eco chic weddings

Marie-Gael & Michael's Cave Wedding

Plan Your Wedding. Design Your Life...is about what happens after the wedding...Each story in this series will features one special couple who have inspired me to think a little differently, about how to get married, how to begin a life together, and how to create a sustainable world. In short, each couple will share their own unique take on how to design your life.

If you've read any of my books, you probably know that I am all about using items for your wedding that are in-keeping with your personal style. When she got married a few years ago, Marie-Gael followed this philosophy with her wedding, and now almost every piece of her event is a part of her home. From the apparel to the cups, Marie-Gael looked in her own environment for inspiration and ideas, using many things she already had to create her wedding design. I asked Marie-Gael to share her design approach.

Emily: Can you describe your design process for the wedding?

Marie-Gael: I didn't buy a ton of new things for my wedding. I looked around my own home and included things I loved, things my relatives had given me, things that make me smile. I found that there's really no need to buy tons of new stuff just to toss it. I just followed the basic 3Rs--reduce, reuse, recycle.

Emily: Are there any items from your wedding--shoes, dresses, ties, paper, ribbon, vases--that you are now using in your home?

Marie-Gael:  Yes!  pretty much everything.  Michael wears his suit all the time.  I've worn my dress & scarf. The tray for cards is my fruit dish.  The juice pitcher currently has pomegranate lemonade in it.  We use the M and G tea cups every morning. I dried my flowers and am planning to use them in a mixed-media painting for Michael.

Emily: Did you learn anything from making things for your wedding that you have carried over into your post-wedding environment?

Marie-Gael: Yes! I have a collection of vintage Depression era blue glass Mason Jars. I wanted to use them to line the path for the wedding, but when I found out how expensive they were I decided to learn how to make them myself. I now make custom orders.

Marie-Gael's resource guide:

Photographer: Andrew Kung
His suit: J Crew
His shoes: Vintage
His ring: Mokume Gane by Jordonesque
My dress: Sarah Seven
My scarf: Anthropologie
My shoes: Faryl Robin
My coat: Marc Jacobs
My ring: Tiffany by Paloma Picasso
My necklace & bracelet: Vintage
My hair: Dairdre Scriven of Vinyl Studio Columbus, OH

Peacock Pretty Wedding Style

 

 

 

 

Peacock feathers are in bloom. Plus, it's a natural way to add nature with a glamourous twist.

Clockwise from the top left: 

Shoes: Norakaren

Stationery: Farouche

Head Piece: Live in Style

Print: dekanimal

Applique: The Headband Shoppe

Painting: Ashley White Jacobsen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look in the Attic for Milk Glass Cake Stands

I found one of my favorite sources, Look in the Attic.You can find practically anything in the way of transferware, jadite, and depression era glass...all of which are totally my style.

From top left: pink jadite tiered cake stands (set of three, $110.99); green jadite cake stand ($74.99); porcelain transferware serving tray ($34.99); white jadite tiered cake stands (set of three, $110.99); depression era glass cut bowl ($64.99); depression era glass cake stand ($49.99);  depression era  era glass bunny rabbit serving dish ($24.99).

Whether you use these pieces for your wedding, or just register for them, you will find so many uses for them, from entertaining, to decor, to everyday use. I can not tell you how many times I used cake stands for events when I worked for Martha Stewart. Growing up, my grandmother had all of these pieces as well. I guess that's where my love affair for milk glass, hobnail, and depression era pieces comes from.

Read more here...

Design Your Life with a Wise Wedding Registry

Pretty is as pretty does...and not only are these items pretty, they are all fair trade, eco, and ethical...

 

Sources from the top:
Invitation...Paperwink
Bridesmaid/or Rehearsal dinner dress...De Sentino
Bridesmaid/or Bride's shoes...Form + Fauna
Plates...Terra Keramik
Pencil favors...Remarkable
Candle stick....Terra Keramik
Wedding band...Toby Pomeroy
Handmade paper peonies...Martha Stewart

Color Palette: Pink and Yellow

From The Archives :: Noir Illuminates

Noir splashed the runway with fair trade, ethical design...no small feat for a relatively unknown brand. The word on the street is that Barney's is going green...with a "green" holiday catalog. And as much as some people might turn their nose up at the "mainstreaming of green", I say, the more the better...

Be a trendsetting bride and infuse some {good glamour} into your big show. Clockwise from top left: beeswax candles, easternleaf.com; handmade  vintage glass earrings  bethlauren.com; noir spring o8 runway; vintage china; loving anvil rings.

(Originally published here on ECW in May 2007)

 

Marie-Gael + Michael: The Wedding Registry

Plan Your Wedding. Design Your Life.

     

  

As we learned yesterday, when it came to their wedding registry, Marie-Gael and Michael used the same simple, stylish theme they applied to the wedding itself. Happy with furnishing their home using beloved family pieces and other cherished items, the pair registered for a honeymoon instead, using the free service the HoneyFund. For a couple with a non-materialistic bent, this is a wonderful alternative to the typical wedding registry. As Marie-Gael says,"It's amazingly freeing to let go of 'things' & focus on the more important aspects of life." 

**If you too are fond of using gently worn, well-loved items for your home, be sure to check out my new book Eco Chic Home for more than 60 different re-design projects to help you spruce up virtually any item in a fast, simple, fun way. Available on my Etsy Shop, and in all major bookstore.

Here are a few great resources to give you some inspiration for your own gently-worn home hand-me-downs.

ELLE DECOR: Of course this is top of the line when it comes to home style, but you can get ideas that can be translated into your own place. 

Home Portfolio: A sleek online resource for every item you could possibly think of for the home--knobs, grills, kitchen cupboards, you name it. It is an excellent place to get sound advice and practical solutions.

