Don’t forget to check out our own Katie Martin’s Editor-in-Chief’s picks in the current issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine!!!  We just love this purse (made from all biodegradable materials!)

The Winter 2012 Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine is live!  Click on the cover to see!!!

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/eco-beautiful-weddings-winter-2012-issue-is-live-2/feed/ 1 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/wedding-drink-style/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/wedding-drink-style/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:30:05 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=6219

A few of our favorite drinks from over the years…

Ginger lime mojitos from Design Cuisine with our straw escort card tags in Stewarts Soda Bottles – Photos by Kathy Blanchard

Wonderful Cocktail concoctions from Farmers & Fishers from our article in Eco-Beautiful Weddings – Photos by The Obsvervatory

Cucumber water station from Main Event Caterers (photo by K. Thompson Photography) with sodas from our Green Wedding Giveaway (Photo by Documentary Associates + The Observatory)

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/wedding-drink-style/feed/ 0 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/casandras-wedding/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/casandras-wedding/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:30:12 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=6157

I gave you a sneak peek last week from a wedding we did at a new venue called Love Point.  What I did not tell you is that it was Casandra Tressler’s wedding!  She was 2010′s Miss USA International and came from being Miss Maryland!!! Above is the bridesmaid bouquet to accompany the beautiful bridal bouquet that we did for her (click here to see).  Filled with garden roses, pink freesia, white delphinium and white mini calla lilies.

The venue has a view right on the bay looking straight at the Bay Bridge!  We did the centerpieces as well.  Windows took care of the catering and rentals.

The bride opted for three different centerpieces.  Starting with this rustic style with wheat grass and river rocks in our reclaimed wood boxes.

Then the second arrangement was our milk glass filled with pink garden roses, calla lilies and hydrangea.

Last, but not least, are the tall trumpet glass vases with dendrobium orchids and curly willow accents!

Congrats to Casandra + Estebe!

Yummy Blue…

Top to Bottom, Left to Right:

One of our beautiful brides in her beautiful blue dress at Woodend Sanctuary- Photo by Heather Z

Blue Cake by Cakes by Design from a wedding we did last year at the Engineer’s Club – Photo by Jennifer Hughes

Gorgeous Blue Garter from The Garter Girl

Blue Veil by Ossai as seen in the summer issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings – Photo by Marta Locklear

Lapis Champagne Flutes from BHLDN

Gorgeous Blue Shoes from one our brides at the Decatur House – photo by Rodney Bailey

If you have not gotten a chance to see Katie’s picks for Fall in the new Fall Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings – now is the time to head over.  This season’s picks include 3 giveaways!!!

The giveaways include some awesome placemats, a watch and some shampoo for your dog!!! Yep – all eco-friendly items too!

Click on the photo above to start reading the magazine and blog to learn how to win!!!

The Fall Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings is Finally Live!  Fall has never looked so good!  Our team did an amazing job!  Click on the cover to check it out!

Having amazing style for your wedding day is one of the top priorities on your list – that is what we are here for!  Whether it is having an amazing ice blue dress like the one above or having the perfect shoes like the ones below…

You need to start with the right planning advice and the right venue.

Every holiday season, we get you ready for your planning by a series of blog posts about the best and brightest venues to start your planning with.  We will tell you about some great new spaces and talk about the mainstays here in the DC (and why they are so wonderful).

So stay tuned as we bring you all the information you need for style and venues and planning advice – especially for the newly engaged who just need to know where to start!

Happy Planning!

(Photography credits – Top to bottom, left to right: Heather Z Photography, K. Thompson Photography, Documentary Associates, Roman Grinev Photography)

As we enter Labor Day Weekend, many are filled with thoughts of “This is the last weekend to wear white”!  But oh the joys of being a bride and wearing and using white whenever you want! I started off with these gorgeous shoes today as there is a beautiful wedding featuring them on the Eco-Beautfiul Weddings Blog today! Just click on the shoes to see more.

Below are a few of our favorite white wedding yummies for you to dream about this weekend!

Photo credits/captions of what we did in each photo – Left to Right, Top to Bottom

Elegance & Simplicity, White Delphinium at Thorpewood

Documentary Associates, White Chuppah at Woodend Sanctuary

Elegance and Simplicity,White delphinium and White phaleanopsis orchid lapel flowers at Halcyon House

Cappy Hotchkiss Photography, Garden Rose, white phaleanopsis, lisianthus, phalaeanopsis and peony bouquet at Halcyon House

K. Thompson Photography, Manzanita branches with roses and clear hanging votives at Brookside Gardens

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!!

