Wedding Chairs in Forests - not!

Well, OK, for your granny.  But everyone else can stand. This is from a post about Green Spaces in Toronto, here. But in general, whether it's in national parks, heritage locations, waterfronts, or gardens, an outdoor green ceremony should be simple, short, and respectful of the location.  Which means NO CHAIRS, in Central Park, in Algonquin Park, in the wilderness.

The worms will thank you, too, and the leafcutters.

Gluten Free wedding cakes?

Wild Earth Bakery and Cafe offers "celebration cakes" - and they make extra efforts to avoid contamination:
Our unique line of gluten-free baking is made with non-wheat flours such as potato, tapioca, rice and coconut. Our exclusive line of baked goods is so delicious that you won’t even be able to tell the difference between our organic products and those that are gluten-free.

Cross contamination is a major concern for those that are Wheat intolerant or Celiac. We have taken every precaution possible to prevent this from happening. These steps include separate baking days, separate bakeware, keeping our flours separated and even separate tongs and utensils to ensure that anything that starts out gluten-free remains that way. We would be pleased to answer any questions that you might have about this issue.

Vintage Dresses in Toronto

VintageBride.ca is a tiny boutique tucked into Mirvish Village - an antique, artists and vintage shopping area in Toronto. Vintage is run by the theRefinery.com, a retro and vintage store across the street.

You can make an appointment to view their vintage dresses at vintagebride, or go chat with the lovely person who curates the collection over at The Refinery (where you can enjoy some of the fun things she brought back from Paris).
Be sure to browse bridesmaid dresses and accessories at Refinery - and also bring along your beau for vintage clothes for men - why limit yourself to the save old boring wedding + funeral suits! Linen jackets are so much classier :-)

Here's a post I wrote about Men and Wedding suits after a hot summer of red-faced grooms in black suits .

DIY: Sew your own accesories (or wedding dress!)

Here's The Workroom in Toronto. Bernina equipped, laser cutters, engravers, etc. They warn "You must know how to sew to use our equipment". But if you don't, then take a class! Buy organic fabric, make your dress, table runners, canopy, napkins -- learn something and have a blast!

Not on the wedding menu: Shark fin soup

A bride we know is making wedding donations (instead of table favours) to
StopSharkFinning.net This is particularly appropriate, as "Shark Fin Soup" is a 'traditional' wedding banquet dish. Every year tens of millions of sharks die a slow death because of finning. Finning is the inhumane practice of hacking off the shark's fins and throwing its still living body back into the sea. The sharks either starve to death, are eaten alive by other fish, or drown (if they are not in constant movement their gills cannot extract oxygen from the water). We commend this usual spotlight on a cruel practice, and recommend you see the film Sharkwater

Organic Cotton Fraud

Well, H&M got caught, but that's just the tip of things.

Man, it is so not shaping up to be H&M’s year when it comes to doing the green thing. The Swedish fast-fashion purveyor and other leading European retailers and brands, including C&A and Tchibo, have been hawking certified-organic cotton clothing contaminated with genetically modified cotton from India, according to the German edition of the Financial Times, which is crying fraud—well, alleged fraud—because GMOs are verboten in organic standards.... With the pervasiveness of biotech crops around the world, cross-pollination with their organic counterparts is not unheard of. The fault, however, could lie with with the offending brands and their inadequate monitoring of their overseas supply chains. “The fashion chains were not vigilant enough,” Monika Buening of the Federal Consumer Affairs Agency, told the Frankfurter Rundschau, adding that both H&M and C&A need to act tout de suite to minimize the damage.

Also see:  Why does organic cotton matter, if we don't eat it?

Kate McGarrigle

We thank her for everything she gave us.

eco-underwear

An interesting post on Grist discusses organic underwear, including bras and soy panties!  Yes!  The soy pantie brand is - Uranus Apparel (amazing) "Our soyshorts are colored with 100% natural vegetable dye and packaged in burlap drawstring sacks that are 100% biodegradable. We encourage you to compost your burlap bag or reuse it as a pouch to hold your most valuable treasures".  The problem with the bras is that most need to be fitted, and UMBRA suggests you learn to make your own underwear  - or, of course browse Etsy.  So for all you spring brides, here's a good winter research project:  eco bra sewing....

