Posts Tagged ‘fig media’

Sany and Travis. 4.30.11 @ Nactional 27.

“Going green” has been a global trend that’s seen resurgent popularity in the last few years, and it has reached the world of weddings. Just as there are many unresolved questions about how best to help the planet, so are there many misconceptions about green or eco-friendly weddings. For example, some couples may worry about the prices of organic food, the “hippie” stigma that comes along with eco-friendly events, or the extra effort it takes to make sure all facets of the special day are coherent with a green philosophy. However, in many ways eco-friendly weddings can be incredibly cost-effective and rewarding if planned correctly. Take Fig’s Director of Sales and Development Andrew Ettenhofer. His wedding was in September and it featured many green elements. In fact, the slogan for the wedding was “Big impact on our guests, not on the environment!”

One can start implementing eco-friendly ideas fairly early in the whole wedding planning process. “We sent out electronic ‘Save the Date’ notices and our invitations and envelopes were made of seeded paper that the guests could plant and grow into wildflowers,” Ettenhofer said. Electronic save-the-dates are a great way to cut costs and be green. You can also make invitations from recycled paper. Minted offers great recycled options.

Picking a venue that supports environmental consciousness is a great way to give back to the environment at your wedding. Many beautiful outdoor locations, such as the Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Botanical Gardens, are either non-profit organizations or support conservation efforts. It is also important to stay local instead of jetting guests off somewhere for a destination location; this decreases the overall carbon footprint. The Ettenhofers held their wedding in Spring Green, WI, which is a hub for sustainable and green ideals. In conjunction with a local venue, it is environmentally conscious to have the food catered from local vendors and growers. “We had all locally-grown farm food. All the vegetables were either from our caterer’s farm or from our officiant…who happened to be an organic farmer, too. The organic meat came from a company called Black Earth. Almost all the food was from within a 20 mile radius of the location,” Ettenhofer said.

Decorating a wedding can get expensive, but eco-friendly options can be both stylish and personalized. At many green weddings, flowers are often purchased locally and then given to the guests at the end of the night. Vintage fabrics are used for tablecloths and materials for centerpieces range from bamboo and branches to living plants and homemade décor. Ettenhofer’s wedding featured candles in borrowed canning jars and a gift for the guests. “We repotted herbs and used them as table centerpieces so that our guests could take them home,” Ettenhofer said.

The most important thing to keep in mind when planning a green wedding is the reason why you are doing. Surprisingly, many less-obvious reasons lead to eco-friendly weddings. Ettenhofer said a low impact wedding made sense in a lot of ways for his fiancée and him. “It was important to us to be low-maintenance. We cared about these things before the wedding. Good, fresh food has always been important to me, and having a wedding like this was both doable and cost-effective,” Ettenhofer said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After it was all said and done, here are Ettenhofer’s top ten tips for planning a green wedding:

1. Pick caterers that use local farmers and vendors. The food should be organic and wholesome (no pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, or genetically modified foods). If meat is part of the meal then consider the animals (humane treatment, pasture raised, anti-biotic free, grass-fed). This also means if you love fresh tomatoes, don’t get married in May. Local food has seasons! Pick a caterer that has eco-solutions for leftover food like donating it to a homeless shelter.

2. Use less paper. Do electronic Save the Dates. Eliminate RSVPs cards – just have guests email you. It’s easier and faster to track guest counts this way anyway. Use online systems like Google Docs to organize your planning and lists, which then will make it easier to share with others…and less paper!

3. Choose conscious vendors. Are they good to their employees? Do they have a recycling program? What are their green policies and philosophies? Any certifications?

4. Use local flowers instead of the stuff that gets shipped across the globe. Use plants instead of flowers, so that they can be reused. Both efforts will significantly diminish your carbon footprint.

5. Think about the aftermath. Will your décor be thrown away or is there a way to recycle? It’s extremely wasteful to have something “pretty” for just one day, and then it’s discarded. This goes for dresses and tuxedoes, too. Look for ways to use borrowed items.

