planning

Win Wedding Photography

ckane — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:00:00 -0400

The good folks over at Wedlog: A Magical Blog of fun, funky and green wedding planning, had such a great experience with their own wedding photographer from CVI Photography, they've decided to share him. They're offering a free wedding photography package and a handmade wedding album to one lucky winning couple.

From the site: "The Requirements: You must be planning an eco-friendly, diy, handmade wedding that will take place between August 2008 and December 2009." Couples interested in entering should submit a short essay about your wedding plans. In the essay, play up all the green/ethical/DIY innovations you have in the works, as well as why you two are so deserving of this prize.

Wedlog blogger Thryn, her new husband Gabe, and members of their wedding party will determine the winner on or around May 11. More info on how to enter in the Wedlog post.

Even if you don't enter the contest, Wedlog is a good resource to check out for wedding ideas. Thanks to Roopa at the wonderful vegetarian blog Raspberry Eggplant for the heads up about this contest. and about the blog in general.

Image: contest banner via Wedlog (duh)

Green Wedding Expos

ckane — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400

Wedding expos used to be the type of event that couples planning alternative ceremonies would avoid like the plague. (For an idea of what goes down at such events, Jezebel recently sent some writers undercover.) But now entire expos themselves are dedicated to eco and indie weddings, or to the more general green lifestyle.

There was one in February in L.A., another one in March in Toronto, and Portovert has recently announced they'll be holding a Green Wedding Lounge at the following three conventions: EPIC: A Sustainable Living Expo in Vancouver and Go Green New York, both happening later this month, and the EarthNow Expo which will take place in Vegas in June.

I'm very surprised we haven't seen one of these events in the Pacific Northwest yet, although there was an event in the works in Seattle called I Heart Indie Weddings, originally planned for sometime in 2009. Although their website is now down, their MySpace profile is still active (and says I Heart Indie Weddings is postponed), so if you want hear more when they get plans for the event rolling again, add 'em.

Image: LeAnimal dress, via Portovert

Etsy's Handmade Weddings Offer More Green Wedding Porn

ckane — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

I've already mentioned the online craft site Etsy as a resource for recycled, upcycled, and otherwise-eco wedding favors and supplies. But green and DIY wedding planners have been abuzz this week over the launch of Etsy's Handmade Wedding Series, highlighting different crafty weddings and wedding skills. So far on the Earth-friendly front, the series has highlighted a recycled and low-budget wedding, vintage wedding fashions, and eco tips with Meghan from Portovert.

Part of this whole nontraditional wedding planning seems to be looking around at other atypical weddings for ideas to pillage or adapt. I already saw one idea I want to steal from Etsy's profile of the recycled wedding: using Bambu single-use biodegradable place settings for the food, made from sustainable bamboo. One super-amazing fun resource for such wedding porn is Offbeat Bride. (Just beware when you're taking inspiration from many scources of creating what's known as a Frankenwedding--a hodgepodge of too many different elements and themes)

This also marks the return of Etsy's Alchemy feature, where you can post to ask for a specific item you'd like to have custom-made, such as a wedding dress or invites on recycled paper. Alchemy works like eBay's Want It Now feature, only you list your ideal price and then potential crafters bid on the item you want to have made.

And now that you're about to get sucked into both Etsy and Offbeat Bride, good luck getting anything else done ever again.Or at least until your wedding is over.