green weddings finale

Since there were a number of readers who contributed to this topic of environmentally friendly weddings, I wanted to squeeze in one more post. I'm starting with jewelry designer Sally Brock, owner of Fancy in Seattle, who produces a gorgeous variety of reclaimed rings.


Here's Sally:

"More and more I've been getting orders for custom wedding/engagement rings. I've started collecting some vintage (really ugly 80s honking gemstone rings) removing all the stones, and recycling them for a greener alternative to purchasing new stones. Each ring is custom designed, and made entirely by hand in my Seattle studio. I also work in silver, a more affordable alternative to the usual jewelry stores- as well as gold, platinum and the fancy stuff."



Lauren Feeney of Philadelphia had this to share:

"We're having our wedding (April 14th!) at the train station (30th St.
in Philadelphia) so that our guests can ride the train instead of
driving (eco-friendly and safe!). I'd imagine most cities now have
underused train stations that may be willing to rent out space for
events. We're also sourcing foods locally when possible, giving out
tree seedlings as favors, and having Carbon Planet audit and offset the event."



And here are some more readers' tips:

Jessica Timpany, now planning her Sonoma wedding, said the following:

"We opted to use a caterer that specializes in local and organic,
sustainably grown food. The Girl and The Fig Caters is a branch of the Girl &
The Fig restaurant in Sonoma. John, their chef, knows all the local
veggie, meat, cheese people in the Sonoma Valley; and using local food
cuts down on carbon emissions. Organic food obviously reduces the
pesticides workers are exposed to and that seep into the ground.

Other things we are doing:

- Offsetting our carbon "footprint" with carbonfund.org
- Donating to breast cancer research fund in lieu of a gift to our guests.
- Using Cranes Lettra 100% cotton paper for invites, not a tree harmed!
- Organic, local and sustainably farmed flowers.
- Using many living succulents and Tillandsia (living air plants) so that
people can take them home and they can live on!

And Simone Alpen is doing the following for her Stowe, Vermont wedding:

- making our own stationery with recycled content and Gocco
- trying to find a letterpress outfit that will print on recycled content paper
- find salon near the wedding site that uses eco-friendly products (i.e. Aveda)
- we made the decision not to register for any gifts. It was hard (esp. for some
of the traditionalists in our midst!). But we decided that it didn't make sense
for us (we're in our 30's, live in a small Cambridge, MA apartment with limited
space for china settings!). So, for those that are still dying to send along
something--we'll register at a carbon off-setting site (i.e. climatecare.org)
- make our own centerpieces from seasonal and local materials
- when setting our dinner menu we're going to push for a meal that includes as
many local, organic items as possible.

Simone also recommended these resources:

portovert.com
idealbite.com
treehugger.com

Thanks so much for these wonderful contributions!