6. Make it convenient for your guests. For example, have our hotels, ceremony and reception in walking distance (and, again, consider your vendors – how green is your hotel and transportation company). Encourage carpooling.

7. Use low-efficiency lights or candles for décor. Less electric usage, the better…

8. Tell your guests you don’t need wedding gifts wrapped, or try to get them to use recycled paper.

9. Tell your guests early on your desires to have a green wedding. Get them on board, educate them, and it’ll typically lead to more meaningful conservations. It can also lead to more collaboration and better ideas.

10. Make this a part of your marriage for the rest of your life and not just a neat or trendy thing to do at your wedding!

 

Photography by Brian Carey and Tim Musho of figphoto.net

There are many websites that aid couples in the planning of their green weddings. Check out EcoWedding and the Nation Green Pages for more information about eco-friendly weddings.

Research sources: Earthfriendlywedding.blogspot.com, Eco-beautifulweddings.com, Blog.weddingwire.com.

 

As seen @ The Evening of Bridal Luxury 2011.

“The triple threat of weddings. {deejay.films.photography} ” ~ Amy Allen, CS Brides Magazine.

Tag yourself in our facebook gallery below, view the fashion film that screened at the event and download fig deejay Megan Taylor’s mix from the night; Vibrant Bliss.

Vibrant Bliss 3 by djmegtaylor

Want to know more?

Visit our site @ www.figweddings.net

Follow us on twitter @figweddings.

by Amber McNeil

Dancing is “the best therapy you will ever pay for”

The Bride and Groom’s first dance is always a soft spot among wedding spectators.  While it is one of the favorite moments for wedding guests, it can be a potentially stressful three minutes for the bride and groom.   To help ease some of the stress, I spoke with Amber Sanders (yes, we’re both Amber) a 3 year instructor and Guest Director at Arthur Murray Dance Studio downtown.  Amber gave me the in’s and out’s of learning to boogie with your honey.  She has been dancing since she was a little girl in the south suburbs of Chicago, loves dancing ballroom and Cha Cha, and supremely enjoys teaching Rhumba and Salsa.  Amber even spent five years as a dancer on a cruise ship!  She has done it all in the way of dance and said the emergence in the last 2 years with brides and grooms taking lessons has been a lot of fun for her professionally.

Amber’s best advice is to start early.  Based on the couple’s experience the best time to start dance lessons is 4-6 months before the wedding day.  This will give the couple a chance to really get to know their song and steps and be relaxed when the big day comes.  The average couple comes about once a week to keep the music fresh in their mind.  This way, they are not playing catch up and relearning the dance at each lesson.  Also, by starting early, the couple is more than ready in the couple weeks leading up to the wedding and can concentrate on other last minute details.

The first dance is ‘the best part of wedding planning’, according to Amber.  It is a chance for the bride and groom to really work together as a couple in a long term setting.  It’s also a fun environment to blow off some steam at the end of the day.  Dance lessons can give the couple something really great to do together and look forward to during the week.  It’s also the gift that keeps on giving.  Dancing is a skill that can be used for the rest of the bride and groom’s life and can be continued well after that first dance has come and gone!

As far as picking a song is concerned, it’s very personalized depending on the couple.  Bride and groom want to make sure to pick a song that has an emotional backing and means something to them as a couple.  Amber and Arthur Murray make sure to work with each couple on an individualized basis and have a real conversation around the first dance.  They want to make sure they know if there is a DJ versus a band, the timeline of the dance, and what actually made the couple pick the song! They want to make sure the first dance is not just your run of the mill cookie cutter dance.

As for the ultimate dance question of all time:  Footloose or Flashdance??

Amber’s answer: Footloose.  I knew I liked this woman!

Get some more wedding dance advice at the Arthur Murray Wedding Homepage.