Wedding breakfast inspiration

Are you spending the weekend planning for your ethical wedding this time next year?

Here's a little seasonal foodie inspiration for your eco friendly wedding menu:

'Tis the season for asparagus, globe artichokes, broad beans, spinach, beetroot, radishes, broccoli, peas, horseradish, runner beans, fennel, Cornish earlies, spring onions, lettuce, stawberries and cream, gooseberries, cherries, rhubarb, elderflowers, spring lamb, wood pigeon, line-caught sea bass, lobster, halibut, john dory, herring, plaice, lemon sole, crab, line-caught mackerel, pollack and sardines.

If you're not sure how to find someone to source and dish up a delicious seasonal feast then look no further than our directory of Caterers, Food and Drink.

Tuck in and enjoy a feast of locally grown seasonal British food!

Posted in Green Wedding Caterers, Food & Drink , Inspiration

Beautiful Tents for Hire

We're really excited to welcome Hooes Yurts to GreenUnion to swell our growing number of fantastic mobile eco wedding venues country wide.

The tents are based on the Mongolian Yurt (or Ger) and are constructed from timber and canvas. They look gorgeous form the outside and, once inside, they feel solid, sumptuous and welcoming, creating a perfect space for a green wedding. Yurts are wonderfully versatile with no central poles or guy ropes to trip up the unsuspecting wedding guest and they can be used individually or linked together for bigger events. Hooes offer 24ft, 18ft and 14ft yurts that can be connected together to create different shaped venues for up to 200 people like this eco chic wedding palace pictured above.

And it doesn't stop there either. Not only do they supply you with the yurts, but their offer is second to none with a choice of other services. Amy is passionate about decorating the yurts with beautiful textiles and furniture and she personally selects all her furnishings with care and love from around the world. Often the pieces are vintage and they have always been purchased fairly. Each yurt has its own individual design and colour theme but all have a uniting style with sumptuous interiors which are exotic and vibrant.

Posted in Green Wedding Decorations & Details , Inspiration , Marquees & Tents

Celebrate St. George's Day!

THE TRUE DRAGON

St George was out walking
He met a dragon on a hill,
It was wise and wonderful
Too glorious to kill

It slept amongst the wild thyme
Where the oxlips and violets grow
Its skin was a luminous fire
That made the English landscape glow

Its tears were England’s crystal rivers
Its breath the mist on England’s moors
Its larder was England’s orchards,
Its house was without doors

St George was in awe of it
It was a thing apart
He hid the sleeping dragon
Inside every English heart

So on this day let’s celebrate
England’s valleys full of light,
The green fire of the landscape
Lakes shivering with delight

Let’s celebrate St George’s Day,
The dragon in repose;
The brilliant lark ascending,
The yew, the oak, the rose

Brian Patten - via English Hertitage

Posted in Green Wedding Inspiration

7 Green ways to personalise your wedding for Earth Day 22 April 2008

Here is our final suggestion in our series of seven green ways to personalise your eco chic wedding to celebrate Earth Day which is today!

MAKE IT SMALL
Keeping your wedding small will not only create an intimate and personal affair, but also means fewer resources will be used all round, so saving the planet and your purse.

Have a truly earth friendly wedding and just pitch up to the registry office with a bunch of friends then entertain them all to a delicious meal of locally produced food, a barbeque on the beach or a picnic in the woods, very personal and fun for all - no headaches about what to wear, how to get there, where to stay. Go one step further and get your guests to each bring a dish, your wedding breakfast and wedding gifts all in one!

Posted in Green Wedding Inspiration

Seven green ways to personalise your wedding day - Day 6

EDIBLE FAVOURS
Will always be a hit, so give your guests a taste of the region. For instance make your own Devon clotted cream fudge and pack in little boxes with personalized labels. Or preserve your own jam in recycled jam jars with fruit from your family garden (or a pick your own farm nearby) and give everyone a little jar to take home. Buy local and regional tasty goodies like Scottish shortbread and repackage in recycled paper boxes to suit your own green wedding style.

The possibilities are endless so let your creative juices flow and produce a really personal and eco friendly thank you gift for all your wedding guests to take away. If you don't feel quite so creative you can find some charming ethical wedding gifts and favours here.

Posted in Green Wedding Gifts & Favours , Inspiration

Seven green ways to personalise your wedding day - Day 5

CREATE
Your own cocktail as a post-ceremony drink. With the tastiest fruits being grown here in the UK, there's no excuse not to find one that suits your eco friendly wedding day. Combined with fruit juices from the countryside you should be able to design a sublime cocktail of your own. Seek out locally produced drinks like ginger beer, elderflower bubbly, pressed organic apple juice, raspberry lemonade and pear juices.

And just to get you going here are a couple of delicious cocktail recipes from Luscombes Organic Drinks who make the best drinks in Devon using only the freshest ingredients and leaving out all the nasties:

Elderflower Spritzer
Pop some ice and 75ml of white wine in a glass and top up with Luscombe Wild Elderflower Bubbly. Deliciously divine!

