Dreaming about your wedding day but worried how to keep it stylish, fresh and eco-friendly at the same time?  This 4th Installment for Earth Day Week is about how to keep the flowers and the details green!  That is what we specialize in.  Eco-friendly flowers and details is what makes your wedding yours.  If you are like most couples, hundreds (if not thousands) of them have gotten married at your venue before – so the only way to make it special is with floral designs and personal touches.

Working with a logistical team and local farmers, distributors and nature itself, we design an overall design scheme for you to help fit your style!  From flowers that are grown in the US, Canada, New Zealand and Holland (the last two have some of the toughest fair trade and wage laws in the world and Holland practically invented the cut flower trade).  Using a combination of carbon offsetting, commercial flights (as opposed to Fedex or UPS) and sheer information and research – we are able to provide you with the best possible options.  Our inventory boasts thousands of pieces of glassware from small to large.  We don’t charge a “rental” fee for them like most florists do – we just simply pick up our stuff at the end of the night.  With most weddings – we will take any leftover flowers to a nursing home (complimentary).  If not – we also compost!  Our in-house paper and glass lantern inventory is extensive and in every color imaginable.  And…if we don’t have it in stock – we will get it for you!  We have even used leftover beading from Christmas tree decor for a bridesmaid’s bouquet!  We love to upcycle and reinvent weddings.

In conjunction with our flower department and lighting, we have all sorts of decor and favor options available for you.  We have LED lights for our paper lanterns, in-house glassware (like mason jars for serving lemonade on a sunny wedding afternoon).  We also have over 500 pieces of vintage and modern glassware just for candy and food bars.  If your venue or caterer only has trays – we have trays, footed candy bowls, 3-tiered petit four/cupcake plates and more.  We have our own carpentry team in house to custom design mandaps, chuppahs, arches, trellis’, chalkboards, directional signs and more.

We help take your dreams and ideas and make them a reality with the extensive collection of items we have in our inventory to the extensive reach of vendors that we work with in the DC area.  We have an extensive information database gathered from around the world with our magazine team of writers, photographers, interns, researchers and photo editors (Eco-Beautiful Weddings).  There is simply no other event design firm in the DC/Baltimore area that has as much experience, inventory and knowledge about going green as our team here at Elegance & Simplicity, Inc.!  Go green for your wedding today – email us inquiries @ eleganceandsimplicity.com!

(Photo Credits from Top to Bottom – 1st Bouquet – The Observatory, 2nd bouquet – Marta Locklear, Beaded Bouquet – Documentary Associates, Praying Mantis – Amy Deputy, Triple Centerpiece – Documentary Associates, Hanging votives – Marta Locklear, Blue/Green Lanterns, Candy Bar, Lemonade Stand and Cake photos – Documentary Associates (cake by Cakes by Design), Paris Photo – K Thompson, Blue/green votives + Trellis with paper lanterns – Jennifer Hughes, Escort “card” Chalkboard (with calligraphy from Meant to Be Calligraphy – K Thompson)

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We are gearing up for the Eco-Beautiful Spring Mini Mag!  Stay tuned tomorrow as it is filled with green contents that you will need to jump on!

It’s Live and we are in Love!  Click on the Cover Above to Check out all the Eco-Friendly Yumminess from the Spring 2011 Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings!

A backyard rehearsal dinner is completely acceptable

By Chris Easter of TheManRegistry.com

If you’re planning a wedding and trying to keep the budget under control, the rehearsal dinner is an area where you can easily cut back but still put on a great event. As the groom, the rehearsal dinner is one of your biggest wedding duties, so you want to get this right. Here’s a few ways you can cut costs but still keep everyone happy.

Limit invites

There’s no need to invite everyone to the dinner that will be attending the wedding and reception the next day. Traditionally, this event is exclusive to the immediate family and members of the bridal party. While it’s always a nice gesture to invite out-of-town-gusts to the rehearsal dinner, I think anyone would understand that sometimes it’s just not in the budget.

Don’t go all out for a fancy venue

The rehearsal dinner is quite different than the wedding reception. Receptions are usually held in banquet halls or ballrooms. The rehearsal dinner can be held just about anywhere. Backyards, parks or even simple restaurants are definitely on the table as venue choices. There’s nothing wrong with this event being low-key. In fact, those types of moods generally turn into a lot more fun than an uber-formal evening. I’ve met lots of grooms that are doing a simple backyard cookout for the rehearsal dinner. Your guests will probably be thrilled that they could potentially show up in just jeans and a polo!

Consider eliminating booze

I know this one is hard to swallow, fellas. However, the truth is that everyone will most likely be getting their fill of alcohol the next night at the wedding reception. Plus, you don’t want to have the wedding party hungover on the wedding morning. Eliminating alcohol can save a TON of money. If you don’t want to cut it out completely, consider just serving wine and a few different beers.

