Eco Wedding Planner

Planning Timeline

6 to 12 Months Ahead Start by considering what type of wedding you have always dreamed of.  Will it be formal or Informal, large or small, a daytime picnic celebration or an evening wedding.  Also think about where and when you would like to have your wedding.   All these things will impact the budget and cost of your wedding. Set the budget. If your or your future parents in law are helping with the payment of your wedding, try and include everyone in the budget discussion.  Remember that an elegant and stylish wedding does not have to be store bought; a natural wedding can be even more romantic and personal. Finalize the wedding date. Hire an eco wedding planner if you are to busy, they have some fabulous ideas and have connections which are worthwhile in keeping within budgets. You can also make use of my blog to find suppliers. Compile a guest list in order to establish how many guests you will have to cater for.  Book your venue and ceremony.  It is always best to have the reception at the same place as the ceremony; this reduces the emissions of travel from one venue to another. Start making a bridal party list, with maid of honor, bridesmaids and best men. Start looking around for a perfect dress.  Shop vintage stores, dress rental companies and then dressmakers. If you are having a dress made use organic cotton, hemp and silk.  Use stores that you know have bought these fabrics using fair trade ethics.  Try Hemporium in Cape Town. Book an eco friendly florist and be specific about your flower choices, your reusing ideas and arrangements. Keep all flowers organic and seasonal.  Book an officiant. Reserve a caterer if you plan on having an outdoor wedding or are not using a venue for your ceremony.  Remember to use a caterer who uses local and organic food in new and interesting ways. Also, if you are vegan and are considering a vegan menu, spend time with the caterer to induce some mouth watering meals. Book photographers, videographers and musicians or disk jockeys for your special day.  Remember to ask the photographer to use a digital camera, that way you will only print what you need and post the rest on a website.  A string quartet is also a lovely addition to a daytime wedding and uses a lot less energy. It is important to book your honeymoon.  Remember there are quite a few South African eco friendly destinations with wonderful eco tours and accommodation.  There are also some fantastic places hidden away in their natural surroundings, offering little or no impact to the environment.  Remember to offset your flights once you have booked them. Order wedding stationery.  Remember to use recycled paper and soy or vegetable ink on your invitations, thank you cards and reply cards.  Otherwise there are some fabulous e-vite sites that help you send automatic invitations to guests e mail addresses.  Order your organic wedding cake. 4 to 6 Months Ahead When you register for gifts, register at places that support local communities and organizations that use the eco friendly ethos in their businesses.  You could also register for a charity of your choice and have guests donate money to that charity instead of buying gifts. Confirm postal and email addresses for guest list.  Purchase wedding rings –  always buy fair trade diamonds. Have your groom reserve his suit or if he is purchasing a suit, ask him to make it a suit he would wear again. Discuss your attendants outfits with them and come up with a colour scheme.  Finalise lingerie and jewelry, as well as other accessories. Start organizing your wedding favors, if you are making them yourself, allocate time to get this done. Organise transportation to the venue or ceremony for guests. Help out of town guests find accommodation in an eco friendly establishment, so that they can learn something and have a new experience in line with your values. Book a room for your wedding night at a hotel that has green or at least some eco principles.   Make final decisions on your flowers, table arrangements and decorations. Confirm all your arrangements with your suppliers. If your caterer does not already have equipment, reserve rental equipment such as tables, chairs, and linens.  Confirm all your arrangements with your suppliers. Finalize your eco honeymoon plans.  Discuss and finalise details with your officiant regarding your ceremony details, vows, music etc. Finalise your menu. 2 to 4 Months Ahead Plan ahead for the ceremony.  You may want to think about a program (recycled paper, soy ink). Plan the reception.  Make sure that all your suppliers have a copy and that everyone including the venue is happy with the schedule of events.  Also make sure that the master of ceremonies has a copy to stick to, as well as your maid of honor, so that you might be as relaxed and care free on your day. If you are having a traditional first dance, discuss the music with your DJ or musicians playing at your wedding.  Also discuss some sort of playlist for the wedding. Schedule rehearsal time and a rehearsal dinner. Practice your first dance with an instructor. Book your trial hair and your actual hair appointment at the same time.  Also book manicures and spa treatment.  Have a nice massage the week before with a facial, and you are sure to glow on your day. Remember to use organic and eco friendly products.  You could make your own and have a home spa with your bridesmaids. 1 to 2 Months Ahead Take care of paperwork Obtain marriage license. Prepare name change documents if needed. Send change-of-address information to post office. Look over insurance policies (car, life, medical, and home) to see if any changes will be necessary. Make appointments for blood tests if required. Contact local newspapers about publishing your wedding announcement. Take care of paperwork Finalise wedding guest list numbers. Have your final dress fitting, be sure to bring all accessories, including jewelry, veil and shoes. 2 to 4 Weeks Ahead Notify caterer or venue of guest numbers for food and table seating’s. Begin seating plan for reception and make place cards. Make sure that the bridal party is aware of the schedules for the ceremony and the reception.  Also make sure that they are happy with their tasks and understand their assignments. 1 Week Ahead Confirm final headcount. Reconfirm honeymoon details, and provide travel itinerary to family member or friend in the event of an emergency. Pack for honeymoon. Make sure that groom and wedding party are on track with their attire and have plans to pick up rented formalwear. Have your manicure and massage. Reconfirm transportation arrangements for ceremony and reception. 1 Day Ahead Rehearse the ceremony, enjoy a relaxing rehearsal dinner with family and friends and have a run-through of responsibilities. Prepare tip and payment envelopes for officiant and vendors, and arrange for the best man to distribute them. Arrange for the return of rentals after the wedding, and plan for delivery of flowers to hospitals or nursing homes and leftover food to homeless or childrens charities, most eco friendly establishments have charities in place for left overs and this should ideally be covered by the venue. Give the rings to the best man. Wedding Day Have a fabulous, eco friendly, stress free day with family and friends.

