By A.J. O'CONNELL
Times Staff Writer
STAMFORD -- Kate L. Harrison and Heather Burns Demelo are hoping more brides will make green part of their wedding color scheme.
The two women hosted the Eco-Chic Wedding & Home Show Event at The Hotel Chesterfield in Stamford last Saturday. The show -- which hosted earth-friendly businesses ranging from caterers to spas to jewelers specializing in rough-cut diamonds --
featured an "eco-chic" fashion show by "green" designers and seminars for the eco-savvy bride and groom.
According to Mia Schipani, spokeswoman for the Hotel Chesterfield, it is Connecticut's first such bridal show.
"It's not just another wedding show," said Harrison, author of "The Green Bride Guide" (http://www.thegreenbrideguide.com).
Harrison wrote the book after she married her husband Barry in 2007. She wants brides to know it is possible for them to go green on their wedding day and save $10,000 at the same time.
"This is the thing about going green today," exclaimed Harrison. "It's not hard!"
Burns DeMelo started her Web site, http://www.ctgreenscene.com, after seeing Al Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth." She had her first Green Scene event in Westport in early 2007. This is her first foray, however, into the wedding industry.
"There is an immense amount of waste produced (at weddings). It's a throw-away event. But weddings are also a $70 billion a year industry," she said. "If you can imagine shifting even one percent of that over to green businesses."
Burns DeMelo says that finding green companies for weddings was more challenging than she anticipated. She was surprised at how easy it was to find eco-friendly caterers, while green florists were nearly impossible to find.
"Florists were really tough," she said. "Most flowers come from South America. It's tough to be green when you're shipping thousands of miles in refrigeration."
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Posted by: Bridal jewelry, Wedding jewelry sets, Bridesmaid jewelry, Wedding jewelry sets, Bridesmaid Jewelry | September 17, 2009 at 07:35 AM