Category: Trends

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream

natasha Leave a comment

sundae

If you are having an outside wedding in the summer, things can get really hot. Allow your guests to cool down with a sundae bar. Serve a couple different flavors of hand dipped ice cream. You can go with traditional flavors such as vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate or really mix it up and serve mocha chip, mango, or pineapple ice cream. Another option is to rent a soft served ice cream machine or serve sorbet instead of ice cream. No matter what you choose, toppings are a must. Display bowls of toppings for your guests to sprinkle or drizzle on. You can even coordinate the toppings with your wedding colors. Check out your local ice cream shops. There are a lot that will cater your event and bring everything you need; even handmade waffle cones. Yum! Your guests are sure to love this idea and will it will bring out the kid in everyone! Besides what goes better with cake than ice cream?

Guest Book Option~Origami Rolls

natasha Leave a comment

orgomi

Set up a lively guest-book table with patterned paper in bright hues. Guests pen notes on origami paper, then seal them with a sticker. The banners above are also made from origami squares — no fancy folding required.

Origami squares come precut, so this guest book couldn’t be easier. Set out stacks of paper (we mixed solids with patterns in shades of red and orange), as well as dot stickers and coordinating pens. Guests write a message to the newlyweds on the back of a sheet, roll it up, seal it with a dot, and drop it into glass hurricanes (place a few samples inside beforehand so guests will take the cue). Each container is embellished with a strip of card stock trimmed with scalloping shears; secure to outside of glass with double-sided tape.
Decide how long you want the banner to be, and cut a piece of double-face satin ribbon to length. For the large banner, we used origami paper roughly 6 inches square; for the smaller ones, we used 3-inch origami squares. For each panel, fold top third of paper over the ribbon and secure with a glue stick; leave 1/2-inch spaces between the panels. Tie 6-inch lengths of matching ribbon between panels; trim away the excess, cutting ends at an angle. Source and more pictures!

Green Weddings #4~Flowers

natasha Leave a comment

potted plant

Flowers

Your wedding flowers can be a place where you can make conscientious decisions, which can greatly affect the environment. Cut flowers, as you may already know, are quite toxic, both to the environment and to the workers who grow them. Choose a florist who uses organically grown, in-season, local flowers. This will remove the need for long-distance transportation.  An interesting idea is to force your own bulbs in other words, grow your own flowers in your home. You’ll have to start a few months early, but you can grow anything from tulips and daffodils to begonias and pineapple lilies. There are also suppliers of organically farmed cut flowers that you can support. They have a fairly strict set of guidelines for growing practices to protect both the environment and the farm workers, and the flowers will be healthier for you and your guests to enjoy. You can also support your local farmers and buy your flowers at your local farmers market. Reuse your flowers that day by transforming ceremony flowers into table decorations at the reception. Similarly, ceremony decorations can be used to dress up the dance floor. After the party, donate them to a local hospital or senior citizen center or send them home with your guests. Another option is to have your centerpieces double as favors. Gather small perennials or baby bushes together and then have your guests take them home to plant.

source

Green Weddings #3~ Invitations and Stationary

natasha Leave a comment

invitation 

Invitations and Stationary

Stationary makes up a big part of your wedding when you consider all of the places that paper can be used: engagement announcements save the date cards, shower invitations, shower thank you cards, wedding invitations, ceremony programs, place cards, menu cards, wedding announcements, and thank you cards. That’s a lot of paper, and often wedding invitations include non-recyclable elements such as plastic, so it all goes to landfill. Let your invitations set the tone of your wedding and let everyone know about your environmentally friendly wedding choice. Choose stationary that is made from post-consumer recycled paper, and stay away from bright whites, which use a lot of chemical bleach. You can also get tree-free paper that is made from recycled coffee beans, recycled denim, organic cotton, or hemp fiber. How about organic cotton invitations that contain wildflower seeds which will grow if planted? Your love can bloom literally as well as symbolically. Another option is to send save-the-dates through an email. There are many sites that provide this service for free and you can design it right there. Another option is to set up a wedding website and send the link to everyone. This is a fun way to display all of your wedding festivities and planning.

source

Green Weddings #2~Transportation

natasha Leave a comment

horse and carriage 

Transportation
Ideally, a local venue would be the most environmentally friendly choice. A local venue would cut down on transportation. When you’re transporting guests use vehicles, which run on LPG or bio-diesel, or hire a horse and carriage, rickshaws or cycles. If you have many guests traveling by cars, it may be more eco-friendly to hire a coach to transport them all. Having your reception and ceremony in one location will also reduce traveling. The main thing to remember here is to try to minimize the amount of driving your guests will need to do.

Source

Green Weddings #1~Attire

natasha Leave a comment

cotton dress

 

Weddings in 2008 are going green and I don’t mean the color! Brides and grooms are becoming more conscious of the environment and incorporating eco friendly ideas. Turning your wedding green can be done in a variety of ways. The following series of posts will give you great ideas for every aspect of you wedding!

Attire
Ahhh… the wedding dress. It’s the first thing a bride thinks of when planning her wedding, but how can you make this an eco friendly choice? The most eco friendly way is to use a gown that has already been worn. You can find a great vintage style dress or even check out second hand stores and ebay. Another option is to wear your mother’s dress. A few alterations can bring a dated dress up-to-date in no time flat. Plus, this dress will have a sentimental value that the others lack. If having a new dress is important to you, consider earth friendly fabrics such as hemp, organic cotton, linen, tencel and silk.

Ditch the Bouquet!

natasha Leave a comment

parosol2

Here is a brilliant idea! Instead of the traditional bouquets, ditch them altogether and have your bridesmaids carry fun parasols down the isle. You can save the traditional bouquet for yourself or join your bridesmaids in carrying a parasol of your own. There is a plethora of styles out there to choose from and this will add a bit of uniqueness to your wedding. This idea works best for an outside wedding with a more casual feel. This idea would probably not work as well in a cathedral. So keep your venue in mind when opting for this fun and unique idea!
Pic

Sandsational Cake!

natasha Leave a comment

brown sugar
Having a beach themed wedding? Then this cake is perfect for you! I love how this simple design is made into a beach themed wonder. The design on the cake is reminiscent of waves, while the seashells add the beach aura. My favorite part, however, is the brown sugar that surrounds the cake to give the appearance of sand. The little couple is pretty cute as well. Don’t you think?
Pic

Trend Alert~ Fruit!

natasha Leave a comment

The newest trend in the wedding scene is adding fruit to your centerpieces. Fruit is added to give a little spice to a traditional flower centerpiece. Fruit can go solo, piled high in hurricanes or decorative bowels, and make a stunning impression. It is also a great addition to centerpieces because of the wonderful colors available. Kiwi and lemons are a favorite among florists and deservedly so! They are beautiful to look at. When adding fruit to a centerpiece, keep in mind which fruit is in season for your wedding. You will want fruit that is in season so that is will be in its most beautiful state. It’s sometimes hard to find good fruit when it’s out of season.

fruit centerpiece jpeg