Coolest Save-The-Date idea EVER

I’ve gotten a few save-the-date notices myself, and not to knock them, but they mostly range from a simple card to magnets. The engraved corkscrew to the left, for example, is a pretty unique idea, but probably a bit more expensive than what is needed for what is essentially a notice. I think cards and magnets are pretty standard. In fact, I think most of the discussion on “Save the Dates” is about wording.

But in surfing my wedding blogs the other day, I have come across what may be the coolest idea I’ve ever seen.

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Save money and go green by renting flowers

Have you ever heard of renting flowers? Neither had I, until I came upon Elaborate Floral Design‘s booth at the BrideExpo show at the L.A. Convention Center. But I kind of like the concept. I mean, what are you going to do with those flowers anyway? You’ll probably give away all your guest table arrangements. But if you’re like many right now, you’re probably looking to save some cash, yes? So rent.

EFD, as I’ll refer to them here on out, had some really lovely, simple arrangements. Like the one above, for $25, you’ve got calla lilies entwined in a shallow glass bowl, with clear glass pebbles and flameless candles in the middle. You’re probably thinking, shoot. I could do that on my own. You probably could. But why do you want one (or, depending on the number of tables you have, maybe 10 or 15) more thing to do? You probably don’t. Plus, if you want really pretty, spectacular arrangements…

…like this one, it would cost you a pretty penny if you went the traditional florist route. Above, that’s a vase topper laden with roses and stargazers and a footer of roses and more flowers (sorry, can’t identify the spiky ones). Um, although, I’m not positive that this arrangement is silk… Anyway, this would be a seriously expensive arrangement otherwise. EFD even has season-themed lines of flowers from which to choose from.

In addition, there is the whole bonus of leaving a smaller carbon footprint. According to EFD’s site:

We are taking steps to becoming an all green company, here are a few examples of how we are taking action and going green!
1) E.F.D. specializes in renting out silk centerpieces, which not only helps our environment by recycling and re-using but it also helps our economy with our affordable prices.
2) E.F.D. is changing all of our harmful chemical cleaning products to eco friendly and organic cleaning products.
3) E.F.D. is changing how we pay our bills, we will be paying everything online with no papertrail.
4) E.F.D. uses only energy efficient appliances.
5) E.F.D. will be using only compact flourescent lightbulbs.
6) E.F.D. recycles all glass, paper, cardboard, and metal.
7) E.F.D. buys local produce and groceries
8) E.F.D. uses a programmable thermostat.
9) E.F.D. uses energy star electronics.
10) E.F.D. will never share or sell your info to anyone.

You probably never imagined silk flowers for your wedding, I know. But you know what? All that matters is that the decor is still spectacular. And I’ve seen some silk flowers look pretty damn real — they just have to be well maintained.

EFD even lays out all the reason:

Our event Rental Lines feature top of the line silk flowers, that confuse the eye, and entice the touch! Not only do our flowers look and feel real, but they can smell real too! Why rent silk flowers? 1) The Budget-you spend less than half the cost of having an all fresh event! 2) The choice- your favorite flower that might be out of season, is not with our top of the line silk florals! 3) The Privilege- instead of waiting until your wedding day to see all of your flowers you get an exclusive look at everything, and get to make any changes! 4) The Look- no matter hot or cold, rainy or humid, the flowers always look great and no wilting! 5) The Experience- with our uniquely designed silk florals we can manipulate, twist and arrange our florals in ways you can not with fresh floral!

Need I say more?

Unusual wedding practices

A feel-good story in the Washington Post tells us about a couple getting married who decided on an unusual mode of transportation from ceremony to reception — the subway.

Photos by Washington Post‘s Nikki Kahn

In this era of matrimonial excess, many couples spare no expense to create lavish, traffic-stopping celebrations. They arrive in stretch limos, Hummer stretch limos, even horse-drawn carriages.

But newlyweds Anneliesa Clump and Scott Alprin found a way to turn heads yesterday for $1.65 a guest: They took the Metro, at the height of rush hour, to their reception.

“Weddings get so kind of out of hand,” said Clump, 35, a project coordinator at Georgetown University who lives in Cleveland Park. “We’re city people, we take Metro everywhere. It just kinda made sense. . . . You know, no fuss.”

