Design A Handmade Wedding

I put together this inspiration board with some of the many beautiful handmade and vintage items you can find online that are perfect for a wedding.

With so many unique items available, why would you want to shop at a chain store for you special one-of-a-kind day?

Swarovski ball necklace: Tooli
Handmade silk ties: Tiebreaker
Crochet flower girl dress: Tiggztoocreations
Vintage wedding shoes: Small Earth Vintage
Flower Hair Adornment: Threadrare
Handmade Felt Keepsake Pocket: Kata Golda

xo

Emily Anderson

Author*Designer*Creative Consultant

NYC

www.emilyanderson.com

www.ecochicweddings.com

My new Book is online! Available for pre-ordering everywhere.

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Hats Off to Eco-Beautiful Wedding Magazine

It’s always important to make sure your guests feel welcome, especially when they are traveling from out of town.  In the Spring issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine they had a fun DIY section.   One of the ideas was to use a straw cowboy hat as the welcome bag.  Since I am having a destination Montana wedding I couldn’t think of anything more fitting.  This is also a great idea for the kid’s table. 

Both of our families are up for a good time, so I can see the hats getting good use at the rehearsal dinner and/or reception.  Stay tuned to see what the hats get filled with!

~Brianne & Jed

(Weekly Engaged Guest Bloggers)

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Restaurant Weddings: the ultimate value menu!

Venue hunting can be exhausting, and confusing. The less-inclusive the location, the more additional costs add up.  It’s important to really understand what services your venue offers or includes, and what you’ll be responsible for renting or bringing in, yourself. You might find yourself surprised when the reality of your lakeside outdoor wedding includes negotiating with port-a-potty companies and electricity generators!

Starting from scratch can cost a pretty penny more, generates a lot more waste, and grows your carbon footprint; so don’t underestimate how using a restaurant can help you save more green while being green!  Restaurants come equipped with all the tables, linens, and food (sometimes even decor) waiting for you. Many of you might say, “But I just don’t like the feel of your standard restaurant,” to which we say, “Then find a restaurant that feels right!”

We got married at a restaurant that felt more like an indoor/outdoor lounge and club, and it was the perfect place to have a party.  You can find a restaurant to compliment just about any theme. Look at ethnic or exotic restaurants for a destination wedding-feel right in your own town, or an offbeat choice like an awesome beer garden or kitschy diner to really express yourselves and set a fun mood.

Restaurants come equipped with proper tables, seating, matching linens, dining rentals, bars, and staff, so you can cut out almost all of your rental costs (and delivery fees), with the added bonus that you won’t need a gas guzzling truck lugging all these items to and from the venue.  If you pick a place with loads of natural character or decor built-in, you can really lean on that and save the money, the headaches, and the waste that you’d otherwise create.

But, where you really start conserving is the food. Being able to speak from firsthand experience as former catering servers, we know it would make you weep to see how much food is thrown out after every single event. “But can’t you just donate leftover food?” Good question! Sometimes yes, but usually charities won’t accept open food, and it would not be fresh enough in time to serve it to the needy. When you work with a restaurant, a lot less is wasted because being onsite will allow for a huge increase in efficiency. Instead of having to prepare everything in advance, and throw out what they don’t use, your food will be served fresher, and they can repurpose leftovers for their service the following day. Again, you save on delivery, since their equipment is ready to go, but isn’t going anywhere.

The real win in having a restaurant wedding reception is more of a sentimental paycheck, but it’s just so dreamy to be able to go back on your anniversary and have a special dinner at the place where it all began.  Does it get more romantic? Yeahwedidn’tthinksoeither.

You can save even more since its a bulk purchase, negotiating with one vendor for many items, instead of making lots of deals with multiple vendors. Less stress, smaller environmental foot print, and far less cost, all make for a much bigger smile on your big day and a much smaller weight on your shoulders…  So don’t overlook your friendly neighborhood restaurant, yo. It could be just around the corner!

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Eco Bridal Jewelry Shopping Spree – Win $250!!!

It’s the most fabulous contest Green Diva has run yet and brides-to-be don’t want to miss it!!!  Win $250 worth of luxury eco bridal jewelry just by sharing your feedback with Green Diva.  Green Diva Bridal is the first eco jewelery boutique that’s just for brides and formal events, which means there is still a lot to learn about what brides want in eco-conscious jewelry.  Your input is all it takes to qualify for this giveaway.