We finally got images from a wedding we did in May at Woodend Sanctuary and we are so excited to show them to you! Above is the bride with her sister just before the wedding in the grove at Woodend.  The bride had a lovely bouquet comprised of peonies in different shades of pink and ranunculus accents.  Her sister held a beautiful bouquet with garden roses, lavender, peonies, lisianthus, freesia and rosemary.

My absolute favorite detail from this wedding were the hanging votives our team hung in between the trees facing the meadow down at the grove.  The green and clear glass votives added such a touch of elegance for this gorgeous ceremony!

Here are our pretty vintage green tumblers filled with local peonies and rosemary for the cocktail hour.

The gorgeous railing decor with cocculus greenery garland and peony accents!  (Bride and groom provided the cute banner!)

Our pretty Pottery Barn chocolate urns on our custom-designed wooden pedestals filled with manzanita branches with hanging glass votives!  These were set in between the French doors outside under the tented reception area.

Finally the pretty centerpieces that had curly willow inside the vases for a nest feel (bird theme taken from the idea that Woodend is a bird sanctuary and run by the Audubon Natualist Society!).  Local green hydrangea and lovely burgundy peonies and white ranunculus accents.

Congrats to Caroline and David on their May nuptials!

(All photography except for last image were provided by Tara Welch Photography; last image by us!)

It is always so much fun to be part of the planning process of a wedding and to watch brides and grooms see each other for the 1st time!  Katie and Grant were so easy to work with and they ended up having a beautiful day at one of our favorite hotels – The Hotel Monaco in Washington, DC.

Her bouquet was comprised of local green hydrangea with local white phaleanopsis and fun billy ball accents from Canada!

The bridesmaids bouquets were a fun clutch of billy balls with a lily grass loop accent.

They had a cute little lemon and lime theme for their wedding in not only colors but with lemons and lines in general.  The escort card and the cake sported some lemons and limes!

They had similar flowers as well in their centerpieces with the local hydrangea, billy balls and white dendrobium orchids.  Really perfect for a July wedding!

Congrats to Katie + Grant!

I love Back to School themes and here are a few ideas from a few weddings we have done to get your creative wedding juices flowing – no matter what color your wedding is!

Image Credits (Top to Bottom , Left to Right)

Kathy Blanchard at Rust Manor in Leesburg

Love Life Images at Dumbarton House in Georgetown

Ralph Alswang at the Ronald Reagan Building in DC

Documentary Associates at the Ronald Reagan Building

Ralph Alswang at the Ronald Reagan Building

Mary Kate McKenna at Shepherd’s Hey Farm in Comus, MD

Today is the last day to win this gorgeous red cake pedestal from Burlap and Blue!  It was featured in our Etsy Love Challenge in the summer issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine!  Click on the photo above to learn how to win it!!!

(Photo by Allison Britton)

We are so proud of our new issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine!  It is chock full of summery goodness!  Plus we have two featured weddings it from local photographers and vendors!  A must see issue!  Click on the cover above to check it out!

A country farm bouquet for a country farm wedding!  We loved making all the fantastic floral designs for this wonderful wedding in Comus on Shepherd’s Hey Farm!  The bride’s bridal bouquet had garden roses, peonies, white and blue blue delphinium, white freesia and white lisianthus.

The lovely bridesmaids bouquets were made of white larkspur, white peonies, yellow freesia, blue delphinium and touches of dark pink ranunculus.

With 27 tables worth of different vases and vessels – I can really only show you a smattering of the vases we used for the wedding day!  We had all sorts of vintage tea pots, jugs, vases, and jars.

But by far – the above can is one of our treasures in-house.  This Quaker Maid can was found at a local antique market along with 4 other amazing fun tin cans from the early 1900′s!  Priceless and beautiful all at the same time.  We used Queen Anne’s lace, bupleurum, freesia, larkspur, snapdragons and so much more in every centerpiece.  Every centerpiece was completely different from the next.

Then finally the pretty cake from Mallowdrama!  Decorated with white lisianthus and blue delphinium, it was the perfect summer time cake.  They also provided sheet cakes and an additional gluten-free cake for guests!

Many congrats to Meredith and Owen on their wedding day!  Photos from their photographer will go up as soon as I get them!  A huge thanks to Mary Kate McKenna for coming out to take these beautiful detail shots for our portfolio!

