Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Eco-Friendly Weddings – Green is the New White

As a wedding consultant it’s always a treat to work with a bride and groom who break from tradition and plan something totally unique for their big day. It’s especially nice when their individuality also helps the environment and raises awareness for eco-friendly alternatives.

Earlier this year, I was asked to design an eco-friendly wedding for NBC’s popular daytime drama, Days of Our Lives (Sami and Lucas’ “green” wedding.) Although I am not a soap junkie, I certainly knew the show and how popular it was, so I was very excited and a little nervous. To create Sami’s flowers, I used locally grown and environmentally-friendly flowers including tons of California roses and an assortment of potted, flowering plants. By using locally grown flowers, you cut down on the pollution created during transport, along with the pesticides used to treat the flowers. In keeping with the eco-friendly theme, the potted plants used in the ceremony were used again during the reception hall (you can transfer your ceremony plants and flowers to your reception hall) and all were immediately planted afterwards. This is not only eco-friendly but cost-effective and what a great message to send to your guests!

The “Green” episode on Days of Our Lives aired in April 2007 and I was there bright and early (and 7 months pregnant) but it was a blast. I had never been on a soap set, it was very cool and extremely efficient. I think they do like a million shows in one day. Days of Our Lives also incorporated the “green” theme in the lead characters Samantha “Sami” Brady (Alison Sweeney) and Lucas Roberts’ (Bryan Dattilo) nuptials. I do believe I’ve seen that the two newlyweds are already nearing divorce though. That’s daytime drama for you.

This “eco-friendly” trend is a good one and I am happy to be at the forefront of it, helping to raise the consciousness of the world. As a designer it’s a great challenge. Here are some other earth-friendly flower tips you can incorporate into your wedding day, but all can be used during the year for other events, gift ideas, etc:

1. Go with locally grown flowers that save on pollution from transportation and pesticides, which growers use to preserve the flowers’ freshness.


2. Make a trip to your local florist and rent glass flower vases that can later be returned and recycled; plus it’s more cost effective than purchasing.


3. Rather than sprinkling the aisle with real rose petals, opt for fake rose petals, which these days look realistic; plus they won’t stain the carpet.

Read my article on Going Green in the current issue of Inside Weddings on stands until December.



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