Posts in the 'Eco-Weddings' Category
January 17th, 2010 by The Broke-Ass Bride
(Missed part 1? Get up to speed – we’ll wait!)
It had been a year since I first tried on my dress, an ill-fitting runway sample that still made me feel like some bridal angel from heaven. I spent hours daydreaming about it over the year, sneaking peeks at the sample in Deborah’s studio during my work-trade hours, or using it as motivation to sweat my back fat off. Putting it on was the holy grail of my pre-ceremony prep, and I was dizzily giddy with glee when the time came to step into that swathe of frothy, creamy, lacy confection.
Even though Deborah (my fairy godmother/dress designer) was there to help me change, I didn’t want my mom or maid of honor to miss out on their part in the dressing honor. So I invited them up to get me started….
My mom and MOH as Cinderella's little birdies
Make. Me. PRETTY!
I have a tendency to let adrenaline and excitement overwhelm and keep me from really being present in a moment, so as often as possible throughout the day, I’d try to quiet down and let the moments really sink in, instead of merely washing over me.
Feelin' it.
But, on the real, it was hard to keep from bursting the seams of my joy every minute.
Deb stepped in to lace me up….
My sister is looking so perplexed!
I just kept looking down at the gown, in awe of it all.
Then it was time to tie my sash…
My paparazzi moment.
Like a perfect present.
We almost forgot my garter! A few years back, Hunter caught the garter at my sister Kim’s wedding, so we thought it would be fun to use it as a “something borrowed”
Momma, your leg smells like bride!
How does it look?
Fashion tape time! Ah, how innocent I was, how badly it let me down.
Got some sassy glitter to decorate my decolletage!
My girls need some glitter!
I took a last look before running out the door…
Is my halo on straight?
Back fat check! All clear!
…..and it was time to roll! We all piled into a van and headed towards the ceremony site, feeling high on happiness and full of joyous anticipation. My vows in hand, I looked down at the words I was getting ready to utter, and remembered to switch my engagement ring over to my right hand, as something different would soon be taking its place. I was off to be married. I was on my way to the arms of my husband.
January 12th, 2010 by The Broke-Ass Bride
I get loads of questions from brides seeking guidance on budget, offbeat or green decor, and I can relate! I had many a stressful day pondering how to not only afford decor that would pack a punch, but not lose my limbs paying for it, and still manage to make a statement with it. But let me tell you, sisters, if you get yourself a roll of fishing line and turn on the creativity…. there are loads of unique, affordable and simple opportunities to spruce up a space with little money, little effort, but MAXIMUM flavor, yo! Let me count the ways….. Let’s take a walk off the beaten aisle for a moment, shall we?
Clear out the clearance rack at your local post-holiday sale, and string up a dazzling and reflective curtain that’s as festive as it is adorable….
Its raining baubles!
Clearance Ornaments + Fishing Line = broke-ass brilliance!
And use your leftovers to line your aisle, pile into glass vessels for centerpieces, and make a whimsical winter wonderland of it! Wouldn’t it be dreamsicle to hold your ceremony in front of such a shimmery sight?
Hit up your local craft shop and go craft pom wild! String these babies up for a light and easy beaded curtain backdrop and give your wedding a modern take on retro design flare….
Its the POM diggity!
For a tutorial, click here. And for more pom decor ideas, check out this post!
For the music loving couple (c’mon rawkstar brides, put your hands up!) How about an edgy and modern (but romantically twinklingly loverly in candlelight) recycled compact disc chandelier or curtain?
Compact Disc DIY
colorful compact cuteness
Tutorial here
Whew! That was easy, wasn’t it? And that’s just the beginning – all it takes is a step outside the box and a little fishing line, yo! The best part is, there’s no special DIY talent necessary. What kind of unusual or found objects will you incorporate into your bad-ass, broke-ass design?
December 22nd, 2009 by The Broke-Ass Bride
The new Destination Weddings & Honeymoons Magazine (Annual Worldwide Guide Edition) just came out last week, and guess whose broke-ass is gracing its pages? Ohhhhh snap!
Destination Weddings & Honeymoons
Destination Weddings & Honeymoons
The article came out great, despite a tiny typo (Bride$haring alone saved us $2k, but that was just the tip of our savvy savings iceberg) – but we’re not sweating it. We ain’t got nothing but love for the kind folks at DWH, and are totally honored to have been included!
The whole fabulous magazine is absolutely chock-full of beautiful inspiration and valuable information – so what are you waiting for? Get out there and score your own copy today!
Thanks again, Destination Weddings & Honeymoons Magazine! We love you long time!
December 10th, 2009 by The Broke-Ass Bride
This is a repost of a guest blog I did for my boo Sasha at Sparkliatti last month… but in case any of you missed it, here it is again! Enjoy!
I’m completely in love with creative and original ideas that won’t drain your budget! When Sasha asked me to bring some of my budget decor savviness to her blog, I thought, let’s get to the heart of the matter… or at least of the room: The Table.
