May 14, 2011
On a “blustery” Spring Saturday in Chicago (yes, that’s how the weatherman described it), my husband and I celebrated our dream green wedding.
18 months of research, planning, preparation, emails, calls, blog posts, to-do lists... the day had finally arrived.
I want to thank everyone who helped us along during those months... family, friends, and all those who contributed green suggestions. We are so grateful!
Though the wedding planning is now done, I hope this blog will continue helping brides find greener ways to celebrate their days too, and I will continue to contribute ideas I come across. As a “been there, done that” bride, I will certainly have some advice in hindsight to add.
But for now, here is a little peek inside the completion of “My Dream Green Wedding”:
The Attire
My dress and the bridesmaid dresses were made with gorgeous all natural silk by Chicago designer, Victoria Sdoukos, and I was even able to incorporate pieces of my mom’s dress as well. I was thrilled to be able to work with a local designer in order to eliminate the factory-production process and support a local small business-owner as well. The groomsmen either rented suits or wore ones they already owned.
The Flowers
The flowers, done by BoKay, were organic, in-season, and local. My florist, Becky Dees, used peonies, sweetpea, lavender, and hydrangeas. We wrapped the bouquets in leftover fabric from the dresses. The centerpieces were potted duranta plants, given to guests to plant in their yards or gardens.
The Transportation
We had a trolley from Windy City Trolley transport the bridal party and guests en masse from the church to the reception.
The Food
All food was local, in-season, and sustainable from Limelight Catering. Leftover food was donated and whatever could be recycled was recycled. Also, the cupcakes from Swirlz were made with all local, all natural ingredients. Quite a few were vegan too (and no one could tell!).
The Extras
The place cards were made of wildflower seed paper from Beaucoup and displayed on beds of wheatgrass (the wheatgrass was saved to be juiced by my family). The majority of our lighting (and air purifying) consisted of Big Dipper Works’ beeswax candles. We also placed organic mints and organic personal care products in the bathrooms. Soap dispensers were replaced with Shaklee’s biodegradable Basic H foaming hand wash (all of Shaklee's organic, biodegradable products are part of our new green home as well). Also, in lieu of a favor, a donation to the Chicago Gateway Green was made (helping them plant 15,000 trees by 2015).
And due to the blustery weather, we had to get some last-minute umbrellas.... made from bamboo and recycled materials, of course. J
