A Waste-Free Wedding

This is an incredible company that seriously knows how to spread the love and the leftovers.


The Special E.
Their slogan: "We're doing what's right... with what's left."

Special E reports for duty after your wedding or event to ensure absolutely nothing gets haphazardly tossed (i.e.: food, food scraps, recyclables, floral arrangements, centerpieces, decorations, promotional products, hotel room amenities, meeting and event supplies, and much, much more).

The items are then donated to local shelters, food banks, churches, nursing homes, recycling centers, compost collection sites, and schools.

This organization is available for any meeting and event nationwide.

Talk about Eco-friendly and socially responsible!
It currently holds a well-deserving #1 spot on my "Eco-Wedding Favorites" list. Bravo, Special E.

To find out more, check out their website above and let the sharing begin!

An Extra *Musical* Touch...

So this is not an "eco" tip necessarily.
All the same, when those moments of brilliance strike, it becomes essential to share.

I was reading some posts about how to keep your stress down while preparing for the big day, and one suggestion was to start creating the music list for the DJ asap.

It talked about how to cater your music to the various age groups who like to boogie on the dance floor, and it occurred to me- why not simply ask everyone what they'd like?

(Note: I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this, but all the same, I am proud of my revelation).

On the reply card, the guest may provide a song request for the DJ.

This way everyone will get their feet grooving at some point in the evening.
Plus, the DJ's list will share a check mark with the final guest list!

Efficiency. I like it a lot.

The Location... Oh no!

As far as location goes, we've decided to take ourselves back to our Midwest roots [insert parents' sighs of relief: here]. :-)

Though it's in the Midwest, where our choices of venues are a bit limited by the weather, our goal is to find a venue that caters a balance of fun activities and relaxation-- a resort, if you will.

BUT, before we decided upon the Midwest, we wanted to explore one venue we found in a magazine during our return flight from Europe. How serendipitous! I mused at the time. Hence, our Thanksgiving plans at the Borrego Springs Ranch and Resort were settled.

Not only was it beautiful, enjoyable, peaceful, and relaxing... it was very Eco!

Unfortunately, as I pulled up the website so that I could rave about it in my blog, I was sadly informed that it is closing its doors as of tomorrow. :(

I guess this is a sign that the Midwest would eventually be our spot.

Adieu, Borrego Ranch Resort... you will be missed.
Thank you for the marvelous Thanksgiving.

Oh, the eco-invitation possibilities!

I cannot stress enough how many choices will face you when you plan a wedding.

On one hand, I'd say I've lucked out "going green" because it certainly narrows down the companies I consider.

On the other hand, it's unfortunate that there are so few out there at the moment.

Take the invitations, for instance.

I walk into The Paper Spot (an adorable stationary store in my lovely hometown of Frankfort, IL) and gaze at 12 thick binders of invitations templates looming at me.

After inquiring which is "greenest," the saleswoman selected one binder and handed it to me. Well, that was easy. But then again, shouldn't creating invitations from recycled-paper be a no-brainer by now?

At least there are a few out there.

The one I'm most currently considering is a company called Crazy Daisy.
According to the saleswoman at The Paper Spot, the owner also wanted me to know he drives a Prius. Good work!

Another company I just discovered last night, but that's been around for about 200 years, is the Crane Company. They specialize in 100% cotton paper that is also recyclable. Unlike paper from trees, the cotton paper also generates less waste and energy.


In my opinion, you can't tell the difference between the cotton and paper... maybe in the texture, but only slightly.  And I just love the pastel green colors.  The image above is a sample of one invitation template, but more can be seen on their website!