Sow ‘n Sow

Have you heard of Sow ‘n Sow? If you haven’t we will gladly introduce you…

Sow ‘n Sow create custom Gifts of Seeds where distinctive design and a tailored seed selection combine to provide an effective and engaging product. Custom Gifts of Seeds are Eco friendly and provide a lasting memory.

Ideal for providing your guests at your wedding with a beautiful gift that grows!

Green inspiration

We hope everyone had a lovely St Patrick’s Day last Thursday (and remembered to wear a touch of green!). We have seen some beautiful green and white weddings over the years here at Real Weddings, and last Thursday prompted many ‘St Patrick’s Day’ themed inspiration boards to pop up all over the web. So we thought we’d share with you one of our own by Real Weddings Creative Director Nicole for an ‘eco green’ themed shoot, and also one of our favourite, truly ‘St Pats Day’ boards, by Bridal Bubbly.

IMAGES: top, by Real Weddings; above by Bridal Bubbly.

What We Loved #8

Happy Monday! Starting this week we have some VERY exciting features for you – the month of June is going to be jam-packed with all sorts of new bits and bobs that you’ll love! Of course our Winter 2011 issue is coming out very soon, so there’ll be some sneak peeks of that, fantastically fun behind the scenes coverage from our photo shoots plus some gorgeous web-weddings, and extra special web photoshoots….

Oh, and did we mention we’ll be drawing a major MAJOR prize tomorrow? Did someone say $15,000 cash for your wedding and an $11,000 luxury honeymoon at Hayman? Wow! Head over to our website quick smart for all the details – the competition closes at 5pm today!

And without further ado, here are a few of our favourite things from last week….

1. A beautiful necklace

Necklace by Quirky Beauty, photography by Studio222 Photography, via Ruffled

2. A handmade wedding gown

Dress: Handmade by the bride, Photography: Gia Canali, via: 100LayerCake

3. A magical barn

Photography: Cameron Ingalls, via: Green Wedding Shoes

4. Love-ly shoes

Shoes: Kate Spade, Photography: Erin Hearts Court

5. A sweet setting

Styling: A Modern Proposal Event Planning , Photography: Andrea Wiseman Photography, via: The Wedding Chicks

More exciting features soon….

x

New eco-venue

While doing research for our “Green Day” feature in Real Weddings Style 2009, the Real Weddings team became very excited about Doltone House’s beautiful new venue, Darling Island Wharf. The stunning venue is New South Wales’ first 6 green-star-rated building, and a sister to Doltone House’s well-established venues Sylvania Waters and Jones Bay Wharf. Apart from being Australia’s first structural concrete building made from recycled products, Doltone House – Darling Island Wharf also features some wonderful eco-friendly practices, including:

– Treatment and reuse of sewerage for watering the adjoining parkland and for toilet flushing
– Reuse of the heated air for heating water and absorption cooling of the building
– Use of high performance glass, insulation and building materials which minimise heat loss and gains through windows and external walls.

The venue also proves that it’s possible to be both eco-friendly and stylish – the spacious function area can be decorated to suit any theme and colour scheme, and affords breathtaking views of the city skyline at night.

For more information about Doltone House Darling Island Wharf, visit www.doltonehouse.com.au/darlingislandwharf

Be an eco-fashionista!

Following on from yesterday’s chat with Green Bride Guide author Kate L. Harrison, we wanted to share this fabulous new website we found!

ecofashionista.com.au is a fabulous site for all those gals who are as fashion-conscious as they are environmentally-conscious! All designers featured on the site use organic, sustainable or vintage fabrics, eco-friendly production, make small quantities to order or by construct garments by hand, and ensure fair work conditions for staff. Each garment on the site has a lettered code that tells you which sustainable practices is was made with – O + H means “Organic” and “Handmade” – and you can buy all items on the site through the online store. What a great idea!

We found some gorgeous designs that would be just perfect for an eco-friendly wedding:

This organic, handmade “Scallop” dress from Loup Charmant (French for “the charming wolf”) in New York, would be ideal for a sweet vintage garden-party wedding.