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Chris Easter is co-founder of TheManRegistry.com  – the leading online resource for engaged men. The site offers a unique wedding registry for men, engraved groomsmen cufflinks and a wealth of content aimed at helping men make it through the wedding planning process in one piece.

By Chris Easter of TheManRegistry.com

Wedding spending getting you down? Here’s four tips on easing some of that pain and perhaps actually enjoying the wedding planning experience.

Be realistic – Many couples go deeply into debt for their weddings. This is a scary thought considering the (in)stability of the current economy.  You need to stay in control of spending! Don’t sign up for a new credit card to pay for your wedding. The only way way to responsibly budget your wedding is to figure out what you can realistically spend and stick to that number (a chat with the parentals on the topic wouldn’t hurt either). Cut down your guest list rather than trying to penny pinch to fit in your entire office floor.

Hire quality vendors – This may not make sense, but you actually want to look for vendors that DON’T offer the lowest prices. By researching and hiring quality wedding vendors, you limit the chances that you’re going to get scammed or that the company is going to go out of business between the time you book and your wedding day.

Budget for more than just the wedding – If you spend your entire savings on the wedding and honeymoon, say goodbye to your financial cushion. It’s important that you make a budget for both your wedding and your everyday life and then stick to it. This will help you feel in control and confident with all your decisions.

The key word: resourceful- Being resourceful doesn’t necessarily have to be tied to cash.  Consulting parents, hiring a coordinator and doing your due diligence by researching up a storm can all go along way towards ultimately saving money.

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Guest blogger Chris Easter is co-founder of TheManRegistry.com  – the leader in wedding gifts for men. In addition to gifts, The Man Registry contains wedding tips for guys, groomsman gifts and a local wedding guide.

BUDGET

or

WHO IS PAYING FOR WHAT

The old fashioned wedding where the mother and father of the bride pay for everything and the mother gets to choose most of the things is certainly not dead but we do live in a different world now.  Sometimes the bride (or groom) has a higher income than the mother or the father combined or perhaps she’s from a divorced family…where the mother has remarried and so has the father.  So, who to listen to and how to make everyone happy is a very stressful situation for your child!   Whether it ends up that we (mother & father) pay, they (the couple) pay,  they #2 (the in-laws-to-be),  the mother only, the father only or any other the multitude of combinations one could think up pays for this wonderful event, here’s your chance to be the best mom in the world .   If she/he hasn’t already asked you, suggest that you and she (and groom if she insists) meet or schedule a conference call to talk about who pays for what before too many lists are made.

If she lives in a different city/town or if you know you physically can’t meet a lot, it just might be the best thing in the world for both of you to invest in Skype.    Skype voice and video calling, IM and SMS are now available for your pc, laptop, blackberry, and more importantly – the video calls are free!  Of course you need to buy the equipment:

Webcam and a headset (if they are not already part of your laptop or PC’s hardware):

So, how are these ‘delicate’ conversations discussed and decided upon?  In all likelihood, your daughter will have already thought about this before you two speak.   If not, then prepare yourself.  Buy a book (of course, I’m a little bit prejudiced here).

Before you meet with her, have a discussion with your husband (and/or ex) about where the money is going to come from?

Savings account for her wedding?

Refinance the house?

Sell a piece of property?

Ask the Uncle?

Make a list of what you really, really want to pay for and listen to her about what she wants you to pay for.  If your budgets say ‘not possible’, then be upfront right then and there.  On the other hand, if you want to pay for more, then suggest that to her.  She will let you know if that suggestion is welcomed or ‘just not gonna happen’.

First thing everyone (brides and grooms, mothers and dads) needs to decide is the approximate date.  A wise mom will suggest they chose 3-4 dates (in case something cannot be canceled or a favored venue is booked).

The time of the year can sometimes influence the cost of parts of the wedding.

Then, will it be formal or informal, maximum number of guests and attendants, if any.  Is this a wedding at the magistrate’s office?  Family only?

Or the closest 300 friends of the couple and parents.

Brides friends, groom’s friends, their friends.

Bride’s parent’s friends (could be 2 couples involved here).

His parent’s friends (could be 2 couples involved here, too).

You and your daughter (step-daughter) have many decisions to make – so try to be as gracious as possible and really listen to what the bride and groom want (and his parents).  If something is really, really important for her to include in the plans…just mention that ‘it would make you so happy if they could ….’  But please, please try to prepare your mind before each and every meeting about the wedding to

Listen

Use diplomacy (“oh honey, that sounds so fab… but XYZ… – what would you two think of that”!).

Be prepared to guide if asked and be quiet if not asked. (Can’t tell you how many times I opened my mouth and clamped it shut – and it all worked out just fine!)  If an argument starts, back down…there will be another meeting and by then things might have changed.  The most important thing you can do is smile and genuine smiles break most barriers! After all of you determine what kind of budget you can work with, then you can settle down to have the fun of planning the most important day of your little girl’s life.

Congratulations!
~Claudia Van Veen