Erie Weddings at Erie Blogs

I’ve decided to try to do “Theme Weeks” for Little Details.  Last week’s theme was “Let Them Eat Cake.”  This week’s theme is Green and Eco Friendly Weddings.  How did you make your wedding green?  How did you eliminate wedding waste?  Share your story here!

Green Wedding Transport has a few suggestions on reducing air pollution which include buses, horse and carriage, and walking (yep, two feet and a heartbeat!):

With dozens or even hundreds of guests coming to your wedding, you will end up with a lot of cars to park at the church and the reception. That also means a lot of pollution being added to the atmosphere, just for your wedding!

Of course, a great way to eliminate wedding waste is to use recycled items in your wedding– whether you alter your mom’s wedding gown or purchase someone else’s from sites like ebay, there are so many options!  And honey, you’re wedding will be special, but chances are, if you have thought of it, someone else has too!  A lot of brides upload post-wedding pictures on sites like the Wedding Bee.  Don’t hesitate to contact them because they may have a basement full of paper lanterns they would like to let go of!

 Earth Friendly Weddings has great suggestions on making your wedding green. The image to the left is from their site which shows how you can make plain ole grass a really neat touch to your wedding that will be quite memorable.  Earth Friendly Weddings is about to launch Earthly Affair Invitations this December!

Most all women LOVE diamonds.  Have you ever seen the movie “The Blood Diamond,” staring Leonardo DiCaprio?  That should make you think twice about buying diamonds from politically corrupt diamond mining countries. You must read this article to learn more: Blood Diamond: Every Bride’s Best Friend. 

Great Green Weddings has many great links on Fair Trade Diamonds.  While the stories behind diamond mining have become more mainstream, we cannot forget how bad gold is!  No Dirty Gold has interesting facts that may make you think twice before using gold for you wedding band or engagement rings.  According to their site,  gold mining is one of the dirtiest businesses in the world. The production of one  gold ring results in 20 tons of mine waste.  That sounds a bit excessive but if it’s true, all I can say is “wow.”

OK– enough of the mood killing.  This is a wedding site– Let’s get happy!  If you want to read more about ways to make your wedding green, here are some additional links:

http://www.aisledash.com/2007/10/15/the-powerful-power-less-wedding-reception/

http://www.wedalert.com/content/articles/Green_Wedding_Tips.asp

It’s unofficially Wedding Cake week at Little Details.  This week has been all about cakes– from cupcake tiers to how to show off your cake. 

You must check this out: Cake Rental.  Rent part of your wedding cake and save money while not comprimising on style! Here’s an excerpt from their site. 

How Does It Work?
You can choose from many pre-designed cakes or you can design your own. You pay for
the service and a deposit for the cake. The whole package will be shipped to you prior to
the wedding date in a specially designed sturdy wooden box. You slide out the cake,
place the edible portion during the wedding day and have your fun. After the wedding day,
you slide the cake back into its box, drop it off at any UPS store (or ask for pickup) and
that’s it! As soon as we receive the box, we refund your deposit.

Would you consider this cake rental concept?  I’m thinking of trying it!

Do you have 20 paper lanterns leftover from your wedding?  Perhaps you purchased 150 chargers to get a custom look for your table decor and now have a box full of chargers you will never use.  If you have leftover wedding items and are interested in giving them away or selling them to other couples, tell us about them.  Your wedding was expensive, why not get some money back?

I love the way a bride from Wedding Bee made her cake stand out!  I love this look.  You can check out this non-Erie brides wedding website at: The Knot.  Her location is simply amazing and I am quite jealous that Erie lacks unique garden venues.  I have not made it out to Goodell Gardens yet, but perhaps when they are done with their plans, Erie brides can have great garden weddings.

Tell us your wedding story!  By leaving a comment with your email address, you will receive some simple tips for sharing your wedding story with other Erie couples.

I was researching wedding customs to see how some of these crazy things got started.  I came across a really entertaining– and informative– article.  See: Where Did That Come From?  A Top 11 List of Wedding Customs.  Many of the traditions are seemingly barbaric while some are just plain silly.  Some of these customs come from ancient Roman days.

11. Wedding Cake

Did you know that wedding cakes used to be made with no frosting at all? And forget about butter cream, strawberries, or mocha flavored cakes. These cakes were made of wheat and barley, and then broken over the Bride and Groom’s HEADS as a symbol of her fertility. Huh? How does having cake all over your head mean you will be fertile? Oh well. Hey people, I didn’t write this stuff, I’m just the messenger. Anyway, after the cake was broken over the heads of the couple, guests would scramble around trying to get a piece of the cake for “good luck.” Yum yum. Cake that has been on someone’s scalp AND on the floor. In later years, it became tradition to stack many smaller cakes as highly as possible in a tower. The bride and groom would then try to kiss over the cakes without knocking any of them down. If they did knock them down, they would be killed instantly. Just kidding. Making sure you were paying attention. During the reign of King Charles II of England, bakers began adding icing ..and the modern day version of a wedding cake was born. Interestingly enough, I could not find any ancient reasoning behind the “smashing of the cake.” It looks like this is just one of those things that we Americans picked up from ourselves. So you see? Even in ancient times when women were bought and sold by men and carried kicking and screaming over the threshold to their new husbands; even these people had the good sense to know that you don’t smash cake into your new wife’s face. That would certainly bring on Evil Spirits.

