Jed and I decided that since we were having a smaller destination wedding we were going to keep our wedding party small as well. My maid of honor is my sister and his best man is his brother. The other people I was going to have as bridesmaids know how special they were to me, and I did not want to ask them to spend the additional $200 on a dress and shoes that they may never wear again. I have to say that this decision has also made the planning process much easier. My sister and I have styles that compliment each other, so the dress that she wears to the wedding is her decision. I guess I do get ultimate veto authority, but I doubt I will have to use it. I gave her a few color choices and she decided to go with navy, which I think is a great choice. Here are a few dresses that she is considering, that I know will not be lost in the back of the closet after September:

~Brianne & Jed

(Engaged Weekly Guest Bloggers)

Eco-chic gowns & beauty products galore! That was the name of the game at last weeks Adele Wechsler & Aveda co-hosted event, ‘Go Green, Why Knot!‘ in Washington, DC! Ms. Katie Martin along with the POLISHED team had the pleasure of attending!

Models decked out in Adele’s new eco-friendly collection greeted guests, while showing off their springy gowns! Eco-brides & grooms learned a few tips about how they can green their wedding from health & beauty tips from Aveda specialists to tasting some delicious vegan treats from Sticky Fingers Bakery and even learning a few tricks as to how to keep their mother’s under control with Katie ! We even had a few moments for a quick photo op with Adele Wechsler’s Katie Sturino! The event was a complete success!

Cheers!

Persephone Efessiou

Polished Image & Style

Register Green and Win $500!

Our new sponsor, The Green Bride Guide, recently launched a Green Wedding Gift Registry with free carbon neutral shipping. From non-toxic cookware to earth-friendly fine china and organic cotton textiles, the Green Wedding Gift Shop has hundreds of eco-friendly home goods to choose from. “Guests spend $19 billion a year on wedding gifts,” said Kate L. Harrison, Founder and CEO of the Green Bride Guide. “Our new website offers couples the opportunity to use their wedding registry to support environmentally-conscious businesses. We offer pre-screened environmentally responsible and affordable choices couples can feel good about adding to their wish list, without sacrificing style or quality,”

If you start your wedding Registry between now and June 1, you’ll be automatically entered into a drawing to win a $500 green wedding shopping spree on their new site!

The most beautiful centerpieces are sometimes the simplest, and who can resist colorful, ripe fruit on the the table? Using seasonal fruit on your table as edible centerpieces or favors is green and adds even more sweetness to your day. Citrus fruits like lemons and limes add a pop of color, and after standing in as centerpieces, they can be used again by the caterer or florist.

images clockwise from upper left:

Budget Friendly Wedding

Martha Stewart Weddings

Intimate Weddings

Get Married

Martha Stewart Weddings

San Diego Weddings Insider

With no end in sight, and so many things being affected by the BP oil spill in the Gulf, it’s easy to feel helpless. I am especially heartbroken for the local fishing community, tourism, and any other local businesses that are sure to be impacted-if not destroyed-by this terrible tragedy. But, if you know me at all, then you will know that I am always looking for the bright side of things. In this situation, there may not be any bright side, but there are things we can do to help the situation, rather than just feeling helpless watching the oil gush on tv.

Here’s what you can do today:

1) Keep informed. For oil spill news and updates go here.

2) Text WILDLIFE to 20222 to donate $10 for the clean-up

3) Volunteer your time to help wildlife

4) Join National Wildlife Federation on Facebook

5) On Twitter

5) On Flickr

6) On YouTube

But most of all, what you can do is reduce your own personal dependence on oil and oil byproducts so that we can hope to avoid this type of disaster in the future…

xo

Emily

www.emilyanderson.com

www.goodwithstyle.com

Every week I look through blogs of real weddings, pulling out pictures that I like. Seeing if I can implement different elements into my own wedding. I loved so many things about this garden inspired wedding I saw on Style Me Pretty.

Things I love:

1.Clean fresh lines of the wedding dress and the bow

2.Candles around the garden

3.Fresh stem bouquets, wrapped with ribbon

4.Long strings of pearls

5.Fresh garden flowers on the tables with different pitchers and jars

6.DIY ring barer pillow

7.Flower girls’ ringlets and gold jackets

~ Brianne & Jed

(Engaged Weekly Bloggers)

The Molly Clutch

Chlorine of Los Angeles is one of most unique, unsuspectingly green designers that I’ve stumbled across on! They are the premiere seller of refurbished and artfully embellished vintage handbags, which aims to elevate each vintage clutch, tote, bridal bag, or unique handbag to a more modern and accessible work of art! If you are the bride, these clutches are the perfect finishing touch. Attending a wedding? Add a pop of color with these dazzling bags. Certain to make heads turn!

The Edith Clutch

The Lady Clutch

The Farrah Clutch

Cheers!

Persephone Efessiou

Polished Image & Style

Looking for a getaway, honeymoon or beautiful place to have your wedding in Napa Valley?

Solage Calistoga is chic for its timeless style; organic for its locally grown produce that creates the delectable cuisine- a perfect match. One of Napa Valley’s finest.

Instead of personalized plastic bottles that create waste and could wind up in a landfill, how about a custom fruit-infused, frosty glass of water? Offering water in pitchers is eco-friendly and doubles as decor, saving the environment and your wallet! If that isn’t a refreshing way to be (and save some) green, we don’t know what is!

image credits, clockwise from upper left

Wedding Chicks

BizBash Washington

Brides

Country Living

Sunday Suppers

Martha Stewart

I have always enjoyed flowers from the garden. This past week we started to plan out what flowers we want to have at my wedding and I kept going back to what is in the garden.

One thing I really enjoy at weddings is when they implement natural seasonal flowers into the bouquet and center pieces. For spring I am loving tulips, hydrangeas, peonies, and lilacs.

Hydrangea

Lilac

Peony

Tulip

As you can tell, I am also enjoying purples and greens this spring.

~Brianne & Jed

(Engaged Weekly Bloggers)