Bright Ideas On Vashon Last Year

The Blains had some good ideas for their wedding last year on Vashon.  Here’ one from the Seattle Times article on the Blains’ wedding:

 ”In their most innovative green strategy, they bought a variety of used dishes at Goodwill stores for the reception dinner. Blain said their guests loved the “uniformly eclectic” dishes. Afterward, they donated them to Sustainable Vashon’s “No-Trash Bash” program that loans out durable dishes for island parties.”

More Green Wedding ideas:

Local Gift Registry for Puget Sound  - Visit:  http://www.soundtradingco.com/

Read more about the Blains’ wedding at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/homegarden/2008116884_ecoconsumer16.html

Join Michelle In Supporting Community Farms – add fresh veggies to your wedding registry!

 SAN DIEGO – Returning from Mexico, Michelle Obama made a brief stop Thursday in San Diego to visit a community garden farmed by international refugees that she called a model for building healthy communities across the nation and around the world.

Here in Washington State there are many local farms producing delicious, fresh produce.  Support them in all they do for the community and the environment.  At Sound Trading Co. now you can easily add a CSA membership with Tiny’s Organic Farm to your wedding registry.  

Visit : www.soundtradingco.com

Or, read more about the amazing Michelle Obama and her visit to the San Diego farm: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/16/michelle-obama-visits-san_n_540440.html#s81728

Teapots To Smile About

This teapot is an absolutely one of a kind work of art. Like most of Adrien’s work, the Dreamy Dancer Teapot is made of recycled stoneware, the clay being reclaimed from the discard bucket at a community ceramics studio.

As a visual artist, Adrien Miller values beauty that generates a sense of well-being. Work like the Dreamy Dancer teapot arises from the marriage of his love for sculpting the human form with his love for making things that feel good to use. If you like drinking tea from handmade wares, you’ll love the feeling of this sculpted teapot in your hand. Adrien’s artful and intentional craft of this piece will deepen and enhance your morning, afternoon or evening tea.

Read more about these teapots or add them to your wedding registry.  Adrien Miller is the Sound Trading Co. vendor of the month on www.soundtradingco.com

See full article by Victoria Jacobs: http://www.soundtradingco.com/index.php?dispatch=pages.view&page_id=13

Bike Wedding !

Priscila Teixeira and Willian Cruz were married last November in Sao Paulo and they organized a group biking trip to the city hall. As strong bike activists, they invited everyone who wanted to join with only one condition: they had to ride to the place.

Read more about it at : http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/beautiful-bike-wedding-in-sao-paulo.php

A wedding for under $500?

Check out some ideas from Jeanine Pfeiffer of the Earthwatch Institute, who managed to spend less than $500 on her wedding in June 2009.

Her first idea “Hold your wedding outdoors in a nature reserve, county park, arboretum, private garden, library courtyard, or on conservation trust land or a local farm. The possibilities are truly endless. Ours will take place on a Northern California state park beach.”  This luckily cost them $0!  

See what Jeanine did at:  http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/green-wedding-low-cost-zero-waste-eco-conscious-options_.php

Furniture that’s good for you, the planet, and the community

 

Here are some good green ideas to think about when choosing furniture for your registry.

Good For You – low-toxicity
When you buy a piece of furniture, bring it home, and set it down in a room, it doesn’t just sit there. No matter what it’s made out of, chances are, it’s offgassing (or releasing substances into the air). Almost everything offgasses, which isn’t necessarily bad, but synthetic materials or those treated with synthetic substances can offgas chemicals which are toxic.  In fact, studies have shown that air quality inside your house (or car) is often worse than outside. Everyone should be conscious of the kinds of chemicals they bring home, but especially if you have kids, pets, or other family members who are low to the ground and prone to licking things. 

Good For The Planet 1) –  durable and fixable
One of the most important but often overlooked aspects of green products (and this definitely goes for furniture) is durability. If something is tough and/or can be readily repaired, this lessens the chance that it’ll end up in the landfill, and could easily save you money in the long run, even if it’s initially more expensive. Even recyclable materials if they break (and can’t be fixed) require energy and other resources to reprocess and then replace. Durable goods that will last a long time can be passed on from person to person. Even if your style changes and that kitchen table isn’t your thing anymore, a good strong table will almost always be appealing to someone else, while a broken (and unfixable) one probably won’t.

Good For The Planet 2) – reclaimed or salvaged materials 
If wood is taken care of, and sometimes even if it isn’t, it can last a really, really long time. So shouldn’t we be able to make good use of all the wood that’s already out there? A lot of designers think so and are doing just that. Reclaimed wood usually comes from old furniture, houses, or other built things that are ready for some friendly reincarnation, from flawed wood, or from scraps from a factory that makes other stuff. Also, increasing numbers of furniture makers are finding ways to use fallen trees, or diseased trees that are destined for removal in urban areas.

