Many thanks to the folks at Wedding Blog Awards for giving BluePlanetWedding.com’s blog their “Green Wedding Blog” award.
Much appreciated! Thank you.
Archive for March, 2008
… for not blogging; I’ve had some fairly major dental surgery to fix and old problem (field hockey stick in the face) and I’ve been a little out of sorts.
There’s been some really fun stuff going on in the wedding blog world this week, so here are some fun links:
A Conversation with the Nuptial-Industrial Complex - a bride’s chat with Big Wedding Business
Kirsten’s community potluck wedding - at Offbeat Bride. Wow, that looked like a fun wedding.
Some really nifty walrus ivory eco wedding rings at Great Green Wedding
Green wedding gift lists galore! - Eco-friendly wedding gift vendors at Ethical Weddings
Celebrate the local artists and the handmade, unique wedding stuff at Etsy
Have a great weekend, especially those of you getting married!
Nothing can symbolize the beauty of nature better than a flower. Commercial flower production is a pretty ugly business. Do you know where your flowers came from and how they were grown?
Flowers are grown all over the world, and while there are many local growers, there are huge numbers of flowers coming in from Columbia, Tanzania, Kenya, Costa Rica, Ecuador, China and many other countries. According to the US Department of Agriculture, 70% of flowers sold in the US are imported.
Pesticides, fungicides and toxic chemicals
Commercial flowers are swimming in pesticides and fungicides, many of which are banned in North America for being carcinogens. The labour conditions of the flower workers are often poor with workers handling pesticide-wet plants with poor safety equipment. 2/3 of these workers report a wide range of medical problems due to their exposure to toxic chemicals.
Transportation
Planes, trains, ships and trucks; the fewer miles a flower has to travel, the smaller the toll on the environment. And a cleaner environment means nicer natural flowers…
Local and organic flowers
There are several options when it comes to choosing flowers. Many programs like Fair Flowers Fair Plants, Veriflora and Sierra Eco cover the certification of organic and fair trade flowers, and while there is still a transportation toll, many big flower producing countries provide organic options.
Local flowers are a good option too (again, look for organic flowers - the pesticides and fertilizers can contaminate local groundwater), but hard to find in the winter months in more northern regions.
Get creative - twisted branches, flowers from your own garden, or even no flowers at all? One of the themes ofour fall wedding was my wife’s prairie heritage, celebrated with mini sheaves of wheat from her cousin’s farm. We sill have a couple around our home.
Some florists to try:
Amoda Flowers - Vancouver
Hatcher Florist - Toronto
OrganicBouquet.com - Online
Sugar coated almonds are an ancient wedding symbol, dating back to the Ancient Greeks. In the 15th century, Italians offered 5 sweetened almonds to newly engaged couples - the 5 almonds represent the five wishes for the couple: happiness, longevity, wealth, children and health. Wedding favors do not need to be elaborate and expensive - celebrate your wedding with a centuries-old symbol.
While sugar coated almonds are traditional, I must speak up for the chocolate lovers: if you like chocolate covered almonds, go for it. No rules against that, plus there are lots of good resources for organic chocolate-covered almonds.
The classic presentation is 5 almonds wrapped in tulle, but use your imagination here - tulle isn’t very recyclable or biodegradable. A small recycled-and-recyclable paper box or bag comes to mind.
Simple, inexpensive and classic - who could ask for more?
Check out your local natural food store, or these online resources:
Santos Natural Food Store - Australia
The Mapled Nut Company - Vermont
Sunspire.com - California
Since the dawn of man, gold has been a very important commodity in financial, spiritual and cultural transactions. Gold, however, is difficult to extract from the earth, and modern mining techniques use deadly toxins like mercury, arsenic and cyanide to separate the gold from the surrounding rock. The amazing part? Gold mining is completely unnecessary, especially for jewelry.
(Platinum and diamond ring from BrilliantEarth.com; BrilliantEarth.com’s renewed gold statement)
2000 tonnes of gold mined annually goes into jewelery, according to greenKarat.com. Yet there is enough gold that’s already been mined to serve the jewelry industry for the next 50 years, much of that gold is unused jewelry sitting in bank vaults.
Buying old gold and repurposing it is a very responsible move. Jewelers can melt down the gold and craft it into a unique custom designs, often for less than store-bought mass produced pieces.
Check out estate auctions, eBay and even pawn shops and the family collection for unused pieces of jewelry that can be reused. It reduces our reliance on slave labor, environmental toxins and strip mining.