Countryside
In a glass, muddle together 12 sprigs of mint, 2 lime wedges and 12.5ml Sirop de Gomme. Top with crushed ice and pour over 50ml of Hendricks Gin. Top it all up with Luscombe Apple & Elderflower juice and stir. Cool and crisp.

Posted in Green Wedding Caterers, Food & Drink , Inspiration

Seven green ways to personalise your wedding day - Day 4

Only a few days to go before the Spring Equinox and Earth Day on April 22nd, so we thought it an appropriate time to highlight seven green ways to personalise your wedding day. On day four we suggest you:

CELEBRATE
Your love for one another by choosing a personalised ceremony, in line with your own beliefs. This can mean heaps more to most couples than the 'standard' one conducted by the registrar. The ceremony could be as simple as standing amongst family and friends to proclaim your committment to one another. You could use symbolic elements from traditional ceremonies like the Handfasting, an old English marriage ceremony where your hands are symbolically tied together with ribbons. Or you could choose a ceremony from the country of your origin somewhere else in the world, combining your different backgrounds.

However you choose to conduct your eco wedding ceremony, whether it's in a beautiful wood, under a special tree, a spot on the beach, in your favourite room or even the place in the city that means the most to you, it will be meaningful and personal to you both.

Our directory of wedding venues has some fantastic places where you could choose to hold your earth friendly wedding ceremony. And they are all run by beautiful people too!

Posted in Green Wedding Inspiration , Natural Nuptials

Seven green ways to personalise your wedding day - Day 3

The Spring Equinox and Earth Day on April 22nd are getting closer day by day, so we thought it an appropriate time to highlight seven green ways to personalise your wedding day. On day three we suggest you:

SAVE ON PAPER
Save on paper by setting up a personal green wedding website which has every single bit of information about the wedding - the venue, transport, timeline, menu, wedding list details, accommodation, things to do in the area, and how to get there. Ask your guests to RSVP by email.

Make it really personal and find a designer from our list of incredibly talented stationary designers here and commission one to create your own eco-chic wedding stationery design, then have it hand printed on recycled paper.

Posted in Green Wedding Inspiration , Stationery & Invitations

Seven green ways to personalise your wedding day - Day 2

Not long 'till the Spring Equinox and Earth Day on April 22nd, so we thought it an appropriate time to highlight seven green ways to personalise your wedding day. On day two we suggest you:

GO SEASONAL
As well as choosing seasonal food, which is a no brainer when you're planning an ethical wedding, seasonal flowers will give your decorations an 'of the moment' feel. Talk to your florist about what's available locally and seasonally, or ask someone to grow flowers for you. You'll end up with blooms that that are completely unusual and look absolutely stunning.

We often hear from couples planning a green wedding who are worried about the ethics of using cut flowers. You shouldn't be, flowers are a natural process in the lifecycle of a plant. Most cultivated plants are 'deadheaded' (where blooms are removed) in order to allow the plant to grow strong and encourage more blooms during its flowering season. Just make sure you arrange to have all your flowers composted once they're past their best. Recycling the material back into the soil will encourage more blooming marvelous displays season after season.

Wild flowers, on the other hand should never be picked. They must be left in their natural habitat to do what they do best.

Find out more about locally grown, seasonal, fairtrade and organic flowers from our experts.

Posted in Green Wedding Flowers , Inspiration

Seven green ways to personalise your wedding day - Day 1

With a week to go before the Spring Equinox and Earth Day on April 22nd we thought it an appropriate time to highlight seven green ways to personalise your wedding day. So here goes for day one:

GO LOCAL
And order hand made, bespoke wedding outfits. A unique gown or suit made by a local designer/dressmaker or tailor can make your outfits really personal. Admittedly it's a more expensive option than off-the-peg or hiring, but you will want to look really gorgeous and more importantly you can make sure it's something you will both want to wear again.

There will be a talented dress maker living close to you who can create a beautiful made-to-measure wedding gown tailored especially for you using organic and natural fabrics. Some may offer a couture collection to choose from, others will work to your own design. Find talented and affordable wedding dress designers and makers in our directory.

Posted in Green Wedding Dresses & Gowns , Inspiration

Handmade weddings

If you're stuck for ideas and looking for a source of inspiration, look no further than the Handmade Wedding Series just started over at Etsy. The folk there are partnering up with some super-talented guest bloggers and Etsy sellers to explore the world of weddings and bring you the best ideas and resources in handmade: everything from custom-designed dresses to decor that suites your style.

They're going to write about loads of useful stuff on how to bring handmade elements to your wedding, whether it’s by sharing ideas for making things or by highlighting some great handmade and vintage items on the site. So check them out from time to time, you'll be inspired!

Photo by julieincharge

Posted in Green Wedding Inspiration , News

5 easy ways to throw a greener celebration

Buy local.
Choosing local products and services will save your pocket and the planet!