Furniture Restoration: To refinish or not? If you have old furniture on your hands, you know exactly what I'm talking about. This site is a little rough around the edges (pun not intended) but it has a wealth of information if refinishing old furniture or (gasp) painting.

Simon Pearce Baskets from Africa

 

As I was walking home from the Adele Wechsler and AVEDA event (Hamanasi Resort and Sugar Flower Shop were there too) last night, and I walked by Simon Pearce on Madison Ave. These basket bowels caught my eye. They are woven from the root of the makenge bush by the Mbunda tribe in Zambia. These are considered to be traditional wedding baskets because they are so useful in the home. It's a symbol of starting a new home, and life, with your betrothed. You can learn more, or add them to your wedding registry, here.

Read more about the women who make these baskets here.

 

Recycled Glass Goblets

 Made from bottles, you can register for here. Chin Chin!

Sara Cihat Repurposed Redesigned Dishes

 

Would it be weird to give people dishes as your favors? Well if you do, I recommend Sara Cihat. Her creative vision is truly one of a kind. That being said, I wish I had my own kiln.

{fall look} green with glamour + sworn virgins

Pretty leaves make a lovely alternative to flowers, don't you think? My aunt was married in my grandparent's yard, which is surrounded by woods. Autumn leaves were her bouquets, and the bridesmaids dressed in velvet in various shades of the season. My mother even dyed her hair a reddish color...que coquetta, as they say in Spanish...for more fall inspiration, go here...www.foliagenetwork.com. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

{clockwise from the top left: Antique glassware, www.lookintheattic.com (from Domino); Dress by Sworn Virgins; Cruelty free bone earrings, www.greenwithglamour.com; Vintage Postcard, www.vintagecharmings.com}

have an {organized} wedding with lovelydesign

LovelyDesign has the perfect things to organize all of the creative details that make planning an event so much fun...everything is handmade using reclaimed paper and materials.

wedding registry: recycled glassware from re-found objects

Gorgeous recycled glassware from ReFoundObjects...

   

eco-registry: real simple + greenfeet + greener grass design

26 percent of marriage proposals happen between November and December, according to the Fairchild Bridal Group. Just think, this time next year, you may be hosting your very own holiday festivities as a newlywed. With that in mind, think about what you might need to register for to suit your entertaining needs. (all items from: RealSimple.com, greenfeet.com, and Greener Grass Design.

{bridesmaid gifts} + {charming sam}

Charming Sam, by artist Amy Steinberg,  has a plethora of inspiring ideas, items, and ephemera to whet your creative whistle...

wedding registry ideas: more rehab dishes from *etsy*

i wanted to give you guys some more options if you are interested in registering for refashioned dishware...all of these items are available on Etsy for under $40.

jenn3star

jennale

porcelainandpaper

i believe in the democratization of style, and i think etsy is at the forefront of this quiet revolution. viva la revolucion!

make your home + your heart flutter: wedding registry ideas

Wedding registry can be painful....why? Because you have to decide together what you should put on the list. T-o-g-e-t-h-e-r. Yes of course the most eco thing to do is to not have a registry. Or even better, have a charitable registry---Justgive.org couples have raised 1million for their favorite charities since launching in 2003. Which is great, but just a fraction of  the 27 billion dollars that's spent every year on wedding gifts. We can do better. First and foremost, support good businesses...buying handcrafted is an excellent way to start...take a look at these lovely pillows from Flutter.

You can designate a portion of your registry to a charitable cause...I recommend going directly to the source and skipping the middle-man...that way you can support the stores and the causes that you believe in.

Here are some ideas to consider:

1) Create a registry on Wishpot.com; you can put specific items with a link on your Wishpot page...so you can ask for things like adoption of a Blue Whale, or a Giraffe, or a Panda with the World Wildlife Organization...

2) Help someone change their lives and ask for Kiva Gift Certificates on your registry...read more about Kiva here.

                                    

   3) Create a customizable wedding registry on Changing the Present where you can include which charities you wish to support, and provide your guests with a personal message from you.

Do good...be good...feel good....

joe the polar bear: and other cool registry ideas

Innovative French design team, ibride, use a century old technique to create their gorgeous and intricate trays with recycled wood. They are quite lovely, and fairly affordable.

          
(prices of these trays range from $65 to $175. register at velocity art and design.

But what I really want is a joe the polar bear, a bookshelf made out of melamine. ibride only produced a limited quantity, and the cost is way beyond my budget. but the idea of merging commerce and community is pretty cool...

go here to read more about joe the polar bear.
to read more about real polar bears and why we should be concerned about their well-being, click here, and click here.
 

{bodanna} for a feel good wedding registry

Martha Stewart realized that everyone wants good style, no matter how big their bank account may be. Now, style is coming to the non-profit world too...people are producing beautiful wares, that are also good for the world and its people...witness Bodanna...

   

Beautiful, useful, and so positive...buy something for yourself, even...no reason to feel guilty. Because with every purchase from Bodanna, money goes to support inner city kids...making their hopes, dreams, or just their basic day-to-day living possible.

                         

Or maybe you  just want to create the wedding registry of your dreams...go for it, and as a bonus you can feel good about the fact that you are also helping someone else fulfill their dreams...

wedding registry: johanna wright + crafty wonderland {portland}

Create a registry of items that you will treasure. How about some beautiful artwork by Johanna Wright? Find more handmade, recrafted, wonderful things at Crafty Wonderland. Create a free registry on wishpot.com.

what to register for: organic cotton towels from west elm

West Elm has a new line of 100% organic cotton towels + bathmats...and, if you order (or register) now, you can even get your initials monogrammed for free! That way you won't commit the newlywed faux pas of accidentally using your partner's towel...ew.