Green Wedding Booze

We have our booze! We're serving all local wine and beer. Here's the list:

1. Red Wine - Unionville Vineyards Chambourcin

2. White Wine - Tomasello Winery Ranier White

3. River Horse Lager

4. Flying Fish Summer Ale

It is important to serve local food and drinks. Local food hasn't had to be shipped across the country, or the world, racking up miles causing unhealthy emissions. By serving local wine and beer, we can feel good about low emissions and supporting local businesses.

It's in the Mail

Our invitations are FINALLY out in the mail! After many, many hours of work we were able to "pass the baton" to the nice man at the Piscataway post office yesterday.

Our invitations are 100% hand made on recycled paper. All 145 envelopes were hand cut by me and folded with the help of an assembly line of family members last weekend. Even the return address labels that hold each envelope closed were printed and cut out by us at home.

Where we got the most help:

Jennifer from Pink Lily Press. I found her on Etsy and asked if she could draw us a tree. After a few drafts she had the perfect tree for us.

My mom. She hand-addressed every single invitation because Patrick and I have horrible chicken scratch.

Patrick's Uncle Jim. He owns a printing company and printed our invitations on his super-sized awesome copy machine and then cut them for us on the most awesome paper cutter I've ever seen.

So with seven weeks left until the wedding we made the etiquette deadline of mailing our invitations 6-8 weeks before the wedding. YAY!

The main page of our hand-made invitation

The other side is an invitation to our "Happily Ever After Party"

Then we have a page for our reception, attire and parking info

The flip side is directions to the wedding and the hotel

Then we have our RSVP postcard. We used a postcard to cut back on paper waste.

And the flip side of the postcard


And finally the outside of the hand-made envelope with our return address labels

It's Been Too Long

It's been a long time since I've written a blog post. I've been very busy with wedding stuff. I still don't really have time to write now but I'll just give you an update of what's been eating up my time.

- I've finally come up with a final design for our homemade invitations. I ordered recycled paper that should arrive early next week. Once it's here I'll start making the invites and get them out as soon as possible.

- I'm teaching myself to make beaded jewelry. I went to the local craft store and bought a book and supplies and I've already made six necklaces and three bracelets. I'm working up to more intricate projects. My goal is to make my own jewelry for the wedding.

- Details, details, details. If you've never planned a wedding or other large event, you have no idea how time consuming the little details can be. From coordinating with the caterer, creating a song list, choosing decorations to finding a hairstylist. I love doing everything but it sure does eat up a lot of time. Thank goodness I'm not working until September.

- Last, but certainly not least, I've been exercising a lot. I'm trying to tone up my arms as much as possible but I'm also trying to lose weight so I've been working out a couple hours a day and whenever possible I throw in some extra weight lifting or yoga in the evening.

So there ya have it. These are the reasons I haven't written in such a long time.

Now back to my beading!

Pictures of our Wedding Site

We visited a farmers' market today that just happened to take place at Rutgers Gardens, the site of our upcoming September wedding. While there I took a few pictures to give an idea of how beautiful this place is. However, as always, pictures don't do the real thing justice.



1. The view of the log cabin and pavillion from the parking lot.



2. The patio and pavillion


3. A nice sitting area


4. A closeup picture of the pavillion.


The cement floor in the pavillion is in perfect shape so we won't need to rent a dancefloor. We will have a tent extending the pavillion out to the side to accommodate more seating.

There was a couple having their wedding photos taken while we were there so we weren't able to take any pictures of the garden where our ceremony will take place (I'll try again next week). But you can go to the Rutgers Gardens website to see the layout of all the gardens. We will be married in the Roy H. DeBoer Evergreen Garden, which is letter E on the map.

Green Wedding Update

I just thought I'd take some time to let you all know how we're doing with our wedding plans and what we're doing to keep it green.

1. We're using all digital photography which saves on materials (film) and chemicals (developing). This way we can choose what we want to have printed without wasting paper and energy.

2. We will be creating our own playlist on iTunes and have a friend emcee the event. Another friend will be loaning us his audio equipment so we will still have a professional sound. This takes a bit more planning and organization on our part but we're up for the task.

3. Our bridesmaids dresses will be simple and reuseable. It was top priority when choosing the dresses that my girls would wear them again. I've seen too much money and material wasted on dresses that are only worn once.

4. The groomsmen will be wearing simple slacks and dress shirts with matching ties. The tuxedo industry is very toxic. Not only do you spend tons of money on something you have to return but then the stores send the tuxes to dry cleaners that use harsh chemicals. Our guys will be able to spend the same amount or even less and be able to wear their outfits to work or another wedding.

5. We're limiting our flowers. Since we're getting married outside in a garden, we don't really need the use of a florist. We're planning to decorate with potted mums, pumkins and produce, fall foliage, etc. I'm not sure yet what I'll be doing about my bouquet and the girls' flowers. We might not carry any. If we do, it will be something very simple. Maybe we'll hold pumpkins. I'm kidding!

6. No rice, bird seed, bubbles or bells. Rice is wasteful. Think of all the people who could eat it. Seed is okay but I don't want to worry about it getting in my hair or down my dress. Bubbles are messy, expensive, wasteful and are always a pain in the butt to get those little bottles open. Bells are just plain pointless. I suppose I could collect them all and turn them into some kind of jingle bell instrument but that's okay. We would like our guests to simply clap for us.

7. Our food will be as organic, local and seasonal as possible. We won't be serving beef, which is a huge consumer of energy. We're having a buffet to hopefully cut down on wasted plates full of food. All leftovers will be donated to a soup kitchen. We have a wonderful caterer who is working with us to do the best we can to keep it green.

