Skip to main content

The Sustainable Bride- New Jersey

Hello fellows! I am now 4 years past the BIG day! But while I was planning our wedding, it had to feel like it reflected our values (mine are his now ;) )
So, while I'd been researching bits and pieces for my 'dream wedding' for quite some time now, I finally got engaged in November 2016 to my long-time boyfriend, Matthew.

Wouldn't you know it, after 7.5 years of dating we are having an 11 month engagement and getting married October of 2017. I searched laboriously for a blog or book to guide me in eco-friendly wedding choices, but didn't find anything that covered all of the areas I felt needed to be evaluated. So, I'll be adding to this post with my successes and failures as we encounter them.


1) The engagement ring: This one, I had already made subtle suggestions to Matt on where to source my ring :) Brilliant Earth uses only certified conflict-free gemstones and precious metals. Most of the metals are also recycled.


2) The venue: We visited 5 different venues. Things we prioritized were: Ability to go outdoors for ceremony if desired, farm to table food offerings (preferred caterers), and within an hour drive of most of our guests. We love the rustic feel, but at some locations I went 'too rustic' for my fiancée 😂 (no porta-johns!) We ended up falling in love with Waterloo Village. it's in Allamuchy State Park, so our wedding site fee will help the state park continue to run. It's historic, (old with character can be beautiful!) And finding new uses for old things is the original sustainable act! They also included a lot of decor, so we didn't have to go buy everything that would only be used on that day (save green and GREEN).

3) The caterer: Waterloo comes with a single caterer required, Jeffrey A Miller (JAM) out of Philadelphia. JAM is responsible for bringing life back to Waterloo Village after it's funding was cut by the state several years back. JAM does farm to table menus and gets all produce from a local CSA. We featured seasonal and local cheeses, fruits, vegetables and free-range meats. We opted out of red meat and served chicken and salmon or a vegetarian option.


4) Photography: We picked a photographer who sent all images digitally, so we could print just what we wanted. We also bought the rights so we could put the photos into an eco-friendly album! Thanks to Robert and Kathleen Photographers for capturing our perfect day!


5) DJ/ Entertainment: No goodies/giveaways- they're fun for an hour, but are made of cheap plastic and end up in the landfill.

6) Invitations- We have a lot of elderly relatives and family friends, so keeping everything digital wasn't realistic. But we mailed recycled paper invitations and asked for digital RSVPs, instantly cutting our carbon footprint in half!
  
7) THE dress: Cue angels singing! This was my crunch point. The dress is new, so are the veil and shoes. But I plan to sell or donate the dress. Borrowed pearls from Mom. Bought the dress local, and veil from a seller on Etsy. <3

 8) Favors: Who wants another glass shoe of candy or mesh bag of Jordan almonds? Not me! We ordered a NJ wildflower mix in cute seed packets. slapped a piece of ribbon and our names on them, and done! A usable favor! Planted them at my mother-in-law's house over the summer and they thrived!




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Living Technologies

Ok, so of course coming fresh off the plane from the Living Future Conference in Seattle has really got me excited about the best and brightest in green building. I will be sharing lessons learned , case studies, and knowledge nuggets in several posts. And sorry for falling off the map for so long to all my readers- life happens, eh? So one of the most interesting innovations I learned about at the conference is the BIQ house in Hamburg, Germany. This is a multi-story apartment building that is completely powered by algae! Algae sits inbetween panes of glass, eats carbon dioxide and sunlight, and produces oily algae that are digested by the building to create power. Neat huh? This building is a pilot/prototype but just opened several weeks ago. This building brings up a lot of interest in algae for it's many uses. i've seen explorations in bioluminescent algae for street lighting, algae grown for biofuel for transportation, algae for wastewater treatment, and now to pow
2 comments
Read more

It's a Silly Time to learn to swim when you start to Drown

It's a silly time to learn to swim on the way down Well why am I quoting this fabulous Tegan and Sarah song? It came on during my morning commute and it had me thinking- yeah! I bet a lot of society feels the same way about climate change. It is beyond me how people can deny that climate change exists- or say they 'don't believe in it'. It's not a religion, cult movement, theoretical ideal or ideas spun by your average street-corner crazy. It is a scientifically documented, million researcher strong, thousands of pages-per-volume fact. But- it would be so much easier to get by day to day if you didn't feel like the world around you was closing in and smothering you. We don't know how to swim through all this information- and with the policy makers in their later years, they have some trouble understanding what to do and think if they just ignore it, deny it, or drag their feet they can just tread water instead of swimming forward. I totally see how that gets
1 comment
Read more

"The Big Fix" Film Premiere

What an honor it was to be invited to a film premiere! On Tuesday Night, I muddled through the rain and crowds of New York City to the Village 7 theaters to attend Green Building Professionals Night of "The Big Fix" film showing. "The Big Fix" is a documentary film created by a husband and wife film team venture to the Gulf after the BP Oil Spill almost a year and a half ago. Here's some quick highlights of things I did not know about the oil spill that YOU should really note- 1) It is still leaking, BP confirmed within the past week that the oil plug was not a cure-all, and the Deepwater Horizon disaster continues. 2) The tax quarter after the oil spill, BP still had $16 billion in profits. But because it was not their expected $32 billion, the US government shot them a tax break for over 10 billion dollars. 3) Corexit, the dispersant used to break up the oil slicks we saw on the surface of the water. Is completely toxic to humans and animals. It can cause misc
Post a Comment
Read more