Wedding Help

A growing trend among weddings these days are green weddings. Not referring to your wedding colors alone, but a wedding that is good for the environment. So, if you want to have a totally green wedding, or even just a partially green wedding, here are some great tips and ideas for incorporating a few steps that will have less of a lasting impact on the world around us.

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Tags: Green Weddings

As I mentioned in my previous article, I’ve decided to explore the different options and ideas available for couples wanting to have a green wedding. Now when I say green weddings, I don’t mean the bride and groom want their wedding colors to be green, I’m talking about an environmentally friendly and conservative wedding. It’s true that most ordinary weddings out there produce a lot of waste, from the trashed decorations and food to an abundance of cut flowers slowly wilting away in the corner. Now while it is a shame that all of those beautiful cut flowers will only look beautiful for a few hours up until a few days after the wedding, it seems you just can’t have a wedding without them. Flowers lend a natural and enchanting beauty, and it’s hard to imagine a wedding without any kind flower at all. So if you are planning a green wedding and are looking for some alternative wedding flowers, then here are some great ideas to help you get started.

Grow Your Own Wedding Flowers

If you research the kinds of flowers that will grow and bloom naturally in season of your marriage, then you can easily find seeds and grow many of your wedding flowers yourself. You can grow them yourself organically without any pesticides or other harmful chemicals. You can grow the flowers out in large flower beds, or grow them in individual pots that you can place on your wedding tables for guests to take home with them. For more ideas, see my article on growing your own wedding flowers.

Finding Organic Blooms

If you don’t have much of a green thumb, or just don’t have the time to grow wedding flowers on your own, then you can always talk to your florist about finding organic blooms. Many people believe, and I haven’t seen the difference myself to tell you one way or the other, that organic blooms actually smell better than genetically engineered roses because they are grown naturally.

Using Potted Plants

Another option for conserving flowers in your weddings is to use potted plants that will not die once the wedding is over. Using potted plants, flowers and even small trees make excellent table centerpieces or other decorations. Later on, you can even transplant them into your garden for great memories, and to watch your plants grow.

Using Flower-Free Bouquets

Another idea that you can think about is to have your bridesmaids carry bouquets that are not fresh flowers. There are many options and ideas of items for them to carry, such as a Bible, silk flower arrangements, Chinese fans, jeweled boxes and so much more.

There are many different areas of your wedding where you can substitute cut flowers for either organic blooms or something non-floral all together. Use your imagination and talk to some of the florists in your area to be able to determine the best plan to keep your wedding as environmentally friendly as you can.

Tags: alternative wedding flowers, Green Weddings, organic wedding flowers

Up until a few months ago, I had never even heard of conflict free diamonds, and now it seems as though I’m hearing about them all the time. They were pretty widely publicized when Pete Wentz proposed to Ashlee Simpson with a conflict free diamond ring, and since then I’ve been hearing about them almost non-stop, either that or I’ve just had my head in the sand for that long. No telling. Leonardo DiCaprio’s movie Blood Diamond has really brought the matter to the attention of the public. In the past, most couples never worried where their diamond came from, but now that is no longer the case. Here are some frequently asked questions about conflict free diamonds in part of a new series I will be doing on couples wanting to have a “green” wedding.

What is a Conflict-Free Diamond?

In some areas of the world, diamond mining is used to finance rebel fighting in places like Sierra Leone, Angola and the Congo. There is an estimate out which states that these smuggled diamonds, also called conflict diamonds, represented as much as 10-15% of the global diamond trade about ten years ago. The idea of people dying over the diamond in your engagement ring is terrible, and many couples want to make sure that the diamond they purchase for their rings doesn’t have such a grim and terrible history. Many changes have been put in place to help couples ensure that their stones are conflict free.

How Can I Tell if the Diamond is Conflict Free?

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Tags: conflict free diamond, conflict free diamonds, engagement ring, Green Weddings