate wedding favours

And I couldn’t leave you without a word on the chocolate wedding favour. It’s the perfect chance to say ‘yay’ to Fairtrade while filling your guests’ tummies with something yummy.

On our wedding day in 2005, we popped Divine chocolate mini eggs into our handmade favour bags  and they went down extremely well.

Or how about these tasty-looking hearts (I’ve already heavily hinted to my other half that these should feature in his Valentine’s Day plans for me!)?

Over to you

So if you decide to go with tradition and give your guests a wedding favour, we hope we’ve given you a few ideas beyond sugared almonds. We’d love to hear which you choose – and some pics would be wonderful too.

Happy planning!

Katie

What next?

• Sign up to our Ethical Weddings newsletter
• Follow us on Twitter @ethicalweddings

Ethical, eco or green wedding fairs are still sprouting up here and there around the country and we really hope you’ll go along and support them so that we have more in years to come.

The real success story for 2012 though has to be the vintage wedding fair – whether you’re based north, south, east or west there should be a vintage wedding show near you.  And at Ethical Weddings we love vintage (when it’s properly done) – giving old stuff (‘Something old…’) a new life helps to keep your carbon footprint up the aisle nice and low.  If you’re planning to go vintage for your wedding, do tell as we’re planning some more articles on this topic soon.

Take a look at the vintage, eco and alternative wedding fairs in 2012 here

If you know of one that we’ve missed, let us know and we’ll add it to the list.

Have fun at the (wedding) fair!

Katie

What next?

• Sign up to our Ethical Weddings newsletter
• Follow us on Twitter @ethicalweddings

I was saddened to read about the Irish bride who “bagged herself a bargain” on EBay by buying a €6 brand new wedding dress from China.

In these tight times, I can understand how brides might think this is a fantastic idea. Anything to do with weddings has an overinflated price-tag, especially wedding dresses but I’m asking everyone to think about the true cost of this “bargain”.

When I was planning my wedding last year, I just couldn’t justify spending thousands on a dress that was essentially the most expensive cost-per-wear item I’d ever own.

I was briefly tempted by a Google ad boasting suspiciously cheap, fully customised wedding dresses, knock-off designer dresses for a fraction of the cost. When I saw the dresses were made in China, I was immediately turned off.

The internet and particularly EBay has allowed smaller, family-run textile companies to sell their products direct to the consumer all over the world. Nobody can deny that this is a good thing, as long as they can make a good living out of it.

Chinese cottage industry?

The €6 wedding dress isn’t made by some enterprising Chinese granny, building an EBay empire with a Singer machine and her web savvy grandchildren. More than likely, the average cheap Chinese wedding dress is made by the human equivalent of a battery hen, in crowded and sometimes dangerous conditions, receiving little pay, working extremely long hours and enduring inhumane conditions (to the point of prohibited bathroom breaks).

Picture the misery and suffering that goes into that beautiful dress, and the contrast of the happy bride thrilled about her unbelievable bargain is a little grotesque.

It is unbelievable, because the numbers don’t work. How can a company (even a Chinese one) pay overheads, advertising and material costs, let alone pay a fair and decent wage to the people making these dresses, and still make a worthwhile profit? The only way to make that work is through exploitation, pure and simple.

Surely it can’t be that bad? Am I exaggerating? The problem is, there’s no way to tell.

Spotlight on the consumer giants

Multi-national giants like Nike and Primark are always under a lot of scrutiny about their Chinese made clothes. Recently they’ve spent a lot of time and money improving their factories. They may not be perfect, but they are under pressure to provide a living wage, ensuring basic health and safety and rejecting child and slave labour in their supply chain.

All this regulation and inspection and even they can’t get it right all the time. We always hear about violations and scandals. They have to constantly monitor every factory, supplier and outsourcer, because all too often there are people willing to exploit others in the name of a (slightly) greater profit. Not even Primark, with its huge economies of scale and reputation for cheap clothes would see the economic viability (or have the audacity) to sell a €6 wedding dress.

Ethical standards for all

If these huge companies with reputations to protect get it wrong, imagine what some ruthless “entrepreneur” with a couple of sewing machines and a website will try tp get away with. Just because these companies are faceless, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be held to ethical standards.

Do you think they dispose of their textile waste carefully and care about where they source their materials? Do you think their employees can take a sick day, work in a safe environment or have the luxury to feel a glowing sense of satisfaction that they are working to create someone’s dream wedding dress?

