Laura + Joel’s Rustic Ranch Wedding

We love this charming and rustic wedding submitted to us by Andi Hatch Photography! Set in Muir Beach near the Bay Area in CA, their secluded ceremony (right on a cliff overlooking the Pacific) was absolutely breathtaking!

Slide Ranch is a non-profit that provides programs and summer camps to over 8,000 Bay Area residents! From learning about farm life and gardening to understanding all about the sustainable use of natural resources, this place could not be any greener!

Love this casual portrait of them in their flip flops!

All of the food was produced locally or right from Slide Ranch!

The sunflowers for her bouquet and centerpieces were mostly from Laura’s own garden!

This rustic wedding was complete with one of Slide Ranch’s Yurt for their reception and blue grass band, The Stairwell Sisters!

What a wonderfully Eco-Beautiful Day!

Congrats to Laura and Joel!

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Real Wedding Inspiration

Instead of featuring one wedding today - we wanted to show several ideas and things we love for real wedding inspiration. We love Mike + Sarah’s wedding shown above at Heavenly Ski Resort last summer by Ocean Blue Photography! Why? We know they took full advantage of using the great outdoors as their main source of decor.

Planning a destination wedding and want it to be green? Why not try the beautiful St. Martin Chalets in Austria? St. Martin Chalets are made from locally sourced and untreated timber with 100% pure sheep’s wool insulation. The water is supplied by a natural spring and heated and powered by their own vegetable oil power plant - all surrounded by the Alps and full of luxurious surprises! (Click on the photo above for more details!)

Getting married in Hawaii? Going for beautiful and casual attendants clothing will ensure they will wear those dresses and outfits again! The Hawaii Island Reteat, near the small village of Hawi of the Big Island is full of eco-friendliness and surrounded by natural beauty as well! (Photo by Karen Loudon)

Kati + Pete’s wedding (photos by BellaLu Photography) from the Spring Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings was so chock full of ideas and beautiful photos - we simply can’t get enough! Not only did the bride wear a bright aqua dress, she wore sunflowers in her hair that they grew on their own farm! Their only gift request was a tandem bike and they had a wonderful time promoting local farms for their contribution to the wedding.

Stay local, give back to the community, buy decor and clothing to reuse after the wedding and you are well on your way to having a green wedding. This does not mean that a destination wedding is an ecological disaster. In most major metropolitan cities - they end up being destination weddings anyway for out of town guests. Reduce waste and do the best you can to provide locally produced food and decor. Carbon offset if needed - and by all means have the party of a lifetime!

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Eco-Friendly Fall Bouquets

Choosing seasonal flowers for your wedding bouquet is an important part of planning an eco-friendly wedding. It reduces the energy spent getting your blooms to your bouquet and the amount of fuel and chemicals needed to produce flowers out of season.

With flowers like lilies, chrysanthemums, sunflowers, roses, zinnia, coxcomb, and heather (just to name a few) to choose from, it’s easy to carry a bouquet full of eco-fabulous style!

image credits clockwise from upper left:

Martha Stewart

The Knot

Saipua

The Knot

The Knot

Martha Stewart

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