Home-Style Wedding

Cathy and Nick were married on August 16, 2008 in Baltimore, MD.

How They Met Cathy and Nick both work with the mentally ill. Nick is a clinical social worker and Cathy is a psychologist. The two were set up on a blind date by friends and immediately clicked. "Our shared passion for social justice was one of the first things that drew us together."

The Decision to Go Green Although Cathy and Nick had originally planned a larger wedding, they decided it was more important for them to use their resources to buy their first home together. They also wanted to have a "socially responsible wedding that was consistent with our values and minimized excess and waste." To this end, the couple sent out hand written invitations inviting a small list of guests to celebrate with them at their new home. "Our invitations were handwritten by a good friend. Both the invitations and thank you notes were written on recycled paper and we decided to limit waste by not using RSVP cards."

"Our wedding occurred on the front porch and the celebration was set up as a garden party in the side yard and included 15 of our dear friends and family."

Flowers It was important for Cathy and Nick to have locally grown flowers at their wedding. "Imported flowers expend tremendous resources, require preservatives for their journey, and are often the product of deplorable working conditions. In an effort to minimize our wedding’s impact on the environment, we chose to work with Local Color Flowers, a Baltimore based floral design company that values ecological responsibility and supports local growers." Local Color Flowers used an array of brightly colored summer flowers for Cathy and Nick’s wedding including Zinnias, Gomphrena, Asters and Celosia.

For the reception, the flowers were displayed in mason jars, decorative tin buckets, antique headlights, and glass tumblers. Instead of having favors, the flower arrangements from the ceremony and celebration were sent home with guests at the end of the night.

Creating a Space The couple asked their friends to pitch in with the table decor. They were able borrow everything they needed, including silverware, pitchers, candelabras, place card holders, and folding tables and chairs.

They strung white lights around the table to create an intimate outdoor space.

They used their iPod to play a "funky mix including everything from Brazilian music, traditional Irish music, Tribe Called Quest, Wilco, and Stevie Wonder."

Dessert On their wedding day, a good friend surprised the couple (who had chosen not to have a wedding cake) with a homemade cake made with local ingredients from Trickling Springs Creamery. The cake was adorned with a Mexican good luck charm (a figurine of a skeletal bride & groom) "bringing additional humor to the day."

Going Digital Cathy and Nick’s photographer, Tristan Spinski provided the couple with the digital negatives instead of prints. "We were able to create our own wedding album without printing pictures unnecessarily. Since we chose to have a small, intimate wedding, many of our loved ones were not physically present. It was important to us to be able to easily send family and friends electronic copies of our photos."

All in all, Cathy and Nick felt that "a socially conscious wedding with minimal impact on the environment was the ideal way for us to begin our marriage." As Cathy said, “The day just felt like us.”

Handmade Huppah+

I promised yesterday that I would share the two most unique things Paula and Harlan did for their wedding and here the are.

First, Paula chose to wear a purple dress - elegant enough that she looked like a summer bride and simple enough that she can wear it again!

Her dress was custom made by “Gentleman Jim,” the first African-American tailor ever hired by Macy’s. He now owns a small tailor shop in Atlanta. To read more about his story click here.

Second, Paul and Harlan were married under the family huppah.

The huppah was made by her cousin Bill Gordon and after each family wedding, the names of the new bride and groom are added to one of the poles.

The huppah cover was sewn by the groom's mother, in Paula and Harlan's favorite colors (purple and orange, respectively)...

and the effect was breathtaking.

Paula and Harlan now use the huppah cover as a quilt on their guest room bed, which is perfect because in judaism the huppah symbolizes the married couple's new home. What an amazing way to celebrate heritage and family unity!

If you are not lucky enough to have a seamstress in your family, and want to buy a handmade huppah cover you can use in your home click here to see a selection of huppah covers made by Israeli artists. Photographs care of Rebecca D'Angelo.

Spring Style

When Lisa Rainwater got married last month, she wore a gorgeous douppioni silk dress from the Bridal Garden, a New York store that sells once worn couture gowns and veils to raise money for education. Andy wore a wool suit he bought from Brooks Brothers, "specifically due to the sustainable farming practices used to acquire the sheep's wool."

For the flowers, Lisa and Andy chose beautiful local blooms:

"As you know [flowers] can be an enormous expense - both environmentally and for the budget. We chose flowers that were of the season and purchased from local florists/gardens." Lisa had sweet pea and lamb's ear in her bouquet, and her matron of honor carried lilacs. Their centerpieces were particularly beautiful. "Instead of table centerpieces filled with 'disposable' flowers, we used moss from our Woodstock property, that is able to be 'replanted' and regrown in its original location." Coupled with seasonal peonies the effect was show stopping.