With this new wedding – we added a few new things to our inventory!  One of the more exciting aspects of this wedding was the beautiful down to earth farm feel to match the fact that we were actually on a farm!  We purchased these beautiful vintage framed chalkboards to show guests where to sit!  Our calligrapher did all of the calligraphy in chalk pen!  We have two of these chalkboards in house now!

We were able to get this custom bunting custom designed by Giggleberry.  Perfect for decorating the ceremony band tent along with the backdrop (not shown here) that we made with fabric and custom painting.

One of our favorite items in-house are our hanging blue glass lanterns!  These were hung right over the dance floor in the barn!  Major dancing at this wedding as contra dancing was the center of attention!

With over 250 guests and three different types of entrees we needed to have a way to let the waiters know who was getting which type of meal.  What better way than to use rocks!  We used green, gold and white to distinguish the entrees.

Stay tuned tomorrow for floral design details from the wedding!

(Photography by Mary Kate McKenna)

We truly had one of the most beautiful, soulful and endearing weddings that we have ever been a part of this past Saturday.  (Yes – that is saying a lot – but I mean it!) I had the wonderful Mary Kate McKenna come to take some detail shots of some of the fun projects we did for the wedding.  Miguel made this custom 6x6x7 custom reclaimed wood trellis for this beautiful wedding day.  We added greenery and flowers to it.

The venue?  Shepherd’s Hey Farm…the family’s farm in Comus!  We hope it will soon become a venue where you can get married too!  We really did a lot of work to make their farm “wedding friendly” for all of their friends and family to gather to celebrate this special occasion!

Stay tuned for more details!

We have a beautiful summer farm wedding coming up this weekend – I can’t wait to showcase it for you.  We are not having a lemonade stand but more of a fruit infused water station.  But I love lemonade stations year round.  Even if you are not having a summer farm wedding…you can create the feel of one by having fun little details (like lemonade stands) that remind your guests of a day on the farm!

Why not have this adorable bathtub at your wedding?  We used it at the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Anniversary Party at the Decatur House in December to serve water in mason jars!  Available at DC Rental!

Our in-house antique bottles and mason jars always lend a farm feel,  Mary Kate even made these cute table number boxes for her centerpieces! Adorable!

Go with loose arrangements and fun and vibrant linens like this “In Style Fuchsia” from DC Rental!

Then, from one of my favorite outdoor weddings from last fall at Rust Manor – so fun sodas and straws!!!  So much fun!!

There are so many options for that fun farm summer feel at your wedding – even if you are indoors at a hotel!  Let us show you how!

(photo credits/top to bottom: Ralph Alswang, a little bit of whimsy photography, Mary Kate McKenna, DC Rental, Kathy Blanchard)

So many friends and brides asked me what I did for Earth Day.  Was it some amazing project?  Another free wedding for a lucky couple?  Plant trees?  Nope – none of the above.  Well – we did go live with with the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Wedding Earth Day Mini Mag – which was fun for sure!

What I did do is talk about what Earth Day means to me to my child and together we did a couple of small things to help make the world a greener place.  I also remembered how last year I was coordinating Virdina and Kevin’s wedding on Earth Day (click here to see more photos from their wedding at the Decatur House).  Yes, as part of a team, we gave away a $50,000 wedding on Earth Day (for the second time) to help educate couples in the DC area that you can have a fabulous wedding that is eco-friendly and stylish.  I am pretty sure the message got across as over 62% of our couples in this past year have specifically come to our firm asking for some help in going green on their wedding day.

I have a confession to make to all of our brides and grooms: all of our couples get 100% eco-friendliness from our firm. We can’t change who we are!  We are green and we dig it – YEAR ROUND!  Not just on Earth Day!

So – a couple of brides and vendors asked me – Why no free wedding this year?  Well, the answer is simple.  We were able to show a ton of brides and grooms that going green can be stylish.  But on top of it – we were able to really show vendors how to go green as well.  We continue to educate vendors around the world on how to go green!

So this Earth Day, I tipped my hat to Virdina and Kevin’s 1st year anniversary and reveled in the fact that they had a fabulous wedding on one of the greenest days of the year!  My hope is that you are trying to plan your stylish green wedding and will look to us for guidance!

Happy Earth Day, Revisited!

