October 28, 2010

Gorgeous autumn apple wedding days

Mounds of red apples, shiny greenery and moss all twined onto a ring is a great way to celebrate our beautiful English Apple Season and makes wonderful green wedding decor.

Grab yourself a florist's wreath ring, wire some moss onto the ring then wire up shiny red apples and greenery and tie onto the ring. Hey presto! A gorgeous seasonal welcome door wreath for your wedding guests. Or hang the ring above the bride and groom's places at the reception as a bountiful kissing ring.

You could continue the theme by making apple place names for your wedding guests at each table setting, then add a long mound of moss and apples down the centre of your trestle tables for dramatic wedding reception decorations. Just let your imagination do the work!

Image from Better Homes & Gardens

Posted in Green Wedding Decorations & Details , Inspiration , Seasonal Celebrations

October 25, 2010

Parent problems

Are you having problems seeing eye to eye with your parents over your wedding plans? Do they disapprove of the person you have chosen to marry? Is there a conflict between you and your fiancé's religions? Are they unhappy about your civil partnership?

Would they prefer a traditional, conventional and expensive wedding with their own friends and business colleagues attending, while you prefer the idea of an eco-friendly wedding on a small budget using ethical wedding suppliers in a green wedding venue, maybe a barn dance with your closest friends and family?

Well, a TV production company called TOUCH PRODUCTIONS who specialize in making high-end factual documentaries is looking for you. For more information and to discuss your story in strictest confidence you can email Rosie Bristow rosie@touchproductions.co.uk .

Posted in Green Wedding Civil Partnerships , Health & Wellbeing , Natural Nuptials , Press

October 22, 2010

Meg and Ty's natural wedding

When Meg emailed us back in the spring to let us know how delighted she was with her Abbie Wedding Dress saying "My dress arrived within 5 days of ordering it. I love love love it and just wanted to say thank you sooooo much for your amazing and personable service. You are amazing!" we did sit up a pay attention!

Then she emailed again in the summer to say "The dress was just stunning and made me feel amazing." So we couldn't help but feel a little bit smug and asked Meg to tell us a bit more about how she and husband Ty tied the knot.

You may remember we posted a picture on the blog of her and new husband Ty cutting their cake.

This is what Meg told us about her very natural and relaxed wedding in Datchet in July:

Posted in Green Wedding Dresses & Gowns , Grooms , Natural Nuptials

October 20, 2010

Natural wedding venue in the heart of London

We're over the moon to have WWT London Wetland Centre join our eco friendly wedding directory.

WWT London Wetland Centre is 42 hectares of beautiful lakes, pools and lagoons bringing wildlife and birds to the heart of our capital city.

To find such an amazing habitat so close to central London is unique and this combination of beautiful surroundings and central location (Zone 2) makes it the ideal venue for natural weddings in the city. The Wetland Centre are liscensed to hold civil partnership and marriage ceremonies in some of their buildings while other buildings are fabulous spots for wedding receptions. Venues approved for ceremonies are the Observatory and Wetland Living.

The Observatory can host a maximum of 110 guests and is a beautiful split level, heated observatory with a huge viewing window which has spectacular panoramic views across the reserve.

Wetland Living is a quaint and intimate venue with a thatched roof and white washed walls providing you the perfect location for your event. Licensed for wedding ceremonies the building has a capacity for 42 guests seated or 60 people standing. Where else in London can you have a wedding ceremony surrounded by beautiful wetlands and birds?

This wonderful wildlife and bird sanctuary is situated in Barnes not far from Hammersmith Bridge and smack in the middle of London. It's an inspiration for couples living in London who would prefer to get married in a wilder, more natural environment but don't want to stray too far from home.

If you would like to hold your wedding and/or reception at the London Wetland Centre, please enquire at 020 8409 4400 or functions.london@wwt.org.uk.

Posted in Green Wedding Inspiration , Natural Nuptials , Venues

October 13, 2010

Vintage wedding inspiration

Isn't she just gorgeous? We found her, and hundreds of other beautiful brides, on the V&A's website which has an amazing section dedicated to wedding fashion. If you're searching for wedding dress or bridal gown inspiration for your own wedding, this is the place to go.

In advance of what promises to be a fabulous exhibition of Wedding Dresses in 2013, the V&A is creating a database of photographs of clothes worn for weddings from all cultures between 1840 and the present, also including civil partnerships. The database of wedding fashions that they are building will provide a rich record for posterity.

There's a huge library of wedding photographs already on the site and its growing daily. Go there for wedding trends and inspiration or to upload a wedding that you know would be valuable material for the exhibition and the V&A archives.

