OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH!  That is my constant inner- and sometimes outer- monologue right now.  Why?  Oh, well, because our wedding is LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AWAY! 

In exactly one week, I’ll be driving from Duluth to my hometown in Wisconsin after work, my wagon full to the brim with wedding supplies.  One week and one day from today, I’ll be at the courthouse with Mike getting our marriage license {and trying to convince the county clerk that my Peruvian birth certificate is legit…hope that goes smoothly!}  One week and two days from today I will be with my family and friends, decorating the resort and getting everything set up!  One week and three days from today, I’ll be standing under the rough-sewn cedar arbor my dad and Mike made, marrying my favorite person in the world.  So, yeah…OH MY GOSH! 

If I may say so myself, I am really proud of how green we’ve been able to keep this wedding.  Every step of the way we were faced with tough choices {and anyone who has ever planned a DIY wedding knows what I mean when I say that at this point in the game, I JUST CAN’T MAKE ANY MORE FREAKIN’ DECISIONS!} and we had to do our research and really weigh all our priorities against one another. 

All the paper items at our wedding {paper flowers hanging in tent, appetizer plates, invitations, etc.} are made from recycled paper.

For example, sometimes doing the eco-friendly thing is not the same as doing the budget-friendly thing.  Or the eco-friendly thing is not the same as the convenient-for-all-our-guests thing.  My advice for situations like this is to make a list of your top three priorities, and to consider these three things in everything you do.  For us, the three priorities are our guests’ comfort, staying as low-impact as possible, and sticking to the budget.

Classic example of a situation in which we had to weigh our three priorities:  Our caterer {is awesome!} felt really strongly that we should have a water glass, a wine glass, and a coffee cup at each place setting.  We originally planned on having all our guests drink wine/water/beer/whatever out of the same mason jar all night long {to keep our rental cost low and to be less wasteful by creating less dirty dishes to wash up/avoiding the plastic bar cups.}  But we realized she was right- it would be annoying for our guests to keep track of their one glass all night, and to somehow rinse it out if they switch the type of beverage they’re drinking. 

Our solution:  The mason jars {we bought them, because it was cheaper than renting, and my parents will reuse them in the spring to can up the maple syrup we make} remain as the water and beer glass.  We’re also providing a wine glass at all the adult seats {rented}.  Paper {recycled} coffee cups will be available at the coffee/desert table.  Our MC will make an announcement that in an attempt to keep the wedding green, we would appreciate it if folks would try their best to use their mason jar/wine glass for their drinks throughout the night- but in the event that their jar gets lost, there will be extra wine glasses and jars at the bar.  We’re coming up with a cute way for everyone to mark their jars, so it will be easier for them to keep track of which one is theirs.

Phhhhew!  See how something {seemingly} so simple can take a lot of thought?  Welcome to the world of planning and executing your own wedding!  Now I know why some people hire planners.  BUT…I wouldn’t trade one minute of the process, no matter how stressful it has been.  I have loved every second of watching this big marriage-fest come together over the past year. 

And I have to give credit where it’s due– this isn’t so much a DIY wedding as it is a DIT {do-it-together} wedding.  Our family and friends have supported and helped us more than I could have ever hoped for.  They all love a good party, and they’ve really gone above and beyond to make sure our big day is everything we ever dreamed it could be.  I have no idea how I will ever thank them enough, but if any of you guys are reading this, THANK YOU!

The flowers and pumpkins are locally and organically grown.

In case you noticed, I have already posted a lot of these “wedding-preparation” photos on Twitter and Facebook, but since my brain is a complete wedding-mush right now, and I am useless for writing/thinking about anything else, here they are again!

See you after the honeymoon!  OH MY GOSH!!

Hey readers, happy June!  Do you love early summer as much as I do?  Right now our lilac bushes are at their peak, and our yard smells like heaven.  Our little garden is pumping out salad greens at a light-speed rate, and this makes Mike very happy.  His nickname is quickly becoming “Brontosaurus” as he basically eats nothing else but leafy greens. 

But June is more than lilacs and romaine, for us.  It marks three months until our wedding.  We have entered panic mode…in other words, “oh-crap-we-still-have-an-impossible-amount-of-stuff-to-do-to-get-ready” mode.  It is for this reason that the before mentioned videos/Cheri’s List posts have not been delivered. 

I’m very sorry that the blog has been pretty lame lately.  I have a bunch of awesome ideas floating around and I can’t wait to make posts out of them, but for now I need to focus on all the last minute wedding details that are demanding my full attention and spare time.

{Our pretty wedding “logo”, made by Mike}

So in lieu of a real post, I thought I would update you on the wedding plans and all the things we’re doing to make the event as low-impact as possible.  During the planning process, so many challenges have arisen from the fact that we are avoiding disposable items like cups and flatware…and it has been a real struggle to not give in here or there/do things the easy way {read: the wasteful way}.  But we’re sticking to our guns on the following:

