Recycled Paper and Used Books

Lisa and Andy used these beautiful scarlet wedding invitations for their wedding from Invitesite.com - made from sugarcane and mulberry fibers. When they had paper leftover, they used the remnants to construct seating cards, which they hung from branches.

The cards directed their guests to their tables, which were named after literary genres:

"Andy and I are avid readers and writers. We share a love of literature and, both writing novels at the time, began our relationship long-distance by sending each other copies of chapters for review and critique. We not only wanted to incorporate elements of who we are as individuals and as a couple into the wedding but also wanted to give our guests favors that would not be discarded the next day."

So they went to The Strand, "a mammoth used bookstore in Manhattan on a cold and rainy spring day with a list of over 100 of our favorite books in hand, hoping to find them all!" They found 70 (not bad!) and ordered the rest online from Powells, a famous used book store in Portland.

The books were divided into themes, which became the names of the tables:

Erin go Bragh (I'm Irish), The Tuscan Sun (Andy's Italian), The Seafarers (our love of water -- and Andy was a former boat builder), The Dramatics (our favorite plays), The Philosopher's Stone (our favorite philosophers), The Nature Within (books about nature, environmentalism, ecology), The Rebels ... (our favorite male writers), ... With a Cause (our favorite female writers), The Drawing Room (our favorite classics), and The Mysterious (our favorite crime/murder mysteries).

The books doubled as favors, as each guest got to choose one book from a selection at their table. Lisa and Andy went out of their way to "arrange [the] table seating according to the interests of [their] guests" - so their guests were treated to good conversation as well.

"People loved the personal touch - and it jumpstarted conversations with guests who otherwise didn't know each other. It is such a fantastic feeling to know that 100 of our favorites are now in the hands of our closest friends and families!"