Table decor can either be unique and memorable or fade into the background of a wedding – but whether you’re dropping $1 or $100 on it, why waste a chance to surprise and delight your guests with fun and distinctive design? I struggled for days to find inexpensive yet dynamic ways to spruce up our tables without busting our budget, and today I’m sharing my top 5 ways to save on money but stay rich on impact.
1. Having a rustic affair but want to give your tables flair? A large roll of kraft paper can serve as a no-muss sub for linens for much less. Don’t forget to toss some crayons near the kids’ seats…. or everyone’s seats for that matter! Instant interactive fun for your guests!
2. Prefer the feel of fabric? Buy a bolt of unbleached muslin or burlap fabric and use pinking shears to cut tablecloths or runners with character (and leave your sewing kit out of it)! Use baker’s twine to tie a rock into the corners of your tablecloths to help weigh them down.
3. Craft poms are my new obsession. Fill some clear glass bowls, vases or glasses from the flea market with the colorful bunch, or hot glue them to some branches in a vase, and check centerpieces off your list for pennies! Fill paper cones with the leftovers for a fun toss alternative to rose petals that will look whimsical and darling in photos.
4. Save the cost of vases altogether, and cut down on the number of flowers you buy. Pop the heads off some larger stems such as spider mums or orchids and scatter them along the center of the table with some smooth river rocks or seashells woven between them.
5. Bring the outdoors in for tables that add texture and visual interest. Use mosscloth for dynamic table runners or centerpiece elements. Its a natural and inexpensive way to wow your guests, and comes in various shades of green to suit your palette.
I took my own advice, and our guests loved the moss centerpieces!
I hope these ideas help inspire some of you to take your table decor to the next level while keeping your budget in check. Saving money on your wedding decor is often as easy as thinking outside the box! Now go, unleash your inner budget bad-ass and make your tables sing!
What’s your favorite outside-the-box saving tip for table decor?
December 7th, 2009 by The Broke-Ass Bride
The Fresh Hubby and I are proud to announce our debut as the Green-Ass Bride & Groom, bringing you Eco-Chic on the Cheap, a regular column in the (soon-to-be-launched) Eco-Beautiful Weddings E-zine and their brand new eponymous blog!
We’re totally psyched to be bringing our love for weddings and our love for the earth together in a big old lovefest (aka our column, debuting December 15th) to help you find your perfect shade of green, while saving some green!
Oh snap, who dat?
And, I ain’t gonna lie, I’m totally crushing on my cute cartoon hubby! Our likeness was done by none other than the fabulous illustrator and Broke-Ass sponsor, Astrid of
Champagne Promises, LLC, thanks to Katie from
Elegance and Simplicity – our friend, and editor in chief of EBW!
So
stop on by, have a look see, and get excited about all the eco-goodness comin’ your way. See you over there!
September 3rd, 2009 by The Broke-Ass Bride
We got the idea to register for vintage dishware after seeing the plates of our dreams on set at a television sitcom taping we attended. I was flat out drooling for them, and even Hunter gave them a hells yeah. We scampered over to check the stamp on the plates, ran home to google it, and mentally filed it away. After a long and painful search for something new (and more readily available) that we loved just as much, we finally decided to go our own way and register for the first dishes to steal our poppy lovin’ hearts.
Wild Poppies – Metlox: Aren’t they dreamsicle?!?
It was the perfect decision for us, and we love our dishes more and more every time we use them. In fact, we ended up buying vintage silverware to go along with it!
The benefits of vintage dishware are threefold:
1. more financially friendly – the set we picked out cost less than most sets we saw at Crate and Barrel or Macy’s.
2. more eco-friendly – reuse is always a better choice than buying new, any day!
3. more finger friendly – we excel at breaking dishes. Vintage dishware is often sturdier and more break-resistant, which means keeping our wedding dishes safe for years to come!
Whatever your taste, you can find vintage dishes to suit them, in many places both online and in shops. Check out these babies:
Manzanita by Brock
Johnson Bros – Chelsea Collection
Starburst by Franciscan
Gold Dahlia by Metlox
You can search for vintage dishware at sites like Metlox California (who were supremely helpful in our registry process), Replacements.com, etsy, and ebay among many others. You can also try flea markets and antique bazaars in your town, like the Rosebowl.
There are also some progressively fierce companies taking vintage dishware/china and turning it into something modern and delicious, like Esther Dirkx!
via Reform School – a favorite green boutique of mine
“But, Dana” you protest “how do I register for something so random and hard for guests to find/pay for?”
Woman, hie thee to Wishpot! You can register for items you find anywhere, in brick and mortar stores or on the internet. Its a convenient way to unleash yourself from single-store registries, and allowed us to explore our eclectic tastes in a personal and customizable way. It worked great for us, even when we bought our flatware through auction. We just manually listed it, posted the price, and someone “reimbursed” the gift to us. Or, contact a replacement company and ask if they’ll set up a registry for you. Many offer that service these days.
