eco-chic weddings: ever-evolving
From Martha Stewart to Eco-Chic Weddings...
(image: Martha Stewart.)
My book, Eco-Chic Weddings, was released in December 2006; However, the idea for it was born in 2003, while I was working as the Event Director at Martha Stewart Living.
The amount of wasted material, time, and energy involved in planning the average wedding really bothered me. Weddings had become almost a joke--with bridezilla being the operative word. I personally find the term bridezilla incredibly offensive...so I hatched the idea that maybe if I could demystify eco-choices, and add the style factor, then couples everywhere would be inspired to make better choices.
Eco-Chic Weddings was not an original idea--Michelle Kozin's Organic Weddings, and Carol Reed Jones' Green Weddings That Don't Cost The Earth, are both books that hit the scene several years prior to my idea for Eco-Chic Weddings. But I wanted to put a special chic spin on the idea. I was determined to show everyone how easy it is to make chic choices that also happen to be eco-friendly, and socially just. Still, both of those original books were like a little bird on my shoulder singing "tweet-tweet, this is a good idea."
When I did my research for the book, it was 2005, and there was very little out there...I did a lot of educating, trying to convince vendors--florists, caterers, stationers, designers--that going green was imperative, that it was only a matter of time before the consumer started to demand .
(tablescape: Lynn Butler Beling, theproductgallery.com)
Martha Stewart was an obvious inspiration for the book. Although the term "eco" wasn't specifically used in those crafty halls, it was, and is, truly the spirit of the company. The many lessons I learned from Martha inform Eco-Chic Weddings through and through. Martha, after all, is the champion of the well-made, beautifully made, homemade lifestyle. She always urged us to do things the right way. To infuse everything idea and project with integrity and beauty.
My second book, What to Do When Changing A Lightbulb Isn't Enough, will be released later this summer. And yes, I went from "Weddings" to "Popular Mechanics." Hey, even the chic needs a dash of practical...;)
I am wrapping up production on my third book, which takes Eco-Chic Weddings to the next logical stage, the home. I am lucky to be working with the talented husband wife team Kendra and Seth Smoot. This book will be released in Spring of 2010.
(Etsy seller ChelseaVanTol)
I hope you will enjoy the Eco-Chic Weddings blog, and please get a copy of the book. It is filled with original ideas and resources for to help you create a beautiful day, and a beautiful world.
yours in eco chic-ness,
Emily