Cutting wedding costs – ethically

Nobody can deny that weddings cost too much. If you’re on a tight wedding budget, consider buying a pre-loved dress on EBay (like I did), go vintage, borrow or hire one, or find an ethical supplier.

Alternatively, find an organisation like Barnardo’s who sell brand new, samples, seconds and pre-loved wedding dresses through their special bridal shops.

Profits help fund their work looking after vulnerable and exploited children. I love what they do (I even used to work for them) and they have some absolutely incredible wedding dresses.  Turn your happily ever after into a chance to do good for a child’s future. How’s that for a wedding dress enriched in good karma?

The demand for bargain wedding dresses will always be there, but we’re better than that, we can’t pretend that it’s fair or right. We have the luxury to choose to only support ethical suppliers.

Ladies, don’t be tempted and do the right thing. There is just nothing pretty or romantic about a €6 wedding dress.

Denise

Denise is a travel blogger, Law of Attraction and personal development coach and a public speaker. She is currently travelling around the world with her husband Mark as winners of the Ultimate Job competition. Follow their adventure at www.thehoneymoontesters.com

I don’t like the idea of asking people for money as it seems a bit odd, so in the end we went for a list of grow-your-own goodies from Harrod Horticultural who have been really helpful.

We also talked to Manda Wilderness about projects that they would like supporting, and they decided that they would love to have donations towards buying desks and chairs for the schools that they’re building with the community.  Guests seem to really like this and it’s so exciting feeling that we can make a tangible difference to a big project.

Another good place for ethical wedding (or other) gifts is the Good Gift Guide.  I’ve used this for general gifts and it’s brilliant!  People really want to give to you at weddings and rather than getting stuff I don’t need for the sake of it, what a great opportunity to support something I believe in.

I would recommend, if you go down this route, to choose specific things for  a charity rather than, say, “please make donations to the NSPCC” or whichever charity you choose.  Guests like to know where their money is going, which is why supporting a specific Manda project, or buying a “Good Gift” works so well.

If you love cats, maybe a donation to a new cat housing area for your local cat sanctuary is a good idea.  If it’s the Rainforest you want to save, suggest specific amounts to guests – for instance Rainforest Concern convert a £25 donation to half an acre of rainforest saved which is much nicer for the guest than a random donation to a large, faceless charity pot.

Wedding outfits—let’s fight again
Apparently Mr. H, as I do, doesn’t really agree with most of my stepmom’s ‘conventional’ ideas in regards to our wedding. He kept telling me that, unfortunately, numerous Indonesian couples usually have to eventually do what their parents want them to do in their wedding day. Okay, I get it. But what I want to say is that we decided to try to talk again with my stepmom, explaining to her that having only one wedding outfit for each of us (for both the ceremony and reception) would be the better option we desire, etc., etc. My stepmom is a seamstress, so she intended to make my wedding kebaya (the traditional/national dress in Indonesia), while I wanted to wear everything that I already have, but we’ll see later.

Invitations—almost ethical and DIY
After perusing some pictures of invitations I like from the internet, we made our final choice to model this one below (I apologize that I can’t mention the source, as I no longer remember from which website I found it), but we’re going to use only one paper (instead of three pieces like pictured beneath) and one ribbon (and maybe plus a small piece of paper on the back, containing the map that shows routes to my parent’s home as the reception location). We plan to buy the papers only and then print everything using my HP printer. My country has not yet familiar with vegetable-based printer ink, so no such thing as that is produced in mass, and we’re just using the conventional kind of ink.

Favors—this is ethical, I suppose
We came to a decision to donate a portion of money (his money) to a local environmental organization (we haven’t decided which organization) in our guests’ honours. We plan to ask the concerning organization to make a kind of ‘receipt’ or something (or we will) that will be given to the guests when they come to our reception. I actually have proposed this donating idea since months ago, so I’m glad that he lastly agrees.

Groom’s gifts—bring this topic back
Earlier, I said that Mr. H and I made an agreement not to have any kind of gifts (seserahan/antaran—goods given by the groom to the bride when he proposes formally and when groom and family first come to the ceremony location, to be used by the bride at and/or after the wedding, such as clothes, cosmetics, toiletries, shoes, cakes, cookies, etc.). But apparently both sides of our parents insist us to have at least a few. So, in order not to burden Mr. H, I request goods that can be used by both of us after we get married—one springbed, one cupboard, one stove, one pan, one wok, toiletries (for both of us), and several other that are still in plan.