EcoArt

Running the Numbers looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 32,000 breast augmentation surgeries in the U.S. every month.  (thanks to my daughter for this facebook link)

Sustainable Wedding Florists

I spend most of my time between Toronto and Manhattan.  Its interesting to compare the two cities, and what type of green services are available.  Here is a great florist, located in a 'gentrifying' area of Toronto known as Corktown:

 Eco|Stems :

"We are an environmentally and socially sustainable flower shop located in downtown Toronto. Our award-winning designs use only local, organic, and fair trade flowers to create unique and beautiful floral arrangements that are available for delivery throughout Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area.

We strive to minimize our impact on the environment.  We limit our water use, reduce emissions from cars by delivering by bicycle, reduce energy consumption, and use green electricity.  We reuse and repurpose floral containers and materials, and we buy used before new.  Our packaging is biodegradable, made from recycled materials and is recyclable.  Finally, we donate old flowers so they don't go to waste."

Lovely website, and their comprehensive approach to sustainability is impressive - because it also includes fair trade flowers - and here is an essay from the website discussing labour exploitation and other issues:

eco|stems offers local, organic and fair trade flowers, plants and accessories because we know the truth about the cut-flower industry. The majority of cut flowers bought in Canada are grown overseas, usually in Columbia or Ecuador. Workplace legislation in these countries offers little protection for workers. In the cut-flower industry, workers are paid less than a living wage, forced to work overtime without pay, exposed to hundreds of toxic chemicals, deprived of the right to unionize, and subject to harassment and violence.

Environmental issues also abound. The cut-flower industries in these countries use toxic chemicals that have been banned in North America. Some of these chemicals leech off of the flowers and contaminate the subsoil and water table where they are grown, but some remains on the flowers and end up in your home. The cut-flower industry also contributes to water and soil depletion by placing unsustainable demands on the local biosphere. When the flowers are fully grown and ready to be sent to Canada for you to enjoy, they are flown. Emitting 1.48 tons of carbon dioxide and contributing to global warming.

These are a few of the reasons why eco|stems chooses local, organic and fair trade flowers. To learn more about the cut-flower industry, please visit the International Labour Rights Forum's Fairness in Flowers campaign website.

Candles and aspirin and face cream, oh my

Candles - a ubiquitous wedding item. Are made from petroleum, of course. Unless they're made from beeswax or soywax. Here is a helpful (though distressing) website from PlanetGreen helping you to free yourself from oil dependency.
and then there's hairspray, body lotion, and even aspirin - who knew? Don't obsess, but consider alternatives to some items for your green wedding.

Red Mango, Red Velvet

We had a great wedding this week at the Hotel on Rivington - (on the penthouse floor, with a great view of the fireworks for the Manhattan bridge!) And yummy wedding cupcakes from Red Mango - red velvet and double chocolate vegan, with cream cheese icing. Red Mango is located in Brooklyn, on Albany, but they are wholesale, and you can pick them up many places.

Checklist for a green wedding from the Toronto Botanical Garden

I found this nice green wedding article on the frugalbride.com. It was written by Kristin Campbell at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Botanical Gardens are great location for weddings & receptions, if they have the facilities. It would be an interesting task to see if weddings at Botanical Gardens, or City or National Parks are actually -- GREEN! Take this list to YOUR Botanical Garden and see what they say...

Here are a few criteria: Facility on public transit. Bike racks! Green roofs, green cleaning products, WATERLESS URINALS (!), green caterers, local sourcing, no disposable items, etc.

Here's another post with even more ideas

Piezo-electric sustainable wedding dress?

For the ultimate in a sustainable wedding - why not wear a stylish ENERGY-GENERATING piezo-electric dress? This model is by Amanda Parkes. (Of course you could wear a solar dress as well, perhaps for the ceremony) but you could change to this for the reception. It generates energy AS YOU MOVE, so charge your removable battery with your first dance! Gives a new meaning to kinetic energy.
(and a little more romantic than this equally stylish POLLUTION-sensitive dress).

