CT Green Scene

Green Bride Guide Offers the Top 10 Trends for a Perfect Spring Wedding

By Kate L. Harrison 

Flowers are blooming, the weather is heating up, and couples are readying themselves to walk down the aisle. This spring, couples have more options than ever before to add gorgeous green elements to their special day. 

GreenBrideGuide, the nation’s No. 1 resource for green wedding ideas, products and services, which has relationships with 1,300+ vendors across the country, offers the following top 10 tips to plan a unique and trendy eco-conscious wedding this spring.

1. Late Night Bites

If 2011 was the year of breakfast weddings, then 2012 is the year of midnight munchies! After your guests have danced the night away, serve bite-sized snacks to rejuvenate them for the remainder of the evening. For a winter wedding, try small shot glasses of hot chocolate and mini doughnuts. Planning a spring wedding? Serve a single tortilla crisp adorned with organic mango salsa, a petite pita pocket filled with fresh vegetables and hummus; or a mini cherry pie for a sweet pick-me-up.

2. Do It For The Kids!

Create a kid friendly atmosphere for your younger wedding guests. Your green wedding is the time to teach others how to live sustainably and who better to start with than the kids? Make special place settings for all the children at your wedding. Give them a small potted plant and a crossword puzzle filled with green buzz words. You can even set up a small kids corner where they can play while the adults chat and dine.

3. DIY Aisle Style

DIY aisle runners are easy to do! With the right materials any green bride can create an aisle runner in no time. You can go the traditional route and use recycled paper with your insignia painted onto the runner with your wedding date and any other pretty flourishes you want to include. You can also opt for a more unique alternative and use a slate runner with special phrases and designs written in chalk. Another option for the ultra-crafty bride is a crocheted aisle runner in bright and bold colors.

New Green Wedding Website and Contest!

Dear Friends, 

After many months of work, I a delighted to announce the launch of the new Green Bride Guide website! It still needs a lot of work, but the main site is up and running.  

To celebrate the occasion and to help us determine what features to focus on building next, we are running a contest between now and March 1st. If you were married in the last two years, are currently engaged or are thinking about getting married soon, please take 5 minutes to complete this survey and ENTER TO WIN $100 worth of eco-friendly products and a signed copy of the book, The Green Bride Guide.

Feel free to spread the word and don't forget to check out our ECO CHIC WEDDING & HOME SHOW ON MAY 2nd at THE HOTEL CHESTERFIELD IN STAMFORD!!!!

Working with Branches

by Kate Harrison

If you live in CT, are planning a winter wedding and want to have seasonal flowers, you may be left scratching your head. However, forcing branches is a simple trick that looks beautiful and can provide you with colorful blooms in the dead of winter.  You simply cut branches from fruiting trees (like cherry, pear or dogwood), and place them in warm water in your house. Change the water regularly to avoid rot and keep the branches out of direct sunlight.  Branches can take anywhere from one to eight weeks to bloom depending on the species, temperature, etc. so do your homework beforehand. In no time you can have dramatic (and free!) blooms for your wedding.  Here are some examples of how branches can enhance your decor:

Image: Rebecca Thuss

Image: Willi Wong for Seaport Flowers

Image: Elegant Effects Floral

Even dried (non-flowering) branches can be extremely elegant in the right context, and can feel very summery when paired with seaside elements like stones, shells or sand. 

Image: Michele M Waite

Image: Smith & Hawkin

As you can see, branches are lovely eco-chic decoration, for every day use as well as weddings.  So next time you tromp out into the February cold, I hope you will see ever tree with new eyes! And just in case you need LIVE INSPIRATION, don't miss our Eco Chic Wedding & Home Show on May 2, 2009!

5 Simple Things You Can Do To Green Your Wedding

By Kate Harrison

Are you looking for a few easy ways to green your wedding?  Here are five big picture ideas to get you on the right track.

1. Location, location, location

With friends and families so dispersed these days, it is important to pick a location that in convenient for the majority of your guests. Not only will it decrease their travel costs (which they will be grateful for), but it will also decrease the carbon footprint of your wedding. Also, because couples spend about half of their budget on the reception venue, choosing a place that gives back to the community makes a big difference. Good examples include community centers, museums, and public gardens.