(Photo by The Observatory)

If you are at the beginning of your wedding planning process (or you are about to propose) – you need to start thinking about your rings.  Whether you are shopping for an engagement ring or your wedding bands – first place I recommend to start is Brilliant Earth.  This week through Sunday they are giving away the below pendant (with ethically sourced green sapphire) with any ring you purchase!

Looking for a great organization to donate to in lieu of favors?  Here are a few of our favorites:

The National Wildlife Federation is located right in our area and has been teaching children and educating the public about protecting the environment for the past 75 years.

EDF has one of the most effective ways of helping to save the environment through its extensive network of corporations and key players around the world.  They also have a handy Seafood Selector that helps you determine the best eco-fish to serve!

We are in love with Kiva.  An amazing online community letting you donate to help microfinance individuals in poverty to empower them and create opportunities.

REALLY wanting eco-friendly favors – something your guests can walk away with?  Go local by using the local ETSY tool to buy from a local artisan – here are a few we are loving:

Having a garden wedding?  Why not get a vintage chalkboard – write their names out by tables and have these adorable magnets from SophiePine attached to it as giveaways for the ladies?  This way – you only need to buy about half as many favors and they will give a great decorative look as guests look for their tables! Click on the phone to buy!

I don’t care what people say – cupcakes are a current fad – but cookies will remain!  Don’t have a family recipe?  CookieCrowd on Etsy has these yummy cookies – they are located in Southern VA!  IN fact – you could just have a big cookie bar!  Get 10 different kinds of cookies and let your guests have at it!  Too many people are doing cupcake stations! It doubles as your dessert if you forgo the wedding cake and a favor for those that just want to heist a few for the ride home!

LostRiverRags on Etsy has an amazing assortment of soaps that are made with natural and soy ingredients – perfect for gifts for your wedding party!

There is so much more I can write about – but I will leave that to future blog posts!

I hope you are doing some sort of earthy activity today for Earth Day.  Don’t have a project in mind?  Skip the gym and just go for a walk or dust off your bike!  Heck – you might even think about biking to work instead on those upcoming sunny spring-fall days!  Why not try to find a local farmer’s market and buy your produce there today?  Check your grocery list – are there things on it that could be switched to more earth-friendly or local companies?  Maybe just making a pact with yourself to recycle more.  You would surprised what you can recycle these days (or even reuse).

Earth Day Network can Help you plan your day today.

About.com has a list a few activities you might want to try locally.

A few fun activities were listed yesterday on WashingtonPost.com

You can also find activities all over town to do tomorrow if you have to work all day - The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has a clean-up every year.

Be creative and get earthy today!  Start a green habit today which will hopefully create a healthier, cleaner and greener wedding and lifestyle for you!

p.s. – If you were looking for a link to the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Spring Mini Mag today – we will hopefully post it at some point today.  3 of our platforms for the magazine route their services through Amazon.com which is currently out of service.  As soon as their services are back up – we will post the Spring Mini Mag!

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!

For our 3rd installment of Earth Day Week – I am focusing on eco-friendly photographers in the DC area.  It goes without saying that I highly recommend my brother and his wife from Documentary Associates.  Their weddings have been featured in the Washingtonian‘s Bride and Groom Magazine, The Knot, Essence.com for their work on the Green Wedding Consortium’s Earth Day Wedding Last Year at Decatur House, Eco-Beautiful Weddings, in the Eco Issue of Bride and Bloom Magazine,  Flower Magazine and more!  Their commitment to the environment includes being carbon neutral with Carbonfund, doing various non-profit organization photography, driving a hybrid, donating to various eco causes and more.  We work with them often and they are located right in the office with us in Bethesda!  (Yes that is a photo of me on my wedding day in the Dominican Republic!)

Another eco-friendly favorite photography firm of ours is The Observatory.  Owner Andrea Jacobson uses public transportation and Zipcar when she needs a car!  Growing up on the west coast, she grew up with reusing and recycling since she was a baby!  She took an enormous amount of photography for our first few issues of Eco-Beautiful Weddings – including our 1st issue’s cover shoot!  Their weddings have been featured in the Washingtonian Bride and Groom, Brides Magazine, The Knot and countless blogs.   You can see more about the above wedding photo at the Meridian House by clicking through to this link on United With Love.