Eco Wedding Inspiration Boards from all over the web.

 How beautiful a daisy can be.

 Breads, cheese and cracking organic salads

 Outdoor wedding tables

 Vintage wedding dresses

A real wedding.

Melissa and Charles’ Eco Wedding

Plettenberg Bay, South Africa.

I had the privilege of being a bridesmaid at Melissa and Charles’ eco wedding.  They live on a farm in Plettenberg Bay and had their wedding ceremony and reception there.  The ceremony was held in a valley on the farm, which resonated like a natural amphitheatre.  She wore a beautiful green strapless dress and the rest of the bridesmaids wore beige and green.  We were able to use our own dresses but had to stick to the colour scheme of beige and green.  Melissa came down the hill on her favourite horse and the bridesmaids were lead by a man playing a flute.  A Buddhist ceremony and a pagan ceremony where performed and a joyous “tying of the knot” was witnessed by family and friends. 

The reception was held in a draped tent, that had been hired for the occasion and barn tables with benches were adorned with daisies and Blue Felicia’s (an indigenous daisy like flower, found in the Eastern Cape).  Melissa borrowed vases and jugs from family and friends.  A feast of organic salads and breads were followed by steak and chicken and chocolate cupcakes. 

The conversation flowed as did the wine and the food that just kept coming.  It was fabulous and unashamedly eco. 

Some pictures from Melissa and Charles’ wedding

Venues and Transportation

One of the first decisions you will make is where your wedding will be held.  It is important to try and find alternative means to get your guests to your wedding.  You could encourage your guests to car pool or hire a bus that will transport a large quantity of guests at a time to your venue of choice.  Remember that travel, whether by air or road, has a huge impact on the environment and so good transport planning is extremely important.  If you have guests that are travelling by air, encourage them to offset their flights.

The venue should also be eco friendly and take your environmental concern seriously. At the end of this blog, I have included registered eco friendly venues in the different locations of Africa.  Be aware, that these venues have undergone a stringent and painstaking process to ensure that they are legitimately eco friendly and not green washing their advertising or sales of their premises.   Some of these organizations can also help you organize a low emission wedding.  It is a good idea to hold your ceremony and your reception in one location.  It helps with costs and the goal of your wedding, saving the environment.  The other factors  to consider in your assessment of venue choice, is size of the venue, power required to illuminate your wedding, power required to cook and the serving of drinks.  If you are having an eco wedding, an outdoor location is always a good idea.  Serve organic salads and vegetables with warm foods created by fire or gas.  Lighting plays a major role in an evening wedding.  Lots of candles create a romantic and beautiful effect and can really illuminate the area without causing too much damage to the environment.  A wonderful new product called a sky lantern can be set free into the air above your guests and small flickering lights will float, weightlessly in the air above.  They are bio degradable and are magnificent to behold. 