Etsy - vintage wedding dress and 'not so vintage'

As a granny, I have a little trouble with dresses from the '80s listed as "vintage" - (heck, I have difficulty with my own wardrobe from the 60s listed as vintage :-) But Etsy vintage sellers are a great resource for wedding accessories, not to mention spectacular finds that surprise you. Here's a lace blouse with rhinestones from the '30s - which, as the seller Posies for Lulu suggests - "would look gorgeous with a full or slinky cream skirt for a wedding ensemble!". Very reasonable at $38!

Wedding hats: Vintage hats for men!

Of course weddings tend to focus on style for the BRIDE. But we're starting to get some better marketing for the GROOM's side, especially on places like Etsy. However, it still seems to be a case of 'treasures among the weeds'

"....etsy has lots of men's vintage hats, if you can luck into the right size -- not so many on the handmade side, plus you have to wade through acres of knits..."

WeddingCo. and the Wedding Crane Chandelier Project

The WeddingCo.com, based in Canada, is one of the sponsors of the BrooklynPopUp Wedding chapel They are creating the CRANE CHANDELIER PROJECT.

This is a "wonderful way for brides and grooms to become part of an international community that is fighting for cancer victims and research". The Crane Chandelier is being constructed with the cranes that you send in with you and your fiance's signature, where you're getting married, and your wedding date. For each crane that is sent in, The Wedding Company is donating $.50 for cancer research. Their goal is to reach 10,000 cranes that will be displayed on a chandelier which will not only serve as a representation of the fight against cancer, but you're also part of your own art installation. You can see their world map of where the cranes have 'flown in' from here. You can request a crane HERE, mail your own crane (they fold flat) to:

The Wedding Co.
110 Givins St.
Toronto, ON M6J 2X

Get Married at the PopUP Wedding Chapel in Brooklyn

Last night we married the winning couple in the Brooklyn "Martha Stewart PopUP Wedding Chapel" in Williamsburg. ABCNews came to film the wedding. You can read about the fun and get super 'low impact', but trendy and charming wedding ideas on their blog and see vendors on FACEBOOK. Paper decorations, hand-made items, fun ideas. And lots of great weddings!

the weirdness of googleads

Interesting. I posted a notice about organizations working to fight trafficking (below), and all the GoogleAds turns to "find sex offenders" and "become a detective". The tags are "Human Rights". Funny how the ads didn't turn to: "help fight trafficking", eh?

Human Rights, Human Trafficking, and nice necklaces as an ethical gift.

I just posted a short article on a successful campaign at Change.org to stop the Diners Club from trafficking brides on the installment plan by credit card - incredible, but real. Here are some lovely handmade bracelets and necklaces made by trafficking survivors - by recycling magazines into beads. Quite inexpensive, and profits support trafficking victims, women and children.

Green Bride in Toronto

Here is a beautiful Toronto bride on her way to her wedding on Algonquin Island for a lovely outdoor wedding. My daughter alerted me to this week's article in the Toronto Globe and Mail on green and diy weddings, as she knew the lovely bride. Sarah mentioned in the paper's blog that they forgot to credit her photographer: Derek Wuenschirs, so please go look at his site!

There are some good links in the article, including TheWeddingCo.com, a Toronto-based group who are also a sponsor of the Martha Stewart PopUP Wedding Chapel in Brooklyn - where we're going to marry a few lucky couples at the end of June. The WeddingCo people are sponsoring a global DIY wedding project called The Crane Chandelier Project they are collecting 5000 origami cranes from engaged couples, and donating $.50 per crane to cancer research. More info soon.

I'll also add Winnipeg's BotanicalPaperworksto our paper suppliers, and some of the other links on this Globe article to our various categories.

Locavoring in New York - Blue Hill and Greenapple

I was sad to have to turn down at wedding at Blue Hill Farms (sniff!)- as an organic farmer married to a chef, it sounds like heaven. But if you're in New York this weekend, go to the Green Apple Festival, and Blue Hill will be there, as well as on a panel at the Museum of the City of New York on Tuesday panel with the greenmarket director.

Update: So happy to hear the Obamas dined at Blue Hill!

Vegan / Vegetarian Catering directories

Cross posted from Ethicalceremonies -
Lots to think about in Vegetarian catering - from wines to food to garnishes to "anchovy-free Worchester sauce" ...