8. Our wedding site. We're getting married outside in a botanical garden and the reception will be on the same grounds. Not only will we have beautiful scenery but this is a non-profit organization. All money goes toward maintaining the gardens.

9. My makeup will be non-toxic 100% mineral makeup.

10. We will not be using a limo or any other type of hired transportation.

11. Our favors will be green. I don't want to give away what they are but they will be very earth friendly.

12. I am making our invitations on recycled paper.

13. We registered through the website www.idofoundation.org/bethandpatrick. By doing this, any gifts purchased online through this website will automatically generate a donation to the Nature Conservancy. Our guests can also opt to make a direct donation in lieu of a gift.

So there you have it. That's our green list so far. I'm sure there's more that we have planned that I forgot off the top of my head but these are the major things we're doing to keep it eco-friendly. I will gladly accept any other suggestions.

More Green Wedding Ideas

As you know, Patrick and I are trying to be as green as possible when it comes to our wedding. So far, Alba Vineyard has been the best venue that is outdoors, local and somewhat affordable (define affordable). Then I was reading about green weddings online and someone suggested using a farm.

It isn't that easy to find a farm that will host a wedding ceremony and the reception and allow you to have liquor. We did it, though. We found Alstede Farm on a list of NJ farms. Their website states that they host parties of all kinds so I made a phone call and the next thing we knew, we were visiting the farm and discussing our wedding with the event manager.

Alstede is a fun place. They have lots of fun family activities going on right now. You can visit them for apple picking, hayrides, berry picking, a corn maze and shopping in their store. Way beyond all the action, in the back of the farm is where our wedding could take place. We like it because it's outdoors, it's a secluded area surrounded by the farm and far-off trees. Of course number one is that we would be supporting local agriculture and setting a good example based on our beliefs. It really just suits us.

Alstede is preserved farmland so they do not allow the public to drive past the parking lot in the front. Therefor, our guests will be brought to the wedding on a hayride. I think it's charming and perfect. What do you think?

Eco-Chic Weddings

I found this book long before Patrick and I were engaged. I knew we'd get married someday and I knew we would have an environmentally responsible wedding. So when I saw it in the bookstore, I just had to have it.

In her book, Emily Elizabeth Anderson shares ways to have a stylish, yet ecological, wedding. She suggests simple things such as skipping table cards and using seasonal flowers and more advanced tips such as hiring an organic caterer and using conflict-free jewelry, as opposed to "blood diamonds".

Eco-Chic Weddings is a must-have for any bride who cares about the earth. In fact, it is a must-have for anyone throwing a party, not just a wedding. The tips in Anderson's book ring true for any party planning. I will keep this book for a long, long time and make it a regular reference.

One Full Week

I must apologize for not writing much this week. I've been flying high on cloud nine with our new engagement. We went to to see Alba Vineyards yesterday as a possible venue for our wedding. We loved it! It's very "us" from the good wine to the hilltop ceremony area surrounded by mountain views and grape vines almost as far as the eye can see. Now that I have my heart set on Alba, we have to get some estimates from caterers and tent-rental companies to figure out if we can, indeed, afford it. I'm very excited.

As this is a blog about being green I will share with you a few ways we're planning to make our wedding green.

1. We will not serve beef. To all you steak lovers, I'm sorry. In the past, I've always been one to choose the filet mignon but now that I'm more educated on the beef industry I cannot allow it at our wedding.

2. As few flowers as possible. We will be decorating with berries, candles, possibly even fruit. If we have any flowers it will be whatever is in season. I don't want my bouquet to come from five thousand miles away. It's a HUGE waste of energy for something that will die by the next day.

3. Organic, Shade-Grown Coffee. We are going to ask the caterer if we can provide our own coffee so we can serve organic, shade-grown coffee. We hope to educate our guests on the harm your average cup of joe can do.

I will continue to share some green wedding tips as we move along with our planning.

One of Alba's many breathtaking views

Day One

Today was my first full day as Patrick's fiance. I am in full planning mode. We haven't decided on a date yet but we know it'll either be next Spring or Fall...Summer will be too hot for the outdoor wedding we desire. If it's in the Spring, that's only 8-10 months away (depending on the date) so we need to scramble. How do we decide? It's tough. Planning a wedding is all about decisions (duh).

I am happy we accomplished something today. We have our wedding party set. We haven't asked anyone yet but we know who we want to do what. That made me feel a little better.

Next up we have to find a location. In our quest to have a green wedding, we want an outdoor ceremony and reception, if possible. We would love to have everything at Willowwood Arboretum but we're afraid they won't be able to accommodate our guest list. I left a message today and hope to hear back with an answer tomorrow. Please keep your fingers crossed for us. If you any ideas for a green venue in NJ, please let me know.

Willowwood being set up for a wedding

I'm Getting Married!

Patrick proposed to me this morning. We're both very excited and are planning a green wedding in either the Spring or the Fall of 2008. Please take a look at Patrick's blog to see our engagement story.

Something Fishy

There has been lots of hoopla over Al Gore's daughter, Sarah. She didn't get drunk and dance on a bar or show her panties to paparazzi. Here crime? She served Chilean Sea Bass at her wedding rehearsal dinner. What's the big deal? The big deal is that Chilean Sea Bass is an overfished endangered species. However, the Gore family didn't do anything wrong. The restaurant confirmed that the fish came from a sustained population in accordance with the Marine Stewardship Council regulations.

Do people really think that Al Gore would be dumb enough to serve something that goes against everything he campaigns for? And if he did, for some reason, serve fish that was illegally caught, do you think he'd know about it? Maybe Gore doesn't know exactly which fish are endangered and which are sustainable. Give the guy a break. After all is said and done, it was safe fish anyway!

For future reference, you can use this link before you have your next seafood feast. We wouldn't want anyone to shame you for what you eat.