There are tons of ways to make your registry more personal, and more green. But vintage dishware is my absolute favorite (she says, as she eats her cereal from a sunny poppyfilled bowl).
Did you register for any vintage items?
August 28th, 2009 by The Broke-Ass Bride
Hey LA brides! Come on down to the Soi-Meme eco-bridal salon event tomorrow, featuring loads of ideas on how to walk down a greener aisle. I’ll be speaking on the Green Media Maven panel at noon – hope to see you there!
From their site:
“Soi-Meme” – a French word meaning “oneself” – characterizes the spirit of the modern couple searching for affordable, do-it-yourself solutions to planning a wedding with unique style. Following the success of last year’s “Love is in the Air” eco-luxe bridal salon, Pink Cloud Events is once again hosting a fabulous day-long salon for eco-conscious DIY brides and grooms to connect directly with the most inspiring eco-friendly wedding products and service providers.
The event will bring everything needed to plan a sustainable wedding on Saturday, August 29th from 11am – 4pm at the newly renovated James Irvine Garden at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, located in the heart of downtown LA’s Little Tokyo. From the wedding ring to the honeymoon, our experts will be available for one-on-one sessions and workshops to help you find all that you need for your wedding day, in just a few hours!
For only $25, complimentary organic beverages, hors d’oeuvres, great DJs, a resource guide and loads of giveaways will make this a fun-filled day for you and your wedding planning party. Register online now for a chance to win a free 4 night stay at a private eco-villa resort in Tulum, Mexico by Azulik!
July 8th, 2009 by The Broke-Ass Bride
This weekend, I’m going to experience some very happy wedding deja vu. My Bride$hare buddy is getting married, and Hunter and I are thrilled to go back to the Bungalow Club for the first time since our wedding 6 weeks ago, and enjoy some of our decor, drink delicious mojitos, and dance our faces off, for the 2nd time around.
These are the fateful paper lanterns that spawned the whole idea for Bride$hare! (photo by Dan Chen)
Way back when, Rebecca saw a blog post of mine lamenting the desire for paper lanterns to spruce up the space at my venue, and she contacted me to suggest we go in on them together and share them. That was just the beginning. Together, we were able to co-purchase and recycle many items from our weddings, which went perfectly with Hunter and my mission to both save green and be green in our wedding plans! In fact, the reception venue owner likes them so much, she might even buy them off of us after the fact and keep them up, which means future brides can benefit from them, too! My bridal karma meter must be off tha charts, son!
These manzanita trees will make a repeat appearance this weekend, too!
Having a Bride$hare buddy was not only a great way to be more fiscally and eco-responsible, but it was also the beginning of a fun and resourceful friendship. Whenever we researched or booked vendors/hotels/rehearsal dinner venues, we’d check in and make suggestions or give feedback to one another about it. We talked invitation design and oohed and aahed over eachother’s creations. We generally supported eachother in a way that most brides only find via message boards, and that was a priceless bonus of the whole experience.
Together, we shared roughly $4,000 worth of goods/services. It was so inspiring, that I set up a website for other brides to connect and get their own share on! Saving all that money was certainly thrilling, but after blogging about it what excites me most is the amount of interest in and embracing of the BrideShare concept from gals all across the web. I encourage you all to try and share and save – after all, green is the new white! So whatcha waiting for? Go get you some!
I am so happy for Rebecca and Rupen this weekend, and can’t wait to celebrate with them, and raise a glass to our collective good fortune.
June 24th, 2009 by The Broke-Ass Bride
I’m thrilled to finally announce the launch of my newest endeavor, Bride$hare! Some of you old foagie readers might remember that last year, I was approached by a bride who loved our color scheme and design ideas so much that she offered to split the costs of and share many decor items for our weddings. That spawned the great idea of Bride$hare – a social networking community where brides can find each other and save more green while being green!
After actually living the process, and reaping the benefits, I am so excited to share this with the bridal world. I’m really proud of how far it has come, considering the lack of technical prowess that I possess! My amazing brother Michael helped me put it together, and was endlessly patient as I changed and rechanged my mind about every little detail. But together, we were able to develop a site that allows brides to team up and have more for less, while being environmentally-friendly through the use of recycling and sharing!
Are you dying for Chivari chairs? Craving manzanita centerpieces? Looking for your dream shoes? Vying for a DIY photobooth? Loving lanterns? These are just a few items that you can share the cost of with fellow brides, with a few simple clicks of the mouse!
With options to search by color scheme, theme, city and venue, you can search for brides with similar taste and style to yours – making finding your perfect Bride$hare buddy a cinch! You can also buy/sell/share on the classifieds, join groups, chat on the boards, customize your profile and more. The possibilites to save are limitless.
I really hope you enjoy the site – if I can help other brides save as much as I did, using simple teamwork and creativity, then my mission is accomplished!
Psssst – tell your friends!
So, what do you think?