I love this story! It sort of continues my post from last week about going green, wasting less — having everyone walk (thus, everyone gets some exercise before chowing down), using public transportation (saving fuel AND money!), and having fun all at the same time, since who doesn’t enjoy going places with a big group of people? Plus, what a great ice breaker!

Fresh out of the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue in Chinatown, the couple, along with dozens of wedding guests in suits and spring dresses, hoofed it a couple blocks about 5:30 and entered the teeming Gallery Place Station, which was flooded with weekend-bound commuters and Washington Wizards fans arriving for last night’s playoff game.

Clump handled the first obstacle — the escalator — with poise. Her veil flapping in the breeze, she hiked up the skirt of her white gown a bit and stepped onto the contraption with her tuxedo-clad groom.

The two began the slow ride underground, the wedding photographer’s flash firing while confused and bemused strap-hangers, including work-weary commuters and tourists, looked on with grins. Some yelled “Congratulations!” as the newlyweds passed.

Seriously, what a great idea.

It just makes me think — what else can a couple do to make their ceremony stand out, yet save money and be environmentally conscious? I can’t think of any off the top of my head, but please, if you think of any, leave it in the comments!
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Going green on your wedding

No, I’m not suggesting you do up your wedding like a St. Paddy’s Day parade. No, no, no. In honor of Earth Day, which we all celebrated this week (right?), a friend suggested I do a post on green weddings. At first, I was like, eh. Going green is like going organic — the latest yuppie trend. But, as I thought about it more, I liked the idea.

Photo by Flickr’s Blue Orchid Designs

It can be as easy as buying potted plants for your centerpieces, rather than having a cut flower arrangement. But because I haven’t done this myself, I’m going to let the experts have their say.

The Kaleidoscope of the University of Alabama says its as easy as brides making thoughtful choices:

Brides can choose to have a cake made with completely organic ingredients, or buy organic wines from the local wine store. One of Bennett’s favorite things to provide for guests is an organic potted plant placed on the dining tables so that guests can take it home to remember that couple’s special day.

The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles spotlighted one bride that went kosher and green:

But the nontraditional dress was just one part of Kraft’s “green” simcha. In lieu of sending out paper invitations, Kraft and her husband, Jordan Elias, sent out their invites via e-mail, used organic flowers, registered for green products like bamboo kitchenware and bath towels made of organic cotton and hired a biodiesel van (which runs on peanut oil instead of gasoline) to transport their guests to the ceremony. In addition, they donated 3 percent of their gift registry proceeds to the National Resource Defense Council, a national environmental action organization.

MSNBC.com has a nice, handy list on ways to go green on your wedding day, but to really go hardcore eco-friendly, you have to go with TreeHugger’s comprehensive guide on getting married in a green way. And oh, is it comprehensive — not only are there 10 Tips on ways to go greener, they also give you ways to do more and give you stats on how much CO2 all the weddings in the U.S. produce each year. Oh, and they give you a list of other sources that will further bring out the green in you.

Photo by Flickr’s lilfishstudios

Of course, going green can be as easy as recycling old stuff for your own purposes — like, say, getting married in the wedding dress your mother wore. But who does that nowadays?! (Sorry, I’m done being sarcastic.) I found this cute, innovative concept on bouquets on Flickr. I mean, who woulda thought button bouquets???

However, when it comes to getting married in an eco-friendly way on Flickr, no one did it better than zzilch. She had a slew of pictures of all the little things she did to make her wedding as eco-friendly as possible.

Photo by Flickr’s zzilch

For example, she used origami flowers for her bouquets, rather than using cut flowers. Cheap and eco-friendly! Although, I imagine there would be some people who would take issue with using so much paper. For those people, there is what zzilch did with her invitations.

Photo by Flickr’s zzilch

If you can’t read that, it says “Plant Me! This handmade tree-free paper is embedded with flower seeds. Soak paper in water for one day, and plant under a thin layer of soil and keep moist. Happy planting!”

What. A. Cool. Idea. Seriously.

Of course, you may wonder if what I’ve done in the past is eco-friendly. Well, when I decorate, I use draping materials that we keep at certain lengths. I don’t ever cut them and we always wash them and reuse them. While my mom, as a florist, uses cut flowers for arrangements, we use equipment that is reused again and again, unless the bride wants to use vases or some other vessel she wants to be given away to her guests. So, yeah, I guess you could say that often what I do as a decorator is green.
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