• Rings: Our rings are custom made by Tamara McFarland, a vegan hobby-farmer in California.  She uses 100% recycled metals and fair trade stones in her jewelry.  The stone in my ring is man-made, which means they did not impact the environment or society in a negative way.
• Glassware: We are providing mason jars for guests to drink water/beer out of instead of using the disposable plastic cups that the bar provides {they will be available in case someone breaks or loses their jar, but we will be making an announcement asking everyone to try to use their jar all night.}
• Caterer: We asked every caterer in town whether they use disposable plates/flatware or not.  Only one said that they do not use disposable.  We went with them.  {It’s a small town…city folks probably have many caterers to choose from and this is a non-issue.  But we were legitimately worried that we wouldn’t be able to find someone who used real plates!}
• Decor: Our decorations/favors are almost completely thrift-store finds, and we’re making everything else ourselves, so we’re not buying any plastic crap that will promptly enter a landfill afterwards.
• Registry: Same goes for our registry…we are carefully choosing high-quality items that will last us a long time.  My parents are still using many household items they received as gifts for their wedding.  When something is made to last, there’s no need to ever replace it.  One concern we have, however, is that our registry has a lot of fairly expensive items on it.  But we would honestly rather not receive any gifts than get a bunch of stuff that will break in a couple years and get thrown away.  On our wedding website, where guests will RSVP, we state that attending the wedding is a gift in itself, since everyone is traveling from far away, so buying us something off the registry is definitely appreciated but definitely not expected.
• More registry: I have to talk a little more about wedding registries…a little bird told me about MyRegistry.com and it has been such a great thing for us.  This website is easy to use, free to sign up with, and allows you to add items from any website {including Etsy!  Hip hip hooray!} and any real-life store your heart desires.  Mike downloaded the nifty iPhone app and we just walk around town scanning items.  It’s so easy, and you kind of feel like Harry Potter with a magical wand.
• Save the Dates: We emailed our Save the Date announcements, expect for five of them because the recipients don’t use email.
• Invites: Guests will receive a snail-mail invitation, but they will RSVP by going to our website.  This reduces the paper we use, and is more convenient for most people.  Our grandparents, and a few other guests who don’t use the internet, will RSVP over the phone.
• Honeymoon: When it comes to the honeymoon, we can’t help ourselves….we are going to go to Hawaii.  You can judge us for supporting the over-development and commercialization of one of the world’s most fragile and beautiful environments…but before you get mad at us, we are going to be renting the vacation home of a couple from MA.  We won’t be staying at a big corporate hotel chain.  We won’t be going out to eat {ok maybe once or twice}.  We will be shopping at the farmers market {I already checked, and it is within walking distance from the house} and cooking our own meals almost every day.  That’s a pretty eco-friendly way to do Hawaii, if you ask me!

The greatest science in the world; in heaven and on earth; is love.” -Mother Teresa

Mike and I got engaged (yay!) in August and we’re planning our wedding for September 2010.  Yep, we’re pretty excited!  We’re knee-deep in the planning process right now & it has been a lot of fun so far.

{Photo courtesy of the talented Sydnee Bickett -college friend of mine- who took this of us a couple months after Mike popped the question.}

Naturally we’re concerned about making the event as low-impact on the environment as possible.  We’re also concerned about other things, like: our budget, having fun, and making sure our guests have fun.

There’s one problem…our families are huge, so our guest list is close to 300 people.  It’s not easy to throw a ‘green’ + ‘budget-friendly’ + ‘off-the-hook-awesome’ party for 300 people!  I’m a little jealous of the couples who get to have small, intimate weddings…BUT I also feel amazingly blessed to know 300 amazing people!  I can’t think anything better than having all the people I love most in the world all together in one place for a whole weekend.

So…The Future Mr. & Mrs. Itty Bitty Impact have their work cut out for them.  After all, we have an image to uphold!  What would all our readers think if they found out we let the bar serve bottled water?  Or what if we served our rehearsal-dinner on paper plates! Or let our guests use paper napkins and drink from plastic cups!  AAAAAAAGH!  The horror!  This isn’t the Speidi wedding!!

{Photo courtesy of Feather Love Photography – You’d think celebrities would be able to afford glassware…}

Anyway, we’re going to do our best to pull off a ‘green’ wedding, and here are some of the measures we’re taking:

1.  We’re emailing our Save the Date announcement instead of sending paper cards

2.  We’re providing the bar with mason jars {no plastic cups will be used} and we’re giving our guests a way to mark their jar so they use the same one all night

3.  Cloth napkins, not paper

4.  Real cutlery, not plastic

4.  Ceremony + reception + accommodations at the same location= less driving around

5.  All decorations will be made by us, plus some helpful friends and family.  Most supplies {table runners, centerpieces, lighting} are being purchased at second-hand stores and reused

6.  As wedding favors, we’re going to make donations to a couple charity organizations

7.  We’re trying to find a caterer that purchases their ingredients from local farmers

Those are all the ideas so far, but we’re constantly coming up with new ways to reduce waste.  It makes the whole planning process a little more challenging, but also more rewarding.  I am happy that we’re going to be able to look back at the wedding and feel good about the way we did everything.

If you’re in the same boat as us, we’d love to hear your story!  Let us know what you’re doing {or did} to reduce waste at your wedding in the comment section.  Sharing ideas and experiences is part of what this blog is all about!

If you’re struggling to come up with ideas for ‘greening’ your wedding, take a look at the following blogs.  I have found them extremely helpful:

Green Wed – Inspiration and practical advice for ‘green brides’

Once Wed – Used wedding dresses for sale, DIY projects, inspiration

Recycled Bride – Buy used wedding dresses, decor, ceremony items, jewelry, etc.

Eco Chic Weddings – Inspiration and tips for keeping your wedding as low-impact as possible

I can’t wait to share stories and pictures of the big day with you all!  We’re really excited to get married and begin the next chapter of our lives together.