The organic, natural and fairly made “Catherine” dress in Sapphire from Sublet (also from New York), would make a beautiful bridesmaid dress.

The Fifi Bijoux “Adore” pendant, made from ethically mined and traded 9ct gold, would look stunning on either the bride or her bridesmaids.

Head over to www.ecofashionista.com.au and see what you think!

Eco-friendly wedding ideas!

It’s another scorcher in Melbourne today – it feels more like January than November at Real Weddings HQ! Whether you agree with global warming theory or not, it can’t hurt to be environmentally conscious when planning your wedding, right?

If you’ve read our latest edition of Real Weddings Style, you’ll know that we’ve been really inspired by all the brides incorporating eco-friendly ideas into their wedding planning. One of these brides was Kate L. Harrison, who later became author of hugely sucessful book The Green Bride Guide, which in turn resulted in a fantastic web resource: thegreenbrideguide.com.

L-R: The Green Bride Guide, and Kate with her husband Barry

We recently chatted to Kate about being green and ways to make a celebration eco-friendly, and we thought we’d share her responses with you!

Real Weddings: What does a “green wedding” mean to you?

Kate L. Harrison: I say that a green wedding is any wedding where the couple tries to decrease the impact of their event on the planet. This could be through making simple choices, like choosing a centralized location to decrease guest travel, or by incorporating eco-friendly products and services.

RW: What are some of the green things you did for your wedding?

KLH: We printed our invitations on 100% recycled paper and posted them with vintage paper stamps, and used local, organic caterers and seasonal flowers (most of which came from our garden). I wore heirloom jewellery and pre-owned shoes and donated my gown to Brides Against Breast Cancer after the wedding. We also bought recycled gold wedding rings, and carbon offset our guests’ travel in lieu of favours.

Kate’s second-hand Vera Wang shoes – saving the planet in style!

RW: What are some simple ways that brides can make their celebration more eco-friendly?

KLH: Couples should work with their caterer or venue to incorporate locally grown, organic, and seasonally appropriate options into the menu. Not only will they significantly decrease the impact of the event on the planet, but the meal will taste better too! The same thing goes for flowers. Locally grown organic blooms are beautiful, fragrant and better for workers’ health and the environment.

Kate used flowers from her own garden to create this beautiful bouquet

RW:What about after the wedding – what can married couples do to be more eco-friendly?

KLH: A lot of being green is just being aware. Ask yourself where things come from, what it takes to make them, and where they are headed after you use them. Try to select items made from renewable resources, and buy things that are well made and that will last a long time. Use public transportation whenever possible, eliminate toxic cleaners from under your sink, and think about recycling and composting. Simple steps add up and every choice makes a difference. Go green!

Are you incorporating eco-friendly ideas in your wedding? Tell us about them here, or head over to our Twitter and Facebook pages to have your say. We’d love to hear your thoughts! x

Eco-friendly Adventure

There’s something so dreamy about tropical weddings – the warm sunshine, clear skies and azure waters, walking barefoot through white sands, sipping cocktails and dancing under the stars… A little while ago we featured the wedding of Heike and Gabriel – the perfect tropical wedding inspiration!

With the price of international flights dropping every day, the goal of a tropical destination wedding is easier to achieve than ever. But the state of the environment makes eco-friendly travel and practices more important than ever. So can you combine the two?

The founder of ecoEarth Adventure Travel, Mezwyn D’Junus, says an eco-friendly wedding adventure is definitely possible! A great way to start is by carbon offsetting the flights of you and your guests, and choosing a wedding destination that supports sustainable tourism and business practices. But how do you get that information? Mezwyn and the team can help you create an eco-friendly wedding in several destinations, or give you tips on planning an eco chic wedding at home and general green living! For more information, visit www.ecoearthadventuretravel.com.

There’ll be some fabulous destination weddings and ideas in our December issue, but if you want to learn more about eco-friendly weddings, grab a copy of RW Style! x