EcoBride

Eco-Honeymoon

2008-09-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

To compliment our eco wedding we also went on an eco-honeymoon to Costa Rica and just got back early yesterday. We chose Costa Rica for it's rich selection of eco options in a variety of price ranges. Although it is easy to find high end eco-resorts the world over, finding a selection of mid-ranged options can prove to be more challenging.

We started off our self-guided 13 day honeymoon on the Pacific Coast at La Cusinga Lodge www.lacusingalodge.com. We were the only guests there, given that this is the low, rainy season on the Pacific side. We were greeted our first morning with strange animal noises. My husband, Adam thought perhaps that they were sea lions, given that our room overlooked the ocean. We found out the cries belonged to Howler Monkeys, which are found throughout Costa Rica. The food was amazing, the accomdations were great. The resort not only generates most if not all of their own power, but also grows their own food. The cabins offer rustic luxury in a beautiful setting with excellent hiking trails to a beautiful protected beach.

From this quiet area, we travelled through the mountain range to the Caribbean coastal town of Puerto Viejo to Tierra de Suenos Lodge www.tierradesuenoslodge.com, a collection of cabins near the sea. Also deemed an eco-accomodator, is run by Angie & Brenden. This is an excellent location between the fun port town Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge. These affordable cabins offered excellent wildlife viewing opportunities, including monkeys, sloths, marine life, and being close to the nightlife of Puerto Viejo.

After relaxing for a few days in the relaexed pace of the south Caribbean, we spent one night in Tortuguero at Casa Marbella http://casamarbella.tripod.com. The night turtle tour was well worth the visit, along with the following wildlife tour the next morning. While the accomodations were a little basic for a honeymoon, they offer the best guides in the area.

Onto our final destination of Arenal to take in the active volcano at Leaves & Lizards
www.leavesandlizards.com, easily the nicest place of our honeymoon and best value. Hosts Steve & Debbie are actively involved in reforestation projects on their farm and helping neighbours in doing the same. They have thought of all the details, including high thread count sheets, comfortable beds and even a boot warmer after a wet day of horseback riding.

Really any destination can be made eco-friendly, but it takes some simple steps. First, understand where you are going, can you find an eco-accomodator, one who benefits the earth and their community in some respect. It can come in the form of generating their own electricity, growing their own food, using organic ingredients in food and natural cleaners, the list goes on and on. A great place to start is www.ecotourism.org, many countries have boards that rate accomodators for their eco efforts. Don't get lost in the greenwash, look for reviews from others, be it travel writers or through websites, such as www.tripadvisor.com. All of our resorts encouraged reusing towels and linens, one even asked that guests refrain from using energy taxing small appliances such as hair dryers.

When looking into transportation, consider offsetting your travel with a carbon off-set program that will plant trees to help clean the air. If given the choice between air or car, opt for a car, a hybrid one is even better, as the emissions released in the stratosphere by airplanes are more harmful due to their altitude than vehicles, which have an opportunity to be cleaned by the trees around.

When choosing activities, support those that help endagered animals and lands, such as refuges and national and area parks. Utimately taking the time to consider the impact when making decisions regarding your honeymoon will ensure you start your new life on the right foot and ensure it will be a place you and your future children can enjoy at a later date.

Natural Wedding Prep

2008-09-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

Every woman wants to look her best for the big day. Natural beauty prep is not a new area for me, it was the area that I started being more socially conscience as a teenager by only buying cosmetic products that were against animal testing. Over the years I have also learned how sensitive my skin is to most forms of man-made chemicals and as such my bathroom is well stocked with a variety of natural products.

Recently I have started exploring beyond hair products (some of my favourites are Prarie Naturals and Yes to Carrots), trying out mineral make-up, natural deoderants and perfumes made of pure essential oils instead of made in a lab. I've been reading up on how to make my own masks, moisurizers and such and am getting familar how to better take care of my skin both inside and outside through diet and supplements.

Even my nails and toes are going chemical free, with polishes like Zoya which are free of harmful chemicals and are exceptionally long wearing. I have even starting using a nail polish remover made from corn.

