Mar 6, 2017 | Eco-Friendly Events
Did you miss Committed 2017, the annual wedding show staged by the Green Wedding Alliance? It was a couple of weeks ago at the Greenhouse Loft. As always, it was a fun, low-key afternoon of food and flowers and happy people planning their weddings. All the vendors are members of the Green Wedding Alliance. Here are a few photos from the show.
Greenhouse Loft was decked out for the occasion.
FIG Catering was there with their delicious food.
So was Food for Thought.
Cacao Bakery was right next to me.
Erickson Design was across from me with their invitations and paper products.
Spilled Ink Press was there, too.
Fab Flora had a fab display.
And Pollen had some of their floral displays there.
One of the most unusual vendors, PoemGrown will write custom poetry for your event!
And here was my table. Green wedding planners always bring their bicycles!
A little close-up.
Jan 18, 2016 | Eco-Friendly Events, Weddings
Bouquets look so much better when they don’t lie flat.
What makes a wedding planner eco-friendly? Among other things, this does:
The night before a wedding I had planned, the florist called. He was planning his delivery of personal flowers for the next day and wanted my input. He could lay the bouquets flat in a cardboard box for delivery, but, he said, that tended to make them come out flat on one side. His preferred method would be to stand them up in vases, which would then be secured into a re-usable crate. The only catch was that he needed to get the vases and crates back if there was to be no charge to my clients. For aesthetic reasons, I thought the vase-and-crate delivery method was superior. Also, it was less waste, which I also prefer. That’s the first thing a green wedding planner does: reduce waste. But it gets better.
A few days after the wedding, I went about the business of returning the items to the florist. I got out my trusty bike and the bungee cords, strapped the crate with four glass vases in it to the back of my bike, and rode–very carefully–the three-and-a-half miles to deliver them. Because that is also what a green wedding planner does. No matter what aspect of wedding or party planning I am working on, I am always thinking about how to reduce waste, reduce emissions, and have a greener party.
Sep 7, 2015 | Eco-Friendly Events
To have favors or not? Courtesy of sprungphoto.com.
You may be considering how to handle favors at your wedding. While lots of people like to give more traditional wedding favors, some people prefer not to give a tangible gift for fear it will end up in a landfill. (And, let’s face it, a lot of wedding favors are destined for just that.)
One interesting alternative to the chocolate or knick-knack is to make a donation to one or more charities in honor of your guests. This can take various forms. You can spend the funds from your favor budget line by donating to a charity and then informing your guests that a donation has been made in lieu of favors via cards on the table. Or you can let your guests choose among your favorite charities. Offbeat Bride had an article about a cute way to do this earlier this year. There are also organizations that will help you coordinate your donations and create the announcement for you.
Whether it’s because you prefer not to have physical favors or because you want to donate to causes near your hearts, charitable wedding favors are one option among the many you have.
May 4, 2015 | Eco-Friendly Events
How can you make your gift table more sustainable? Image by theblondephotographer.com.
Any time you throw a party–birthday, wedding, anniversary, whatever–people will bring gifts. If you want to steer your guests to gifts that are green or sustainable in some way, there is more than one option.
One way is to ask people to make donations to a cause, possibly even an environmental cause. If you want to do a formal donation gift registry, organizations such as the I Do Foundation can create a Charity Registry for you. You can also let your guests know your preferences in a more informal way, if you prefer. (But Miss Manners insists that there should be no mention of gifts with the invitation. That’s one thing your wedding website is for.)
Some people will give you tangible gifts, and I’m not going to discourage them. If you want to reduce the amount of garbage that goes to the landfill, however, you can suggest to your guests that they use recycled wrapping paper to wrap it. You can also steer them to less wasteful gifts, such as things you really need or gift certificates for services you enjoy.
Finally, you can make a point of recycling or reusing as much packaging as possible from your gifts. Cardboard boxes, most wrapping paper, and some kinds of plastic packaging can all be recycled. It’s a little thing, but it all adds up.