Image:Stealth Settings

2.  Choose local seasonal flowers
Couples spend an average of $2,000 on flowers.  Flowers are one of the most heavily pesticided crops in the world and more than half of the  flowers available in the United States are imported from overseas (which uses fuel and contributes to global warming). By choosing seasonal flowers you not only decrease the cost of your wedding, but you decrease your impact on both the environment and human health.  You can see what's growing at nearby farms by checking the database at Local Harvest.

Image:The Meadow

3. Go organic

Ask your caterer about including a few seasonal, organic elements in your menu.  If you can't find a green baker, see which vendors are willing to substitute in organic flour, sugar, eggs and milk (all of which are easy to get at most large supermarkets).

Image: Better Health

A Conversation with Kate L. Harrison on Green Weddings

Environmentally conscious weddings are on the rise. And for a multi-billion dollar per year industry that is great news for our environment!  From organically-grown dishes, conflict free diamonds, recyclable invitations and earth-friendly party favors I can't help but ask; is green the new white?

Kate L. Harrison a New Haven, CT resident and author of The Green Bride Guide due out in stores December 2nd tells us more:

Q. What is a green wedding?

A. "A green wedding is any wedding where the couple tries to decrease the impact of the event on the planet -- and there are many ways to do it!  Every part of a wedding, from invitations to the favors, has eco-friendly options worth considering."

Q. Is it more expensive to have a sustainable, eco-friendly wedding?

A. "No! This is a myth that I am working hard to dispel.  A green wedding can cost more than a conventional wedding or it can cost less (up to 60% by my estimates).  It depends entirely on the choices you make.  That is why I have divided each section of the book up by price.  I offer low, medium and high-end choices in every category so couples can easily decide where to save and where to splurge.  You never have to sacrifice style or comfort to be green."

Q. What is the easiest component any wedding can incorporate to make it more sustainable?

A. "Couples spend about half of their budget on food, so this is a great place to make change.  Ask your caterer to create a menu with local, seasonal and organic dishes.  In addition to being better for the environment, they taste amazing!"

Q. There are many products on the market that claim to be "all-natural" or "organic", how can couples be sure they are choosing legitimate green products for their wedding?

A. "This is a significant problem.  Look at the recommendations in my book ( I have a whole section on green washing) and at thegreenbrideguide.com, check Co-op America's green pages and most importantly, ask questions!"

Q. What inspired you to write The Green Bride Guide and what can readers expect?

A. "The short answer is that it was the resource that I wanted to have but could not find when my husband and I were planning our wedding. The Green Bride Guide has all the basic wedding information (e.g. checklists and vendor contact sheets) but also offers hundreds of eco-friendly ideas and up-to-date resources in an organized, easy-to-navigate format."

What's next? The future looks green! And Kate will be contributing more green wedding ideas right here on CTGreen Scene.  Check back soon!  Interested in having your own green wedding?  Have more questions or concerns?  Ask Kate.

Don't Let Those Pumpkins Go To Waste!

by Kate L. Harrison

Happy Halloween CT!  To celebrate the holiday I thought I would modify a short entry I put together for GetMarried.com.  Even if you are not planning a wedding, these ideas are a fun and elegant use of pumpkins & gourds:

When you think about pumpkins you may not immediately think "eco-chic decor."  However, pumpkins are seasonal, plentiful, reusable/compostable and can be quite festive.  Here are five ways to use incorporate pumpkins into any fall celebration. 

1. Instead of carving creepy faces, cut geometric patterns into pumpkins to create luminous lanterns.  

 

2. Carve out a large pumpkin and use it as a cooler.

Images above: Martha Stewart Living

 

3. Place small pumpkins and colorful gourds in the center of your tables.  Guests can take them home after the meal and enjoy them for weeks.

Image:Angelique Events

 

4. Use miniature pumpkins/gourds o hold seating cards.  These can also double as favors. 

Image: Kaboodle

 

5. Say good-bye with pumpkin style. 

Image:Evite Blog

CT RESOURCES:

Still looking for a pumpkin?  Click here to find one at a local CT farm. 

Not sure about what to do with all of those pumpkin innards?  Check out some of the delicious pumpkin and pumpkin seed recipes at Epicurious!  

To learn more about composting in CT click here.