Here are a few questions to ask your venue, to ensure that they are green?

· They recycled everything they can
· They use organic ingredients in their catered food
· They donate leftover food
· The venue is cleaned with environmentally friendly cleaning products
· Only real linens are used (no plastic tablecloths)
· The staff encourages couples to give guests edible or  recyclable favors to minimize waste

· Plastic use is minimized as much as possible
· They serve food and drinks in glassware, which is reusable or bio degradable
· They use environmentally friendly light bulbs.
· Low-water irrigation systems are used

Some Eco Friendly wedding venue sites in Africa

www.sa-venues.com/limpopo/weddings/belabela.php

www.saweddingvenues.com/beach-wedding-venues.aspx

www.stay-mozambique.co.za/nampula-accommodation-nuarro.php

blog.sa-venues.com/provinces/ecofriendly-accommodations/

www.randomharvestfarm.co.za (also supply seed gifts and can only provide accomdation.)

www.saweddingvenues.com

www.cape-winelands.co.za

Remembering that the outdoors is the best place to have your wedding, you can also contact your local botanical gardens or a picnic spot. Beach or Bush an outdoors wedding is in my opinion, beautiful.  You will have to get a permit to have your wedding on the beach or in a botanical garden.  If you have decided to have a bush wedding the venue itself will arrange your wedding.  


If you have a large garden or a member of your family does, then have a garden wedding.  These are personal and intimate and can be gorgeous.  Think long tables with benches, borrow vases from friends and family and place seasonal, cut flowers into them.  Hire a tent, with draping and led lights.  Cover the tables with linen tablecloths and use lemons as name place holders.  Keep everything simple and serve salads in large serving dishes, with fresh breads.  You could also serve organic tapanade and other pates.  Get a caterer to grill fish on the braai and serve.  Organic champagne can be held in ice buckets on the tables.  These are just a few suggestions, but remember an intimate garden wedding is stunning and it will leave you with enough money to enjoy an eco honeymoon somewhere special.  Just remember to offset your flight.


Thanks for stopping by.

Faye

Invitations and Stationery

Let me start by saying that I am still trying to get the hang of blogging and I apologise if its layout is not of the best quality.  I have posted some blogs and images of invitations that I have found on the web.  Hope that you enjoy them and that you find some creative inspiration.  www.cool-invitation-ideas.com has exactly that, cool d.i.y invitation ideas and they are truly fabulous.  Remember to source recycled paper if you are going to do your own wedding invitations.  If you are using a designer and want them printed, please, once again ask for recycled paper.  Alot of chlorine and chemicals go into making paper and most importantly it involves the unnecessary chopping down of trees, vital to our survival on this planet.  I personally love tactile, printed wedding invitations, they are always so beautiful and set the tone of your wedding, incorporating your colours and themes. I do however reiterate the use of recycled paper.  You can also make your own paper by blending used paper and leaves or flowers in a blender.  Mix with water and glue and stretch over pantyhose on a rectangular, reshaped coat hanger.  Dont be wasteful.  I know that traditionally there are save the date cards, programs, seating charts, menus, name place cards and thank you cards, but if you have chosen to have an eco friendly wedding and lets face it, even if you havent, it truly is a waste of money and of paper.  Another fabulous option is the e-invite, try www.designbetty.com there are hundreds of invitations that you can change to suit your special design needs.  Make the changes and the free e-vites, save the dates and thank you cards will be sent to your inbox.  All you have to do is send them to your guests and wait for your inbox to fill with replies.  Its up to you, thereafter what you print and what you dont.  I think that programs are a serious waste of time, paper and money.  Seating charts, name place cards and menus are important.  People need to know where they have been seated.  Once again use recycled paper and take inspiration from nature.  Use 1 menu per table and have one large seating chart.  Here are some inspirational ideas for seating: Hope you find inspiration here.

  Thanks for coming....

Faye