{Eco-Chic Weddings} by Emily Anderson

don't have a green wedding

I am not a fan of the "green themed" wedding, as I think I've said before. For me, this is not about a theme...it's about a way of being. Saving resources, including your time and money, and enjoying the process is what it's all about.

Actually Eco-Chic Weddings is a little bit of a misnomer--because the way I define Eco-Chic doesn't necessarily have any connection to "Eco." At lease not in the traditional sense of the word. Eco-Chic Weddings  just seemed like the most expedient title at the time...plus, it's pretty catchy.  But what I really meant to say was "Sustainable Weddings." But at the time (2003), my editor didn't think anyone would "get" the word sustainable.

The idea is to have a wedding to match your lifestyle. We all need to be a bit more of a conscious consumer, and planning a wedding is a great way to start. The person I think about as my "inspiration" is my great-grandmother Sullivan, who was married on Sunday morning after Church in the parlour of her parent's home in Rock Island, Illinois. Following the ceremony, the guests retreated to the backyard for tea sandwiches and punch. Simple, sweet, and quite memorable.

I really don't want you to feel like this is just another layer to add to the already complicated matter of planning a wedding. It is the complete opposite. It is about taking a deep breathe and letting go of expectations, going with what feels natural. (the beautiful image above is from Brown Mouse Photography. Click here for more of their fantastic work.)

Still confused about what "sustainable" is? Click here for Sustainable Table, an excellent reference.

happy saturday + steering clear of crazytown

For those of you checking in this weekend, I'm posting a recent photo of my little girl, Sydney Lucille. She is the light of my life, and as you can see, she is already interested in pretty things...just like her mama.

It's been five years since I met my husband, and it took me a long time to find him. But it was worth the wait, because now I'm with a partner who has the same values that I do. We keep each other balanced. Before we got married, we went to pre-marital counseling, which isn't the same thing as meeting with a priest or rabbi, etc. We actually went to a marriage therapist, and it was probably the best thing we could have done. I highly recommend this to everyone. So how is this related to being eco-chic? You know...keeping your priorities straight, building a strong relationship that's based on love, support, understanding, acceptance...instead of going to crazytown during the wedding planning process. It's all about mindfulness and keeping true to your intention. Trust me, when I look at Sydney's beautiful little face, I never think about how I wore my hair on my wedding day ;)

i'm making some changes...

i hope you don't mind...

i'll leave you with some recent images of sydney lucille gettin' busy with her birthday cake. have a wonderful weekend.
xo emily

bad day got the best of me

I had a bad day yesterday.  But like a little bit of sunlight, I came upon two new sites (new to me anyway). Follow me...
Divas in Pajamas

and then...
Lucky Bean

Merengue in place of a wedding cake? Love it.

{rocky mountain bride} props to my former home state

Okay, not my "home" state, per se, but I did call Colorado home for about 7 years (CU Boulder alumni, former Aspen ski bum)...So imagine my excitement when Rocky Mountain Bride wanted to interview me about green weddings. So apropos because as a student in Boulder, I ditched my car and rode my bike everywhere (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall), became a vegetarian, made my own hummus from scratch (not as easy as you'd think).

I shopped at the wonderful co-op Crystal Market, which was right around the corner from my house. Sometimes I'd go to Alfalfa's...which I always thought was so very fancy... both are now a part of Whole Foods...I actually remember the first Starbucks opening in 1992, they took over an old gas station and I thought that was really cool...the ultimate in recycling.Ever been to Pearl Street Mall? Well, I worked at the Pedestrian Shops all through college...you don't even want to know how many pairs of clogs I had at one time. So now you know why everyone in my life thougth it was total craziness when I moved to New York in 1994 and took a job working at Donna Karan...and why I now find myself striking a careful balance between fashion obsessed and conscious consumerism...

More press and stuff:
Weddingbells
Top Wedding Blogs
Welcome to My World

{weddingbells} features emily + eco-chic weddings

I just love the way this  feature (that I happen to mentioned in) by  Weddingbells  magazine turned out...so pretty, so perfect...

Thank you for making being eco-chic look so beautiful...

more press:
Martha Stewart Radio
New York Magazine
The Today Show

paradise of birds + eco-chic gift ideas

Oh I am having a very frustrating afternoon. I think I messed up the formatting of my blog...so to make myself feel better I'll share this fun find with you--fat finch ...and like a bird I think that so much of my work has been lost, fluttered away with the simple flap of a wing. Sigh.

My favorite memories are of me sitting on my Grandmother's porch watching the birds with her. All of the birdhouses I ever gave her ended up inside her house because she didn't want them to get ruined. Silly Grandma. Silly me for messing up my blog...oh well, I think I fixed it...

the TODAY show today

Yep, it's true. My lovely husband and I had our 15 minutes of fame this am on the TODAY show...or maybe 2 minutes is more appropriate? Whatever, we were a part of the segment this morning about making love last. The other couple are so inspiring, and I  am glad to know there are happily long-time married people out there like them...By the way, I'm not ashamed to say that I BEGGED, begged I tell you, for the producers them to mention the name of my blog/book...alas, it was not meant to be. Dammit Janet...But, you can check the video out for yourself here.
{or here}

Five tips on making love last

welcome to my world

It's been a few days since I've posted...I thought I would pull back the veil, I mean curtain, and share a little more about my world. I have also been blog tagged by a few people lately (Planning Forever Events, Earthfriendly Weddings)...A few things about me you may not know...

1. I like to do as I say: I try to live a sustainable lifestyle in everything I do, from reducing my consumption, to lowering my footprint (shopping thrift stores, using public transportation.)
2. I am very likely to pick-up discarded furniture from the street. I've done this since forever (I used to go on yard sale hunts with my Grandmother Saturdays and Sundays).
3. Because I am a scavenger, I tend to be a little bit of a pack rat; so I do forced editing and organizing on a regular basis. I am constantly giving things to friends, and going to the local donation spot in the neighborhood.
4. I like to make things, witness the beaded necklace made from vintage glass beads, and the silly card with fuzzy the caterpillar. I also remake and repurpose many items...the bird was a holiday decoration, now serves as a curtain tieback on a piece of fabric from the 70's; the only thing new in my daughters room is her crib.
5.Speaking of which, some of you may not know that I have an (almost) 8 month old daughter, Sydney Lucille. I take care of her and work from home. But on beautiful Fall days like today, she gets all of my time because she so loves to be outside in the sun with the breeze on her little happy face.

Sometimes I get pulled in so many directions, opportunities come up out of nowhere, my own sense of drive and purpose accelerates.  This is when I talk to my husband, look at my daughter, take a deep breathe and let it all go. If you're like me, this needs to happen pretty much daily. I hope I help you find a little balance in life, and give you ways to be the person you want to be in the world, because that's all any of this is really about. Peace.

my {eco-chic} wedding anniversary: october 15

Today is my two year wedding anniversary. Hooray! In celebration, I have put together a fall wedding inspiration board, with a couple of snaps from my own wedding. Enjoy! (Check back later for real eco-chic ideas from my wedding...)