For more information on how to participate in the V&A's wedding fashion story go to their website.

Posted in Green Wedding Dresses & Gowns , Events , Inspiration

October 08, 2010

Wedding Fair at Nottinghamshire's green venue

If you're planning to get wed in Nottinghamshire soon then you might find some great ideas at Forever Green's Wedding Fair this weekend.

Forever Green's wedding fair promises to be one to remember. Surrounded by their romantic setting of 70 acres of indigenous woodland, the fair will include live music, fashion shows, bucks fizz on arrival, fantastic goodie bag give aways and all the advice you could need from a top range of exhibitors whose sole aim is to create the most perfect wedding for you.

There's also a great opportunity to win venue hire work £1,200 - an offer that would be hard to turn down!

Entry is just £2.50 and automatically enters you into the prize draw giving you the chance to win venue hire worth £1200. Tickets can be purchased on the door on the day.

What? Wedding Fair
When? Sunday 10th October 2010, 10 am to 4 pm
Where? Forever Green, Near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

For more information about Forever Green go to their website and for information on the wedding fair you can download their visitor brochure from their site.

Posted in Green Wedding Events , Venues

And don't forget PapaKåta's open days this weekend

PapaKåta's Autumn Open Weekend taks places this Saturday and Sunday 9 and 10 October and they tell us they’re looking forward to a great turn out.

PapaKåta are the folks up in Yorkshire who specialise in hiring out Kåta tents. You know, the giant teepees that are made with beautiful cotton canvas and sustainable birch poles and create utterly unique and truly magical party spaces for weddings and events.

Find out more about this event by going to the blog entry.

Posted in Green Wedding Events , Inspiration , Marquees & Tents

Eco-chic city wedding venue throws open its doors

Next weekend the dedicated team at the RSA will be throwing open the doors of the House to showcase their fantastic facilities for Weddings and Civil Partnerships.

Located in the heart of London, the RSA House’s Georgian façade conceals many unexpected delights of contemporary and traditional architecture. Whether you seek the inspiring grandeur of the Great Room or the intimacy of a candlelit ceremony in the Vaults, the RSA really is the most ideal wedding venue in the heart of London if you are planning memorable wedding day.

You won't know just how fabulous this wedding venue is unless you go along and meet the team and their suppliers on Sunday 17th October 2010.

No need to make an appointment, just get along there and find out more about one of London’s best kept secrets.

Contact weddings@rsa.org.uk, T: 020 7451 6815 or visit their website www.theRSA.org to find out more.

What? Open House
Where? RSA House, London WC2
When? Sunday 17th October 2010 11 am till 3 pm

Posted in Green Wedding Events , Venues

October 05, 2010

Ethical flower girl dresses coming soon ...

Isn't she just delicious?

Last week we told you about the new Tammam ethical and fair trade wedding dress range just launched and due to be stocked in our Boutique from January 2011.

Now we're delighted to tell you that we will be also be stocking Lucy's brand new bridesmaid and flower girl dresses too.

As with the wedding gowns, these new frocks will be made in Tammam's atelier in India under fair trade conditions using hand loomed organic cotton and silk fabrics.

These new children's dress designs will be available from January 2011. If you would like to be notified when we have them in stock please email us at info@greenunion.co.uk and we'll put you on the mailing list.

Posted in Green Wedding Dresses & Gowns , Ethical Vendors , Fair Trade , Shop

October 04, 2010

GreenUnion supports the Any Campaign

Through the grapevine we've just heard about a new campaign which we think deserves all the support it can get.

As couples planning eco friendly weddings across England know, one of the most frustrating things is not being able to choose a beautiful spot in a favourite location for their green weddings. If you've always dreamed of tying the knot in a bluebell glade or on top of a mountain, or anywhere else for that matter that does not have a licensed roof then don't hesitate to support this campaign.

ANY: Campaign to Legalise Marriage Anytime Anywhere - is a campaign to legalise marriage ceremonies to be able to take place at anytime, anywhere in the UK. Currently, in England, a wedding ceremony has to take place in a permanent structure between the hours of 8am and 6pm. The aim of 'The Any Campaign' is to enable Brides and Grooms to have the wedding of their dreams!

For further information, visit www.theanycampaign.co.uk. To sign the petition, visit www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/theanycampaign.

Congratulations to the organisers, photographers Tino&Pip. You have everyone at GreenUnion HQ's support.

Oh, and you can also follow the progress of The Any Campaign' on Twitter and Facebook.

Posted in Green Wedding Natural Nuptials , News , Seasonal Celebrations