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Photography by: Aisha Harley
Design your own bridesmaid gowns AND use certified organic fabrics with Olivia Luca! Their interactive dress design studio allows you to create and recreate the ideal bridesmaid style for each of the maids. You’ll be coming back after your wedding just to have fun designing dresses!
Green Registry Tip: Create a wedding registry with an I Do Foundation store that will give back 10% of your registry to your favorite charity.
Adele Wechsler‘s Eco Couture line of gowns utilize certified organic hemp or silk, vegetable dyed silks, fair labor practices and the remnants of fabrics are incorporated into her designs. In the Golden State, her gorgeous gowns can be found at Desert Bride in Indio, Marina Morrison Bridal of San Francisco and Lili Bridals in Tarzana. Disclaimer: No style was harmed in the creation of these gowns!
Green Cake Tip: Ask your cake designer to use organic ingredients in the creation of your cake.
Ten Thousand Villages is a great place to register for gifts. Not only are there lovely gifts for your home, but here, the artisans are put first. Their fair trade practices provide opportunities for under- and unemployed people from around the world a chance to earn an income and improve their quality of life. It takes a village or ten thousand!
Green Invitation Tip: Have your guests RSVP via email to save on the amount of paper used for the response cards.
It works with cars, why not dresses? A wedding gown is worn for one day, a good cleaning and presto! A fresh gown for a new event. The Pre Owned Wedding Dress‘s website has thousands of fabulous gowns to choose from.
Green Gown Tip: Along with considering a preowned gown, look toward a vintage dress or even renting a gown.
Northern California is THE place to locate earth friendly spaces. Joie de Vivre is a chain of luxury boutique hotels with a green sensibility. The Joie de Vivre Green Dreams program works toward preserving the environment by incorporating sustainability into their central business policies. Each Joie de Vivre hotel is aiming toward the goal of becoming a certified green lodging in the areas of recycling and waste reduction, energy conservation, water conservation, pollution prevention and green meetings. Many of their Northern California hotels have! Besides being environmentally conscious of the world, these hotels are well-appointed and seek to meet the needs of each unique guest. Their hotel matchmaker will find a hotel that closely relates to your sense of style.
For you couples looking for a green venue, Joie de Vivre has these hotels which provide wedding services and have met all of the regulations required to be green certified. In San Francisco, try Hotel Carlton in Nob Hill, Hotel Drisco of Pacific Heights, Hotel Vitale Embarcadero and in Berkeley East Bay, Hotel Durant. All of the Joie de Vivre Hotels in the Silicon Valley are green certified, but these are the locales that offer weddings: Avatar Hotel in Santa Clara, Sunnyvale’s Domain Hotel, Hotel Avante of Mountainview, Hotel Los Gatos, San Jose’s Moorpark Hotel and Wild Palms in Sunnyvale. Just north of San Francisco, you will find the Waters Edge Hotel in Tiburon, too. With so many beautiful, environmentally sound options, you can’t go wrong!
Green Planning Tip: Consider creating a website to provide information for guests such as directions and details. It will save on the amount of paper used.
The scene: The moonlit beach of the glimmering Pacific Ocean with a blanket and picnic basket set on the sand. The handsome man reaches into the basket and pulls out…paper plates. Ooh, this moment could have been saved if he had considered trying Bambu‘s Veneerware®. A compost ready, one time use alternative to all the junk that goes into landfills.
Green Floral Tip: Choose locally raised, organically grown flowers.
The Ambrose in Santa Monica is an intimate eco-friendly boutique hotel that is ideal for a local honeymoon destination. The Ambrose takes great pride in the initiatives they take in maintaining a green environment for their guests. The Ambrose is committed to integrating as many methods of green living into the hotel’s business and daily practices. Recycling containers are in each guest room to encourage the reduction of waste, the staff supports and promotes local merchants and the good work they do in the community. Green guest amenities include a complimentary organic continental breakfast with fair trade organic coffee provided daily, and guests who drive hybrid vehicles are provided preferred parking. The Ambrose is a luxury, yet low impact living retreat within the chic enclave of Santa Monica. It’s definitely worth a look!
Green Clean up Tip: Eliminate waste by recycling materials and by utilizing as many reusable elements as possible.
Fashion forward design married with earth friendly fabrics and practices are the trademark of Deborah Lindquist‘s line of eco-couture wedding gowns. She’s eco-licious!
Green Gown Tip: Donate your gown to a worthy cause such as Brides Against Breast Cancer.
When planning your eco chic wedding, travel in style with recycled and reusable totes from the Karma Collection at Chicobag. These sturdy totes are capable of hauling up to 40 pounds worth of wedding planning necessities. Karma is…your friend!
Green Ring Tip: When choosing the rings consider a family heirloom, a vintage ring or if new, a conflict free diamond.
Photography by Eric Staudenmaier
Venice Beach has long been a haven for folks with a laid back outlook on life. If you’re looking for a place to rest your free thinking head that is environmentally friendly and quaint, have I got the place for you! You and your honey must see the Venice Beach Eco Cottages. Historic 1922 one bedroom bungalows have been converted (with green practices, of course) to restful retreats for the relaxed couple. Each unique cottage was restored from the ground up using earth friendly, organic and repurposed materials. The eclectic interiors have been fashioned from flea market finds and vintage collections. The decorator artfully devised new ways of utilizing the treasures in unique ways, such as turning a record cabinet into a bathroom vanity! The 3-7 night minimum stay makes the Venice Beach Eco Cottages the ideal spot for a local honeymoon destination.
Green Catering Tip: Hire a caterer that incorporates sustainable practices such as using local, organically grown products.
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