Eat seasonal.
Locally grown and seasonal food is good for you and the earth.

Reduce flower miles.
Decorate with local grown, fairly traded flowers and plants.

Honeymoon at home.
Take advantage of your beautiful country, support local tourism.

Spread your love.
Register with a charity gift list or commission a local artisan.

Posted in Green Wedding Inspiration

Love is in the air

Well, Valentine's Day has finally arrived and I wonder if you decided how to mark the day? There can be no better way to do this than to give the love of your life a big hug and a kiss and tell them how much you love them. Later buy some fresh seasonal food and knock together the simplest and tastiest of meals to share with your love over a candlelit table for two with your favourite tracks in the background. There that was easy and didn't cost a penny - or no more than you would normally have spent on your evening meal. And if you want to make it really special plan a train ride into the countryside this weekend and take a walk in the glorious sunshine, see the spring flowers popping up everywhere and listen to the birdsong.

Posted in Green Wedding Inspiration

Today is Diwali

If you ever needed an excuse to have a wedding theme based on lights, then this is it. Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, the most popular of all the festivals from South Asia which is also celebrated by Jains and Sikhs.

Traditionally the festival celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance but The Times of India sums up the modern meaning of Diwali:

'Regardless of the mythological explanation one prefers, what the festival of lights really stands for today is a reaffirmation of hope, a renewed commitment to friendship and goodwill, and a religiously sanctioned celebration of the simple - and some not so simple - joys of life.' Times of India editorial

Could you think of a better package for a wedding celebration?

For a truly green wedding, seek out the little earthenware oil lamps called diyas and line the windowsills of your venue with them (after your big day you can recycle them or add them to the compost heap), soya candles and tealights are the next best thing or, if you can't use a naked flame then invest in strings of LED lights which burn only a miniscule amount of electricity. If there's a pond, lake or little stream at your venue, push floating candles out onto the water and make a wish.

Draw a Rangoli pattern on the floor at the entrance to your ceremony to welcome your new life and your guests to the wedding.

Here's a simple and easy idea for making your own decorative eco friendly safe candles for your wedding using recycled glassware and soya wax:

Posted in Green Wedding Decorations & Details , Inspiration

Blaze of glory

As the autumn season goes out in a blaze of glory, I wanted to celebrate this favorite time of the year by showing you this gorgeous leaf wreath made by Jane Lindsay at Snapdragon Garden. This could give you all sorts of ideas for a colour scheme if you're thinking of a autumn wedding or if you just love golds and reds. And check out how the blue of the bench can be used as a highlight to really emphasise the glowing shades of autumn.

Use dahlias, lillies, chrysanthemums and sunflowers. Throw in peppers, squashes, apples, seeds, conkers, chestnut cases or grapes for texture. Top it all off with glowing candles and you'll have the richest of decorations.

Posted in Green Wedding Flowers , Inspiration

Vintage inspiration

If you're in London over the weekend take time out to visit the Designer Wedding Show in Battersea Park, Friday through Sunday. It's here that all the top wedding suppliers strut their stuff. You'll find a lot of very expensive products and, I admit, some of rather dubious origin and not all eco friendly, but you will also find some absolute indie gems. Exceptional and exquisitely small, but perfectly formed businesses that believe in supplying you with the very best they can offer. These businesses are passionate about their ethics and go that extra mile to make eco chic.

A couple of our favourite partners will be there and Samantha Freeman of Idyllic Days will be showcasing her vintage chinaware to die for. If you're thinking of throwing an English country garden party, fete or afternoon tea style wedding day (a great concept for a green wedding), then go and check out her gorgeous mix and match vintage tableware and accessories. As well as hiring you the china, she can also help you style your whole day with cotton bunting and flowers too. The height of recycling chic.

Posted in Green Wedding Inspiration , News

Samhain or Hallowe'en?

Samhain (pronounced 'sow'inn'), at the end of October, marks the beginning of a whole new cycle for the Celts, where they believe that in dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of seeds below ground. For Christians, 31 October is Hallowe'en or All Hallow's Eve and 1 November is All Saints' Day. Many faiths mark this time of the year as one of significant change - Hindus celebrate Navarati and Muslims mark the end of Ramadan with Eid-Ul-Fitr.

The harvest has been gathered in, the animals sheltered for the winter and its a joyous time as families come together for warmth and to chase away the spirits with bonfires and feasts. What a wonderful time for a loving union of souls - a time of new beginnings, warmth, golden light, apples and nuts, loved ones are remembered.

For your late Autumn green wedding think gorgeous, glowing golds and reds, candle light, flares and bonfires for atmosphere. Roasted chestnuts, delicious squash soup, poached pears and baked apples, spices and mulled cider. Hot toasted sausages, baked potatoes and apple pie. Do I need to go on...

Posted in Green Wedding Inspiration , Seasonal Celebrations