Eco-Friendly Stationary

You can still be sustainable and be fashionable at the same time! To me, wedding stationary is of utmost importance! Why not, they are your guests first impression of your wedding. Your stationary should have the same style and flair as your wedding.


We love simple - understated - timeless. We love letterpress!

Check out this hot little number.

100% cotton invitation is printed with vegetable based inks.

A bit more budget friendly, but still as Eco-Friendly:

100% PCW cardstock printed with vegetable based inks

Happy Planning!

Waste Not-Want Not

I know I have alluded to this in past entries, but I think it’s important enough to mention again. It’s all of our responsibility to protect the environment, be mindful of waste, and be socially responsible. Additionally, in these tough financial times, I think most would be interested in saving some dough! Of course, like everyone, I too have my hang-ups! When it comes to the wedding budget, I help my clients prioritize and define where they want to spend their money. Same holds true being conservative on waste, choosing items that are environmentally friendly, and offering budget friendly ideas. Many of my clients want to conserve on certain aspects of their wedding, but also, like us, don’t want to completely say “bye-bye” to all those beautiful extras. We guide our clients in where to conserve and give them ideas on how to do so, while maintaining the look and feel of the wedding. So, that’s what I want to do. I want to discuss just a few areas where you can conserve and give you great resources on how to do so.



Favors – Anyone who knows us, knows that we are not fond of wedding favors. We have had couples offer favors, and we have had couples not offer favors. In our experience favors offer nothing to the event. I did not conduct a scientific study, but it seems to me that the guests not getting the favors were just as happy, and felt just as loved. Surprisingly, 95% of the time, the favors are left behind, for me to pick up and throw in the trash.

If you do not like the idea of going without favors, and many couples do, Why not put your money towards something important? There are a few charity registries in which you can donate money to a charity that’s important to you. You could donate the money in your or your guests’ names. What’s better gift than giving back on your wedding day? This way, you are giving your guest something that’s meaningful to both to you and to them. www.idofoundation.org is an excellent resource. They will allow you to not only create a foundational favor registry, but also will allow you to create a gift registry as well.

Transportation – I don’t know about any of you, but I hate buying gas. Wedding transportation is one of those sticky situations in my mind. One, couples want to get to and from their wedding in style. Limos are the standard choice, but this may be an area where you can cut down significantly. Many couples are opting to get married at a location that offers the ceremony and reception at one location. One huge advantage to this is that everyone can “get there” and you do not have to hire specialty cars and such. For those where their ceremony and reception sites are in different locations, you can opt not to transport the wedding party, cutting down on limos, gas, and cost. Often times, wedding party members and/or their dates have their own cars (rental or otherwise) that they can use and you can use your money to rent a classic car – or better yet – hire an hourly airport shuttle. The Lincoln town car will cost you less, and offer you one way transport (rather than the expensive 3-4 hour minimums that most limo companies offer).

Horsepower is a nice way to come and go in style – and better yet, no gas consumption. How about contacting a valet company to drive you in a hybrid or electric car? There are many options and many possibilities that are “green” and budget friendly, and not take away from the elegance of the day!

A few small changes by many couples add up to a lot of energy and money savings!
Happy planning!

Greening your Wedding - The Easy Way

Unfortunately, 50 years ago, we wouldn’t be talking about this topic. If we were, perhaps this world wouldn’t be in the position it is today. As a citizen on this planet, it’s our obligation to do our part to make this world a better place, not only for our children- and our children’s children, but for 20 generations of children down the line. Each small change will make an impact, whether it’s making an effort to turn out a light, putting the weeks paper into a blue container and committing to put it on the curb every week, reducing the amount of waste in a landfill by using cloth on your baby, or by sending out invitations made from recycled paper.

I have seen many couples make efforts to reduce and reuse when it comes to their special day. It has become ‘chic’ to “green” aspects of the wedding. There are many vendors locally and nationally that will help you do this. The most common trend I see is purchasing invitations made from recycled products, and printed with environmentally friendly inks. Many national companies offer this including Carlson Craft (http://www.carlsoncraft.com/) and Birchcraft Studios (http://www.birchcraft.com/). Locally, Washington DC has boutique stationary shops, such as Haute Papier (http://www.hautepapier.com/) specializing in customized stationary design, offers paper products made from recycled products.

Couples are tending to reduce the amount of paper used by excluding programs and menu cards from the festivities. They are also opting for scrolls/charts instead of using place cards. I advise my clients to forgo expensive and wasteful favors that often get left behind and end up in the garbage, in exchange for donations to charities that are important to them. In the weddings that I have done, I have seen couples donate to Breast Cancer Foundations and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, just to name a few. Some of my couples opt to cut out the favors all together. After treating their guests to the most fantastic day, the favors are not at all missed.

Washington DC has seen a number of wedding vendors go “green” in recent years. Jennifer Hughes (http://www.jenniferhughes.com/), a top photographer in the Washington DC and Baltimore Metropolitan areas offers a “green” wedding package. In the package, she offers a photo album made by Couture Books, which is press printed on 100% post consumer recycled, acid free, archival paper. The entire process is powered by green-certified wind power and carbon offsets. Trees are planted with a portion of the proceeds from each book. She also offers Cypress albums, which are completely eco-friendly, with no harm done to trees in the process. She is also looking into purchasing carbon credits to offset her use of electricity and transportation to all of her weddings.

Mydeejay.com (http://www.mydeejay.com/) has also taken steps to become eco-friendly. Mydeejay.com is the nation's first 100% carbon neutral wedding entertainment company. They have achieved this by purchasing carbon offsets for all of their electricity use (both in the office and at events) and all the travel to and from meetings and events. At the wedding, the DJ’s use state of the art digitized systems, which eliminate the need for wasteful CD’s. They have severely reduced their paper use, relying on electronic contracts, planning documents and eFaxes. All the paper that they do use is 100% recycled and their marketing materials are 100% recycled and have environmentally friendly, soy based inks.

Décor is always a fun aspect of the wedding planning process. There are many ways to “green” your décor, says Emily Elizabeth Anderson – Author of Eco Chic Weddings. Some of these ideas include, using paper, fabric and ribbon for color. You can green your décor by utilizing branches in creative and dramatic ways, lighting candles, or using lamps for mood lighting. Utilizing organically grown local florals offers a floral solution. You can also feature edible arrangements for a different touch. Simplicity is key if you want to go green. Try floating a few blooms in shallow vessels or using smaller vases with one bloom for centerpieces. Herbs also are impressive in bulk, or might serve as a great favor, that guests could plant in their gardens.

One common method of saving is utilizing an arrangement more than once; i.e, use ceremony arrangements at the reception. Instead of throwing your flowers away, let others enjoy the blooms, by donating to local hospitals, hospices, homeless shelters, and the like.

So whether you are looking for a sustainable reception site, organic cuisine, recycled paper products, ideas on ways to reduce and reuse, or eco-friendly vendors, there are many options to make your ‘green” affair a raving success!