As part of looking at my beauty regimen, I realized there are certain areas that I am dependant on repeat consumer products and I looked for ways to find more premanent solutions. A few months ago, I underwent laser eye surgery to remove my need for contact lenses and the solutions and such that go with it. I love being able to see all the time and it is less to pack on the honeymoon. I also explored laser hair removal a few months ago, again to remove my dependance on razors and shaving creams and have made my appointment to have my unwanted hair removed later this week as a surprise for my fiance. With travelling to Costa Rica for our honeymoon and the warnings of safe water usage, reducing my need for shaving and potential complications from using local water to shave seems to be the right way to go and also reducing my need to pack shaving supplies on the honeymoon.

My final beauty appointment before leaving for our honeymoon will be to cut my long locks and donate to Angel Hair for Kids. Donating my hair to this organization will ensure that my locks are used for a wig for a burn or cancer child victim. It also means that my hair needed to remain colour free and healthy, which has been kinder to my sensitive scalp and my wallet.

2008-08-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

Favours, Gifts & Registries

How do you choose an eco-friendly gift? I feel like an expert on this area having spent countless hours scouring for eco gifts or at the very least not destructive by being made irresponsibly or just more junk that will be one day added to a garage sale.

A few friends suggested that we give trees as favours to go along with our eco-wedding. While I love the sentiment of asking guests to plant a tree to mark our future life together, I realize they are not always practical for all guests, particularly those that have a black thumb or live in urban centres away from easy planting areas. We opted instead for organic jam favours, something we know people will use and like, plus it fits with our harvest theme and colours. We picked the strawberries and blueberries ourselves from local organic crops and made the jam with the help of my Mom.

Finding gifts for the wedding party and those who helped was not so easy. Where possible we shoped at fair trade and eco stores. Finding keepsakes that are green can be a challenge. But the fair trade frames, sculptures and even wrapping paper covered a number of people on the list. Where we couldn't buy gifts that were considered green, we tried to at least ensure they were something that would be treasured for years to come, like sentimental children's books for our parents, a small quilt, Xeko eco-card game, attire accessories, insultated wine cooler and bar accessories were some of the items we chose for our wedding party and close family. Finding eco-gifts for men is particularly difficult. Then it comes to how to package them. I opted for gift bags from tree-free greetings and handmade fair trade papers.

To be true to our eco-friendly wedding, we also needed to ensure we chose gifts that appreciate nature. While we kept some of the traditional elements like fine bone china and proper wine glasses which will hopefully be one day passed down, we tried to choose eco-friendly gifts when possible. From bamboo towels and serving bowls, to kayaks and bicycles to help us enjoy our own backyard, we chose gifts that suited us and helped our guests see that there are plenty of cost-effective eco options. With any luck they may consider bamboo at their next purchase, which is softer and four times more absorbant than cotton, not to mention sustainable because of the rate it grows. We also registered with Ten Thousand Villages for beautiful one-of-a-kind gifts for our home and hopefully we will introduce at least a few guests to one of my favourite stores to shop at.

When guests ask me what I want most though, I tell them in all honesty, we wish to renovate the tiny kitchen in our century home and we would very much appreciate Ikea gift cards. Ikea ensures that all their products are FSC (sustainable wood) and flat packed to ensure that they are eco-friendly. We wanted ensure that our kitchen will be made out of sustainable wood and Ikea is our best option for price, quality and moral reasons.

Hopefully we will inspire some of those closest to us to choose green next time when shopping for gifts.

Eco Reception Venue on a Budget

2008-08-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

Trying to keep an eco-wedding on a tight budget as we are can prove to be a real challenge. It is easier to meet green needs when you have more green to spend. For simplicity sake, we wanted a venue that not only offered a beautiful natural outdoor setting for an outdoor ceremony, but also within walking distance of our reception hall. This meant fewer maps needed to be printed for guests and less gas needed to be consumed to get from one place to the other.

We lucked out on a recommendation of a previous co-worker who also happened to be a chef. She highly recommended a cultural club in Breslau, near Kitchener, called the Slovenian Club or Sava Club for short http://www.savaclub.ca/index.html. There simple but nice hall, highly recommended food and kitchen staff and flexibility when it came to bar and menu selection made them a perfect choice. It was not until 6 months or so before the big day that I approached the wedding coordinator Theresa about serving an organic meal and they agreed to work with us on it. We had recently found a fantastic farm store, Well Fed Food http://www.wellfedfood.com/ that we were buying all our meat from. We asked if our wedding meal of beef and chicken could be sourced from here or another organic producer as we were sure our guests would notice the difference as we did (the chicken is the best we have ever tasted!)