Looking forward to another great progress

Business name: Morgan Boszilkov, Natural Bridal Collection
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Tell us a bit about yourself and your business
The Natural Bridal Collection was born from a union of my loves for fashion, everything green and everything romantic.

The gowns I design are hand-crafted locally using sustainable fabrics.

My company is committed to social and environmental responsibility and contributes 5% of profits to organizations that support the environment.

I grew up being told that I needed a “real” profession and should have an artistic hobby. So I got a business degree with a concentration in accounting. That didn’t last long.

I soon moved to Japan. I was strolling around the shopping district and met an inspiring young wedding gown designer and knew that it was my calling, my dream to do the same.

I have always been green at heart and did not find many eco-friendly and socially responsible wedding gowns available. I realized what a wonderful opportunity existed to offer elegant, luxurious, beautiful, and green wedding gowns to the modern bride.

What or who inspires you?
Nature is an incredibly inspiring force in my art and daily life. I am also inspired by my travels in Europe and Asia, by the intelligent, strong and beautiful women in my life for whom I name my dresses, and by the fabrics I use. The sustainable fabrics are gorgeous, and I enjoy sculpting and draping with them.

What do you enjoy most about running your business?
Every time someone asks me what I do, I realize that I am so lucky to be able to do what I love. The fact that my business allows me to make a positive impact on the world and its move toward a more environmentally and socially conscious place is amazing.

What is the most challenging aspect?
I am looking forward to a greater range of sustainable fabrics available and more of the supply chain becoming green and socially responsible.

What do you feel you bring to an ethical wedding?
I strive to apply green and socially responsible principles to all aspects of my business. A wedding gown is an expression of a bride’s individuality.

My gowns give the modern bride the opportunity to make a statement while looking elegant and beautiful on her very special day. I provide an eco-friendly alternative to the traditional wedding dress.

How do you see the wedding industry changing over the next five years (if at all)?
I hope to see weddings become greener and less wasteful. The events surrounding a marriage are a great opportunity to share environmentally and socially conscious ideas and values with family and friends.

Find out more about Morgan Boszilkov, Natural Bridal Collection or talk about ethical wedding dresses with other brides-to-be in the Ethical Weddings Forum.

If I could have chosen one place in the world to fall in love, it would have been Woodford Folk Festival. Living in Brisbane, Australia, since 2000 (and prior to that, Birmingham, England), I have been constantly enthralled by the beautiful surroundings of my favourite city. Just to the North of Brisbane, Woodford lies in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, in view of the Glass House Mountains.

As editor of Soulshine, an Australian independent music website, I have been very much involved in the music scene since 2004. Woodford represents the highlight of the music year for many people in Australia, and it now has an added significance for me! Lachie and I met as we were volunteering together on the same festival bar, and we got together on December 30th, 2005. I must have known I was on to something, as I sent a midnight text message to everyone in my phone book, telling them I had met someone amazing!

Knowing I was moving to Melbourne to be with a sick friend just ten days later, we spent every minute together until the time came to say goodbye. By now we were well and truly in love, and spent the next two months spending hours and a small fortune staying in contact by phone. After moving back to Brisbane, Lachie moved to a house just 70 metres from mine, and our lives were shared from then on. So it was that in September 2007, when I had to return to England, that Lachlan found himself returning with me.

Lachie is a high school teacher, and little did I know that when he went to school, he was plotting with other teachers and teaching assistants how to pop the question. We had talked about it a little, feeling that marriage was our next logical step, and when our second anniversary came around, I hoped that he would seize the moment! However, it was midafternoon by the time we set off for the little town of Kirkby Lonsdale in Cumbria for our daytrip, and the sun was starting to set by the time we sat down on a bench overlooking ‘Ruskins View’. In fact, Lachie was so busy trying to find the right words that it was almost complete darkness when he actually proposed. What a relief!

Of course, it’s only once you’re a bride-to-be that you suddenly realise what that actually entails! My first few forays across the internet in search of ideas left me quite horrified and somewhat scared at what we were facing. We are pretty simple people, and although I don’t consider myself an eco-warrior (despite the dreadlocks!), I was appalled at how opulent and resource-hungry the wedding industry appears to be. Ironically, the more opulence we found, the more determined we became to have a simple, honest wedding that met our basic requirements to be a positive experience and eco-friendly.

In my next post, I’ll describe the arduous process of searching for the right venue.. and share the links to some of the places I found!