Apr 20, 2015 | Eco-Friendly Events, wedding planning
This was one of the most popular posts I ever wrote. I have updated it with new information.
What do you do with leftover mini-cakes? Photo by HappyBuddy Photo Art.
One thing that often gets overlooked in party and event planning is what happens after the party is over. If you are planning a wedding, party, or other large event, now would be a good time to think about what happens when the fun is done. Beyond the basic logistical question of who is going to transport stuff from one place to another, there are the considerations of what to do with left over items. Here are my thoughts on several of categories of those items.
Food: If you didn’t run out of food at your party (heaven forfend!), then there will be leftovers. It would be a shame to throw them out. In some places, a local food bank can pick up your extra food and distribute it to food pantries and shelters. (See the Feeding America food bank locator to find a local food bank.) Some states and municipalities do not allow this practice, though, and not all food banks are set up to handle it, so check with your food bank ahead of time. And unless you’re a food safety expert, don’t try it on your own. Even if you can’t distribute your leftovers to hungry strangers, you can probably find some friends and relatives who would be happy to take some of it. Prepare for this possibility by having appropriate containers available, and instruct your caterer how to distribute extra food. Whatever you do, talk to your caterer ahead of time!
Flowers and other decorations: The nicest way to take care of flowers and other centerpieces is to donate them to a local hospital or nursing home. As with donating food, this is both eco-friendly and socially responsible. Not only do flowers get a second use, but they may also brighten the day of someone who could use a little cheer. Perhaps you already have a relationship with an institution where you can send your flowers. At one wedding that I coordinated, they announced at the reception that all the flowers would go to the hospital where a family member had received treatment in his last illness. It seemed like a most fitting thing to do. If you don’t have the resources to do this yourself, in Chicago and a few other cities, there is an organization called Random Acts of Flowers who will do it for you.
Favors: Extra party favors can be a real problem. This is one area where you will really need to plan ahead. For one thing, you will almost definitely have extra favors. If you plan for one per guest, there will be some guests who don’t take one, or who take one for a household, instead of one per person. But you don’t want to have too few, either. When deciding what kind of favor to give your guests, consider how easy the extras will be to get rid of. If you have a common item that is usable by anyone (like decorated pencils, for instance), then you can give away extras on Freecycle or to an organization that can use them (like your local school). Food favors are even more difficult to get rid of than catered food. Novelty items will probably be sitting in the back of your closet for years. You might need to turn to an organization like Special E in order to find a second use for some of these things. One couple I worked with gave away beeswax candles (tied with ribbons in their wedding colors, of course). There were plenty remaining at the end of the evening, but I imagine they were perfectly happy to have a supply of such a useful item.
Decor and Clothing: If you have decor items (candles, table runners, pennants, table numbers, etc.), clothing or jewelry, you can donate them to The Great Wedding Recyclery in Chicago. They are sold to people who want sustainable and inexpensive wedding items and the proceeds benefit the Green Wedding Alliance.
Be sure to talk to your planner or coordinator about what happens to everything when the party is over. You can save yourself some headaches, bring joy to friends and strangers, and keep things out of the landfill with just a little extra effort.
Apr 6, 2015 | Eco-Friendly Events, wedding planning
The Great Wedding Recyclery.
For the third year in a row, the Green Wedding Alliance brings you The Great Wedding Recyclery, on Sunday, April , 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. at Loft on Lake, 1366 W. Lake St., Chicago. A $5 donation benefits the Green Wedding Alliance.
The Recyclery is the only place in Chicago where once-used wedding decor and clothing are sold so they can be used another time. It’s like a huge garage sale for wedding items.
The last two years, this event was a huge success, with a line around the block of people waiting to get in. Many of those waiting found some amazing bargains. Everything that was bought and sold was one more thing that never went to a landfill and didn’t require manufacturing and transport from a distant location. Everyone wins!
Be sure to keep your Sunday afternoon clear so you can check out the Recyclery. And plan to get there early.
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