One of the most talented photographers in the DC area is Nicole Wolf of Sota Dzine.  She is also really (what I call) a part-time missionary + full time photographer!  She has taken several trips (and will be going back) to Haiti to help build homes for those affected by the terrible earthquake last year.  Her heart is so big that she has raised over $15,000 to build homes on facebook alone (CLICK HERE TO DONATE)! I am helping her with a fundraiser for her Up From Under Project in November of this year (stay tuned).  I don’t know if I could even list where Sota Dzine has been featured here – it would make this post too long.  The photo from above is from a shoot we did together for Photo District News.  Her weddings and photography have been featured literally all over the world and locally in magazines like the Washingtonian, DC Magazine, The Knot along with international ad campaigns and commercial photography (they even photographed Lisa Loeb’s wedding)!  Their whole team is talented and they have big hearts!

Friend and fantastic photographerJennifer Hughes is sweet as she can be and talented beyond compare.  Heralded in both the greater Washington, DC and Baltimore areas – Jennifer is simply one of the best photographers around.  She has earned her reputation through fantastic wedding and commercial photography.  The above wedding photo (and wedding) was featured in the most recent issue of Baltimore Bride.  Click here to see more!  Jennifer also took the photos from our cover editorial from the Winter 2011 Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings as well!

a little bit of whimsy photography is another fave of ours that photographed the cover editorial from our Spring 2010 issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings here locally.  She captures emotions so well at weddings and just has such an eye for detail.  She gives back to the community in so many ways and has recently become a vegetarian.

Balance Photography – One of the founders of the local green wedding showcase + Green America Member and so much more!  This husband and wife team also does some amazing boudoir work!

I have recently fallen in love with photographer Marta Locklear!  She recently did the amazing new cover editorial shoot for the Spring 2011 Issue of Eco-Beautfiul Weddings and she is a genius at using natural light.  She is an eco-gal!  She has her own vegetable garden and wants to start raising her own chickens too!!

Holland Photo Arts loves the environment and gives 5% of their total revenue to various organizations that help make the world a better place!  This husband and wife team is based on Charlottesville – so they are perfect for weddings in the Northern and Southern VA regions.

K Thompson Photography is another one of our favorite local green photographers.  She is a member of the Green Wedding Consortium and supports many eco-related organizations.

Kristi Odom won my heart as a bride that got married in Africa with very few guests and even took her own wedding photography!  She encourages people to see the world and experience new cultures.  She is also a member of the green wedding consortium and donates a portion of her proceeds to various organizations.  Her weddings have been featured in Eco-Beautiful Weddings, United With Love, Wedding Vow, Newnan Coweta, Wedding Event Style and more.

There are more photographers out there doing amazing things – just be sure to ask them when you meet with them.

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Green Idea of the Day and Contests for today – Already been married and need to sell your dress? – List your Gown on BravoBride.com this week and they will plant a tree with the Nature Conservancy!

Still Looking for your Dress?  Find one, pre-owned and become a Princess for a Day at the same time!  Smartbride has gotten together with an amazing bunch of wedding gurus and companies to give a bunch of wedding stuff away now until the royal wedding day next week!  All from eco-friendly vendors.  Great to shop for your gown too!

Continuing our Earth Day week on how to keep your wedding eco-friendly – we move on to the next part of your planning process – THE CATERER!  Why is this so important?  You will spend approximately 50-60% of your wedding budget on food + rentals – so you want to make sure you are putting your dollars in the right place.  Our favorite and one of the best caterers in the United States is Design Cuisine.  Above are glassware from their sister company DC Rental.   Design Cuisine is now Green Restaurant Certified and prides itself on sustainable practices and using local resources as often as possible. (Photo by Kathy Blanchard)

Another nationally known caterer that claims DC as their own is Main Event Caterers.  In 2010, they were named Caterer of the Year by Catering Magazine!  They have their own in-house water filtration system with reusable glass bottles.  Their incredible chef prides himself on using locally sourced food as well.  They are 100% Wind-Powered and Carbon Neutral through Terrapass.  They have a comprehensive Recycling, Reusing and Composting Program and strive to educate their clients about how to stay green for their weddings. (photo by K. Thompson Photography)

Occasions Catering was the first caterer in the country to become Green Restaurant Certified!  One of the first to compost and have been a supporter of local farmers years before it was thought to be “green”.  They even make their own jams and preserves in-house!  Truly one of the greenest caterers in town!

Gail’s Vegetarian Catering has been around for years as the DC area’s greenest vegetarian caterer.  Obviously going vegetarian for your wedding is the greenest option.  They are approved by Green America and create amazing menus with flair.  A note – their business is up for sale – the hope is that whoever purchases Gail’s will have the same philosophy and will continue with the same style.  Since it is has been on sale for a while – we are more than sure that Gail is looking for the best person to take it over!