If you like the wooden 'boats' they used from Ikea, you will be glad to know they are planning to resell them. Keep your eyes out at www.recycleyourwedding.com. As for the large urns filled with perennials, they are going "back to in our rock garden, [where they] will be with us for many years to come."

The photographs of Andy and Lisa's wedding were taken by photographer Lori Toole)

Recycle Your Wedding

After our wedding, when I had donated my dress, returned my mother's hall rug, and put away the family and heirloom items we used - I was surprised to find we still had a lot of miscellaneous wedding STUFF sitting around in our basement. We listed some of it on Craig's list and sold a few things off on eBay, but then I was introduced to the new Recycle Your Wedding site.

As CEO Rob Bailey notes, "Every bride wants a fairytale wedding, but not every bride can afford to spend $30,000 on their wedding. That's why it's so important to provide economical alternatives to expensive bridal and retail stores.The bridal community is a tight one, and new brides understand the struggles that future brides face. And when they can share their ideas, suggestions, and even products, it gives everyone a chance to enjoy the possibility of a fantasy wedding come true."

It also saves closet and landfills space, and helps offset the cost of your wedding. Also, unlike eBay, listing is free - which I highly approve of!

I like the idea of a wedding-centered marketplace - where couples can buy, sell, and trade wedding items (and bid on services). My husband and I listed glassware, candle holders and even the pump mechanisms we used in our table fountain centerpieces. Here's to another great way to keep things out of the waste stream! Recycle you wedding!

A Family Affair

When Heather Pancake Fincher married her husband Matthew, they incorporated many natural and local elements into their day: Heather wore a beautiful silk gown designed and sewn by hand by a local dressmaker. They also used local food: At the rehearsal dinner (or the "pre-ception" party - as she calls it) "the meat was locally catered, and the rest of the sides and desserts were handmade delicacies by my family and neighbors." During the week of the wedding, Heather's family cooked many of the meals, and served party leftovers after the wedding. "Many organic foods were served, in addition to veggies from the garden in my parents' back yard. My aunt made our wedding cake from scratch and decorated it with flowers." Heather tried to keep all of the events close together: "Our ceremony and reception were within walking distance, so no one had to drive between locations. The wedding party stayed at the Green River Bridge House bed and breakfast and in a neighbor's home that served as a bed and breakfast next door, so guests were able to car pool and often walk to meet one another for the few days people were there. The Green River Bridge House is next to a river, waterfall and covered bridge, just down a slight hill from the little white church with a steeple [where we had our wedding]. It was Perfect!" Heather has taken her passion for green weddings to the next level. In 2007 she founded her own eco-chic invitation company Our Happy Wedding Day and I have added one of her designs to the interactive look book invitation page.

Donate Your Bridesmaid Dresses Now!

After my wedding I donated my dress to Brides Against Breast Cancer. (For more places to donate your bridal gown click here). However, there are also a number of places do donate bridesmaid dresses. The two most common options are The Cinderella Project and the The Glass Slipper Project. However, a friend of mine just e-mailed about another wonderful opportunity: *HELP*NOT ENOUGH DRESSES*MAY HAVE TO CANCEL* 100 Dresses needed by Monday * Hello Everyone We all remember how important prom was. Unfortunately many of the girls on my friend Spring's reservation, the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota, do not have resources for Prom. So the Teen Center on the reservation started "Passion for Fashion" where they collect dresses, then the girls get to "shop" for Prom. Unfortunately there have not been enough donations this year, and they may have to cancel. They need to know by the end of this week if they can collect 100 more dresses. So if you can help, please RSVP with specifics. Please forward to others (especially college and high school gals who may have some goodies from last year.) NEEDED: *formal dresses (new or gently used. all sizes, up to 24) *formal shoes *make up *accessories *shoes *evening bags DEADLINES: *MAILED BY: MONDAY MARCH 24 *PROM "SHOPPING": Week of March 31 MAILING ADDRESS: Cheyenne River Youth Project "Passion for Fashion" P.O. Box 410 E Lincoln Street Eagle Butte, SD 57625 Phone: 1-605-964-8200 Fax: 1-605-964-8201 Email: info@lakotayouth.org www.lakotayouth.org

If you are reading this post after the deadline - it is still worth calling the above number - perhaps they can get a jump on next year!

Recycle Your Train

If you do not want to wear a train or would like to shorten the train on your dress - save the fabric and turn it into something else you can use for your wedding. I had the bulk of my train made into a fashionable shawl - which was perfect for a crisp fall day. The rest my husband's great aunt made into a break-the-glass pillow for us.