Here’s how it works:

1. Enter the contest by answering 5 super quick and easy questions
2.  The best suggestion or idea for how Green Diva can better serve it’s brides wins!
3.  The winner is announced on April 1st at Glam Green Weddings blog

—  Enter now to win  —

1st PLACE PRIZE:  A $250 shopping spree toward Green Diva eco bridal jewelry

2nd PLACE PRIZE:  The runner up will win a prize too!  See the contest page for more details.

What makes Green Diva environmentally and socially responsible?

- Fair Trade gems and pearls

- Recycled silver and gold

- Vintage materials

- Handcrafted in the US

Green Diva traces its materials back to the source whenever possible and ensures that harvesting, mining, cutting and polishing all take place under Fair Trade and eco-conscious terms.  In fact, you can even see just how far back every single component in their jewelry can be traced just by viewing the Eco Key.  Plus, all packaging and marketing materials are recycled, sustainable or upcycled; like their Wedding Dress Pouch™ handmade in Michigan using old, unwanted wedding gowns.

Green Diva plants one tree for every piece of jewelry sold and donates at least 1% of all sales to environmental projects through 1% For The Planet.  Green Diva is a contributing member of the Madison Dialogue, a small group of jewelry insiders working to establish Fair Trade standards for jewelry manufacturing and is one of only 50 jewelers that has signed the “No Dirty Gold” pledge.

Guest Blogger, Kathy DalPra of Green Diva eco bridal jewelry

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Inside the Eco-Friendly Mind of Loren Hope Designs

If you’ve flipped through the latest edition of Eco-Beautiful Wedding Magazine and have been gaga over where you can snatch those colorful necklaces, your in luck! Eco-friendly designer Loren Hope Designs is giving away this exquisite turquoise and green necklace worn in the latest EBW shoot!  Made from eco-friendly metals and manufactured in the US, each piece is artfully crafted and simply elegant. Versatile and delicately feminine, these pieces hold their own whether you wear them with a very button-down shirt or a wedding gown. I had the opportunity to chat with Loren Hope and was able to have a glimpse inside the mind of Loren Hope Designs.

Win this necklace! Click here!

Persephone: How did you enter this industry?

Loren Hope: I have been intrigued with stones and beads ever since I was a little girl. My mother told me that when I was around 4 I was mesmerized by marbles. When I was a teenager, my grandmother owned a huge thrift shop where she would give me free reign. I would take home bags of costume jewelry and take apart the pieces and reassemble them into my own works of art and give them to all my friends. I was very involved with drawing and painting in high school, and went to college to study fine art. I took a few metal design classes and found myself creating jewelry again. Jewelry design is ultimately a perfect marriage of my passions for stones, art, design and fashion.

Persephone: Why did you decide on using eco-friendly metals?

Loren Hope: One of the fundamental principles of my design philosophy is quality before quantity. My mission is to produce gorgeous jewels that are going to be treasured for years. The costume jewelry industry is enormous and so much of it is mass produced with plastic and inexpensive metals; it falls apart after wearing it for one season and ends up in the trash. We produce everything by hand with careful attention to detail- making sure all rings, pins and baubles are secure.

Persephone: What challenges do you face when working with these materials?

Loren Hope: Where do I start? Because the materials I use are not produced on a mass scale, there are always inconsistencies in availability. Our best selling styles always seem to feature a bead or stone that becomes discontinued. It is frustrating, but it’s also a good thing…it keeps me on my toes and keeps me from getting complacent with my designs.

Persephone: What inspires you when creating a collection?    

Loren Hope: Without a doubt, one of my biggest inspirations is fabulous, vintage costume jewelry. I love all the oversized pieces; enormous Swarovski brooches, cascading bib necklaces with luscious, opaque colored glass beads, big clip-on earrings. I recently came across an elderly woman (she was 92) who was shopping with her daughter (who was in her 70’s). She was absolutely drenched in her old costume jewelry- huge strands of pearls with the biggest glass pendant you’ve ever seen. She was dressed like the Queen. It was completely impractical…but it made her feel beautiful and it expressed her personality. I thought to myself, “I want to create jewelry that has that effect on women.”

Persephone: If you could design a piece for any person in the world, who would it be and why?

Loren Hope: Michelle Obama. I love her style! She wears pieces that are timeless and often have that vintage-glam factor. She is not afraid of rich, bright color and always looks fabulous!

Persephone: What does the future hold for Loren Hope Designs?

Loren: The excitement (and sometimes stress) in owning your own business is not knowing what the future holds. That being said- I do plan on building the line to offer more styles. I would love to partner with another jewelry or clothing designer to come out with an exclusive collection!

Cheers!

Persephone Efessiou

POLISHED Image & Style

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