Good For The Community – local
Just like the food on the dinner plate, we might be amazed how many miles the constituent parts of a piece of furniture might have had to travel in order to reach us. If possible, source furniture close to home. This will support the local economy, small craftspeople, and decrease the environmental cost of shipping (not to mention the other kind of cost).

Find some “good wood” and create a great local registry at www.soundtradingco.com. 

Photo above of Jason McCloskey Fine Woodworking featured on Sound Trading Co.

Find more green ideas about furniture at http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/green-furniture/green-furniture-top-tips.html

Engagement Photo Shoot – why not celebrate a little now?

It is very joyful and exciting to be engaged!   Though as everyone knows, usually after the engagement you have to wait a while before the wedding.  Why not celebrate a little now and capture it on film? Spend a fun day with your fiance and a photographer.  Your family and friends will love to see the photos of the two of you together and it is a nice chance to get some great photos without the pressure of the big day.  

Seattle Wedding Photographer, Danielle Barnum describes her approach “I simply try to tell their story. Every couple has their own special and completely unique relationship, and my goal is to have them feel so comfortable and focused on having fun with each other that they forget there’s even a camera nearby. It’s all the in-between, natural moments that really capture the love, and there is nothing more beautiful.”

Check out some of Danielle’s photos below or visit her website at: www.dbinspiredarts.com

The 100 Mile Wedding

I love this quote from Green Wedding Planner, Corina Beczner:  ”I like the term “sustainable” better than “green”–it’s not just about the environment, but social responsibility as well. I advocate that weddings should be on the 100-mile diet–not just the food, but the gifts, everything put back into the local community.”  Let’s try for more “100 mile weddings” in Puget Sound!

Of course, if you live in the NW, it’s easy to find those great local gifts for a “100 mile wedding” at www.soundtradingco.com.  

Check out more great ideas from the San Fransisco Green Wedding Planner, Corina Beczner: http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2007/05/trendsetter.html

How You Can Make A Difference With Your Wedding…Even On A Budget.

A wedding is a lot of things: a love-fest, a commitment ceremony, a deeply spiritual experience, a big party, a gathering of friends and family from around the world, a day at the beach, a bonfire in the rain, karaoke all night long, really it can be all of that at once, or whatever you want it to be.

Of course, no matter what, it will be a very memorable day in your life and the lives of everyone close to you. I remember every wedding or commitment ceremony I’ve been to, no matter how well I knew the couple. I think it is a very beautiful thing…love, commitment, the wedding dress, all of it.

Yet, beyond the emotionality of the day and all that goes on with the ceremony and the party and the love between the couple, there is a HUGE opportunity here to make a difference in the world.

Here is a short list of things you can do to make a difference with your wedding even on a budget. You don’t need to give all your gifts away to charity….

1) Support Local Businesses – wherever possible choose local. By supporting the businesses around you, you are supporting your community, your neighbors, and making a good choice for the environment. 

2) Support Local Artists – chances are, where you live, there are artists dying to make the items on your registry in an environmentally sound, custom, or unique way. Consider setting up part of your registry with a local artist or two. Also, feel free to think a little beyond your normal budget…people want to get you gifts, and people can go in on things together for you. Choose quality – it is less likely to end up in the dump in a year.

3) Choose Environmental Options – especially in the summer, when a lot of weddings happen, there is a big opportunity to choose fresh, local, organic produce for your event. Also, with your registry think about where the products are made and how, if you can, choose items that are made locally with environmentally responsible materials. Or, think outside the box entirely, and choose unconventional gifts, like produce  from a local farm  through a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Membership, or a short trip with your hubby on a local wine tour.

4) Give and Receive or Receive and Give – Sometimes cash is the greatest gift! This is good for the environment…low impact…big return for you. If you have a lot of the stuff, then feel free to ask for cash instead.  You could put it toward a trip, or a new home, or anything you want.  Also, even if you are on a budget, like most people these days, you may consider asking guests to donate a small amount to a charity as part of your registry, or to plant a tree in your honor through a local non-profit.

5) Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Whenever you can, compost, recycle, reuse. Get creative!  You can even recycle you wedding dress at our friends Blue Sky Bridal: www.bluskybridal.com. Look for more ideas for “greening your wedding” tomorrow. 

At Sound Trading Co: Local Gift Registry for Good we are making it easy for Seattle area couples to make a difference on their wedding day through great gift registry. Please comment on this blog, or contact us directly. We’d love to hear your ideas!

You can also visit us at:  www.soundtradingco.com.

We look forward to hearing from you!  Lilah