May 14th, 2012

Healthy Green Goods in Evanston is not a wedding vendor, but Marny Turvil, the owner, is someone you should know if you are interested in environmental topics.
The store on Main Street stocks a wide variety of non-toxic and environmentally safe items for the home, including linens, paint, furniture, air and water purifiers, and personal care items. Marny is also available for in-home consultations on indoor air quality and keeping a healthy home.
If you are looking for a high-quality, environmentally friendly, non-toxic gift (for a wedding or for any occasion), Healthy Green Goods is a good place to start. They will even ship anywhere in the US.
Posted in Eco-Friendly Events, Other Events | No Comments »
April 23rd, 2012

Try a beautiful outdoor location for your celebration. Photo by Magical Moments Photography.
Yesterday was Earth Day so I’m thinking about locations for eco-friendly weddings and events. There are many choices you can make to have a sustainable location for your event.
For example, you can choose a LEED certified building, or rent from and support a location that has an environmental mission, such as a botanic garden or organic farm. You can also look at the Green Hotels Association to find a hotel with an environmental commitment. Or you can find an eco-friendly restaurant through the Green Restaurant Association. Celebrating outdoors, of course, reduces the power needed for lighting and air conditioning. If you’re having more than one event on the same day (such as a wedding and reception), have them in the same location to reduce the amount of transportation needed.
There are lots of easy things you can do to make your wedding or other celebration more eco-conscious. Every little bit helps!
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March 5th, 2012
Committed 2012 was last Sunday, and it was a successful and very fun afternoon. This was the first year the of the show’s existence, so the fact that a couple hundred guests showed up was very heartening.
What everyone said was that this was much nicer than most bridal shows. It felt more like a party than a trade show.

The Stephanie Rogers Band.
Music was provided by Cage+Aquarium (doing an all-vinyl set) and the Stephanie Rogers Band. There was food provided by several caterers, including FIG, City Provisions, and Pure Kitchen.

Setting up the truffles.
Katherine Anne Confections and Bleeding Heart Bakery provided delicious sweets.

Mignonette's booth.
Models from Mignonette showed off some gorgeous and highly unusual bridal dresses and vintage tuxes.

Collective Resource.
Collective Resource was very successful at composting the entire event. The ratio of compostables to garbage at the end of the event was about 75 to 1, maybe more.
And here was my set-up:

My area.
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February 13th, 2012
I told you about Committed: An Avant-Garde Wedding Event a couple of weeks ago. Here are some more fun facts about the event.
Not only is this a wedding show presented by Chicago’s greenest wedding professionals, it is going to be a model green event. It’s at a location that is LEED certified. And the goal is to make it a zero waste event. Collective Resource will be composting everything that isn’t recyclable.
And did I mention the swag bags? Green Bride Guide is donating swag bags for the first 100 people to show up that day. That’s incentive to show up early!
If you haven’t bought your tickets yet, they are still available. Don’t wait until they sell out! Buy yours now.
Posted in Day-of Coordinating, Eco-Friendly Events, Wedding Planning, Weddings | No Comments »