Our final favorite pick for Green Catering is Catering by Windows, another local favorite that is Green Restaurant Certified.  Certainly one of the largest event caterers in the area – they even recycle kitchen oils and food by-products.

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Earth Day Week Green Giveaway for today are free movie tickets to see the pre-screening of Something Borrowed from Stephanie Ward over at Punk Rock Bride - local eco-friendly wedding gown designer!  LEAVE A NOTE BELOW ON HOW YOU PLAN TO GREEN YOUR WEDDING TO WIN THE TICKETS!

Get ready for a whole week of eco-friendly inspiration for your wedding here locally in the Washington, DC area! We will be focusing on eco-friendly venues, floral designs, caterers, hotels and detail ideas all next week!

I will be on staycation with my son all week!  In celebration of Earth Day – my son and I will be out and about doing various projects together for Earth Day!  I would love to know how you are celebrating Earth Day!  Let me know below!  If you need help with ideas – I will be posting various websites links for you and your betrothed to get involved!

Have a great weekend!

(Photo by Documentary Associates of our signature purple artichoke bouquet)

Be sure to stop by the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Blog this week for an update on upcoming Fall and Spring Bridal Trends.  I just came back from NYC Bridal Market with hundreds of photos of some really amazing designers that are doing wonderful  things.  Today’s post on the Eco-Beautiful Wedding Blog is all about Monique Lhuillier -but there is much more to be seen for the remainder of the week!

Above is a Monique Lhuillier trend dress.  Knowing that brides will be pining for royal style after Kate Middleton and Prince William’s wedding, she created this signature gown for her Spring 2012 Collection.  Click on the photos above to get to the blog post to see more beautiful dresses from her new collection.

I had a fabulous time speaking at the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico earlier this month.  One of the most important things that I learned coming out of the convention is that a lot of brides don’t think about the issue of care of their gowns after the wedding is over.  When you buy your gown, start thinking about what you will do with your dress after the wedding.  Preserving your dress and cleaning it is essential for the next generation to where it or for you to resell your dress on any number of websites.  Our favorites are:

One of the reasons they asked me to come speak is that all of the members of the Associates of Wedding Gown Preservation Specialist use a special ZeroCarbon Gown Preservation process and are the leaders in their cities for providing the best service with the lowest carbon footprint!  Check out how it works here:

Stay green and stylish and get that dress cleaned after the wedding and don’t TRASH the dress afterwards.  Ok – you can take some photos – but don’t set the dress on fire (which I have actually seen on a photographer’s blog), go knee deep in the mudd or submerge your dress in water if the fabric can’t handle it.  There are lots of ways to have a “Trash the Dress” photoshoot after the wedding without actually trashing the dress! Let me know how you plan to have a trash the dress photoshoot and maybe we will feature it here on the blog!

The Spring Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings is live and a few of my favorite things are in it to win!  Don’t miss out!

Get this vintage frame with a chalkboard for you wedding day!

or

Start your new “NO MORE buying of plastic WATER BOTTLES” regimen with this beautiful reusable water bottle!

or

Have the best doggone salted caramels around for you and your guests!

Just click here to see all the fun stuff you can get for free in the Spring Issue!

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!

The Spring Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings Goes Live Tomorrow – Don’t Miss It!

(photo credits: House - Ben Godkin, Shoes - Corbin Gurkin, Chairs + Couple - Kate Harrison)

I just got these images in this morning and I could not wait to post them! Stacey and Edward got married at Strong Mansion – quite possibly one of the most beautiful venues in the Frederick/Sugarloaf Mountain area! Stacey’s bridal bouquet was filled with purple delphinium, lavender, blue thistle, green zinnias, red/green/purple local hydrangea, billy balls, red anemones, orange ranunculus, orange + dark pink dahlias, rosemary and dusty miller for a local garden vintage style.  I just loved making her bouquet!  Stacey is also the owner at Happy Earth Yoga – so I think she actually glowed on her wedding day she was so beautiful!

Stacey and Edward really wanted a fun and laid back reception with lots of updated vintage whimsy on the table!  We used a mixture of our new vintage-inspired recycled glassware collection with our vintage mason jar collection.  Filled them all with wonderful combinations of fall flowers like billy balls, dahlias, stock, rosemary, gomphrena and more!

Congrats to Stacey + Edward!

(photography by Carl Bower)