Here are few resources: HappyCow It's a nice directory, but rather limited. If you know any vegan cooks or caterers, suggest they enquire about adding their profiles. You have to email the directory for details, so not sure if there is a cost for listing. Lots of CA, some Florida, and a Torontonian...

Veg.ca is a Canadian directory. Coded for Veggie/ Vegan, and localized.

Lots of UK sources, of course. Veggies.org is a place to start

Vegan gardening?

I'm distracted, thinking about planting. I've got heirloom tomatoes and leeks and mung beans sprouting in the windowsill... But as a former sheep farmer, I just hit this website about 'manure-free' (or animal-free vegan permaculture) and was fascinated with the concept of "stock free farming" - meaning, no manure. Of course I know about sea kelp and compost, but no manure? Hmmm

If you live in the UK, The Welsh College of Horticulture runs courses on stockfree organic farming; VON provides bursaries for animal-free farming. (tmi: I once did some graduate courses in Aberystwyth - and loved it!). Read more at stockfreeorganic.net.

Are Pearls ecological?

A complex question. There are sellers on Etsy advertising "Organic Freshwater Pearls" in the wedding section. Pearls ARE organic (living). They grow in fresh and salt water. So far OK. However, read this article on the freshwater 'organic' pearls from China, and caveat emptor. Note that the article, though it seems to discuss potential environmental hazards, appears to greenwash some of the freshwater pearl culture aspects - bleach, chemicals, manure slurry, and fish farms (and doesn't discuss labor at all), and it was first printed in Modern Jeweler. Time for more research

Make your own wedding ring in 2 days

(cross-posted from elopenewyork) Why not make your OWN rings, from recycled gold and other metals?
"Spend a day in our fine jewelry studio learning to make your own wedding rings. Our professional jewelry workshops allow you to make meaningful custom wedding rings with your own hands while you enjoy the fun experience of being a goldsmith for a day. Create your own wedding rings with 100% recycled: gold, platinum, palladium, or mokume gane... Most of the custom wedding rings (on this site) were hand made in one session by a client with no prior metal-arts knowledge". This studio is downtown in NYC on Maiden Lane. They now have a sister site in San Francisco.

Digital Camera RENTAL?

I don't know. It's a sort-of good idea. Avoid those disposable cameras and Rent digital wedding cameras, no damage fee, have your guests document your wedding, send them back and get a free wedding website, etc. Popular in Seattle territory. 10 cameras - $500. But couldn't you BUY cameras for that money locally? And really, doesn't your Uncle Fred and everyone else have a digital camera they're going to lug around? The shipping carbon footprint alone seems counter-intuitive... But it IS a good idea to ask an IT friend to set up a wedding pix website for you - and everyone can upload their 'documentary' stuff. And DO hire a good wedding photographer or draft an artistic media friend with good equipment who remains outside of the chatter and hugs - so you get an editorial record. YOU will be otherwise occupied :-)

Eco lingerie

Who knu? Bambu! Enamore (UK) features 95% bamboo lingerie on their wedding website. And here is their organic silk white wedding lingerie set. I'm certain there are local US and Canada suppliers, I just haven't gone looking. Let us know if you spot some.

Recycled (remelted) family jewelry in your ring

Portovert has an intriguing post about recycling gold into a new ring. They suggest collecting gold from your relatives (old jewelry and rings) and having your jeweler refashion the existing gold into new rings. As they say: Experts say there’s enough gold currently above ground to supply the jewelry industry for the next 50 years. Translation: Gold mining and extraction, which exposes workers to toxins like cyanide and mercury and wreaks havoc on the environment, isn’t necessary. By using what’s available to you, not only are you gaining a responsibly produced, handmade heirloom, you’re also saving about 75% of the cost of new rings.. See the post above on making your own rings.

Silver "water rings"

From JSurine on Etsy: Interesting patinaed silver rings from the same block: "These bands are made from the same original piece of metal that has been forged and formed into the band it is now. What was one piece has been cut into two...These rings are then patinaed together, and although the patina process is somewhat unpredictable, the coloring on the rings is more likely to match because it was done at the same time and exposed to the process the same length of time. Resulting in a more similar coloring and finish." Michigan