Because we are able to bring in our bar (the Sava Club will be supplying the bartenders) the sky is the limit on what we can bring in for wine, beer and liquors. We have chosen to use Peele Island Wines http://www.peleeisland.com/, who uses integrated pest management and promotes eco-business practices. They are excellent, affordable local Ontario wines. The beers are a selection of locally produced beers, many of them also organic. For those who can't get away from the big brands, we are offering Bud Light. Steam Whistle Pilsner will also be on hand and they practice green business like using green bottles (which can be used twice as much as brown bottles), using brownspace for their brewery, hybrid vehicles and biodegradable cups for tastings. Cameron's Cream Ale and Auburn Ale are a few other brews we will have available, Cameron's was recently nomiated for the best green business in Oakville and participates in 100 Mile Diet themed events in southern Ontario. Nickel Brook Organic Lager and possibly Organic White will also be available for guests, using organic ingredients and no preservatives. We may also offer Muskoka Lakes Cottage Breweries Heffe Weissbier, another quality organic brew. Last, but not least a favourite of the groom and the best man is a rich stout made by Hockley Valley, a great local micro-brewery.

The biggest challenge in our eco-bar was finding organic spirits, being that we live in Ontario. The LCBO has very few and expensive options available, however a much wider selection is available just south of the border. We were able to source Juniper Organic Gin here, but we had to travel to Buffalo to pick up Rain Organics Vodka and Papagayo Organic White and Spiced Rums. Organic whisky is not yet readily available here, so instead of importing a European options, we kept it in Canada and purchased the only whisky made by a completely Canadian owned company and made in Ontario, Pure Gold. Where possible, we are sourcing organic and natural juices to round out the ecobar.

We are having the traditional wedding photos following the ceremony, so we were fortunate in that our hall had a nice large lot attached including Bocce Ball and Horseshoe courts to keep our guests entertained while we snuck off for wedding photos. We are also including a few other games to keep guests entertained, like mini-putt and badminton. Our wedding guests can also enjoy the park where the ceremony will take place or follow us a very short drive down the road where some stunning trails along the Grand River are located.

Natural Wedding Attire

2008-07-29T11:03:00.001-07:00

For our wedding attire, cost, natural materials and reusability was key. I was fortunate to find my dress during my first trip out. A sensual Italian silk dress, off-the-rack which was half price. Because of its simple lines, it is possible I could wear it again, especially if it can be dyed post wedding (which remains to be seen.)

The wedding jewellery again were items I can see wearing again. Some of the accessories, like my wrap and brooch which ties the wedding colours and the wedding party attire, were bought from Novica.com, a website selling fair trade items.

For the groom's attire, we selected a designer wool suit, buying it just after Christmas when it was half price. Adam commented on how much better the wool suit felt versus the synthetic materials and it is something he can wear for many years to come.

Planning an Eco Wedding

2008-07-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

We are only a month and a half away from our wedding and like any bride I am struggling to get through a massive to do list. I feel fortunate in having an event planning background and with that the confidence to plan a budget eco-wedding. Over the course of our two years of planning, I realize that often it would be easier and sometimes cheaper to plan a wedding like everyone else. But my fiance, Adam and I are not like anyone else. We were united through a love of many things, rock music, pets, living a healthy lifestyle, which led both of us to start challening one and other to live in a more environmentally-friendly way.

When we started wedding planning, we realized that we did not want an expensive and lavish day as many girls dream about. I had been married once before and my fiance was engaged once before. We would rather have a simple and elegant affair and ensure there was money left over to enjoy a nice honeymoon. In many respects planning an eco-wedding can be more cost effective than planning a regular wedding. The holders for our table numbers for example are pinecones which fell on my parent's property and cost us and the earth nothing, unlike ones found in party supply stores. But in other ways it has been more costly and time consuming. Rather than renting a traditional tux, we bought a designer wool suit for the groom's attire, a natural material that will be used time and time again. Every decision was made from a different perspective than in traditional wedding planning and often we are using vendors who are not wedding vendors.