The tier cake is by far the most popular type of wedding cake.  Recent trends have made cupcakes more popular.  What do you think about wedding cupcakes?  Read more about these cupcakes and the new wedding trend: cupcakes.

I really like when there is a small wedding cake on top of a cupcake tier.  Here’s another example:

Wedding cake trends: cupcake towers - amateur’s best friend?

You know this, right? The latest thing in wedding cakes - and by, “latest thing,” I mean, “the fashion that began in Martha Stewart Weddings years ago and has now landed firmly in middle American weddings” - is to set cupcakes on wedding-style cake tiers. They can be artsy or prosaic, bold and beautiful or pasty pastel.

I am always looking for people to Guest Blog about their Erie wedding experiences. Speak up if you would like to share your story with Erie couples.  Whether you were the mother of the bride, maid of honor, or groom, sharing your experience could really help others.  I’m also interested in vendors– whether you have tips for couples looking for service in your industry or want to show us some pictures (and it’s good for your business, too!).

Yesterday, we told you about the Bridesmaid Survival Kit.  Today, we are pleased to announced a new blog series called Memoirs of a Perpetual Bridesmaid at the Brown Sugar Design Blog.  Bridesmaids-to-be should definitely check this series out.

 Here’s what Brown Sugar Design had to say:

Over the next couple of months, we’ll be featuring posts from a special guest blogger: The Perpetual Bridesmaid. This is a special project inspired by the “Always a Bridesmaid” contest put on by Brides.com (thanks for posting about it, Liene!). When I saw the contest, I immediately thought of a dear friend that has been in a slew of weddings (including my own). She has a unique perspective on the “sidelines” stuff - choosing bridesmaid dresses, planning bridal showers, buying wedding gifts, and the like.

So, (drumroll please), she’s agreed to join Jonathan and I and will, over the next couple of months, be blogging from her viewpoint! I can’t wait to read some of her battle-tested ideas and tips. Keep an eye out for these posts, for this will be a limited engagement (no bridal puns intended).

If you need some modern wedding inspiration, the blog “Brooklyn Bride - trying to have a modern wedding in a world of pink flowers and poofy dresses” is a must read.

Today’s Post is a great show-and-tell of creative boutonnieres.   It’s the Little Details that makes wedding special.  This is a great tip for a unique touch that will have your guests admiring your creativity. Read the post on boutonnieres.  Don’t forget to bookmark the site!

Brides are not the only people stressed during a wedding.  It can be stressful to be a bridesmaid.  Check out this kit which will give the bridesmaid and bride peace of mind that any fashion emergency can be solved quickly.  Available through WishingFish.com. 

IT KEEPS THE WEDDING PARTY GOING!  Bridesmaids are there to support the bride in every way. But who helps them when they face a minor emergency? Enter The Bridesmaid’s Survival Kit. This compact collection of 18 essentials comes in a discreet, silver-tone mesh case so that ladies can keep it within reach all wedding day (or night) long. Kit contains:

• Folding Hair Brush with Mirror
• Hair Spray
• Clear Elastics
• Bobby Pins
• Earring Backs
• Emery Board
• Clear Nail Polish
• Mending Kit
• Double-Sided Tape
• Stain Remover
• Static Remover
• Breath Freshener
• Deodorant Wipe
• Tampon
• Adhesive Bandages
• Pain Reliever
• Handkerchief
• Dancing Socks

The matching gift tag reads: “Thanks for being my bridesmaid. I couldn’t have survived without you.”

In honor of Blog Action Day, I wanted to post a link for you to read:

What’s the Big Deal?

A wedding is one of the most important days in a couple’s life. If you care about the planet, why not integrate your principles into your big day? With the average cost of a US wedding running at around $20,000 it seems obvious that weddings have a huge footprint, both ecological and economical. Going green doesn’t mean you have to compromise on your big day, though. By taking a look at the bigger picture, you can move beyond the usual decadence and consumption to create a truly personal, moving, and sustainable celebration that people will remember for years. You may even open a few eyes in the process…

Read on: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/04/how-to-green-your-wedding.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH9IOH_xYdI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zTmpUnje_0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8JbFkZZugU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZga4027kxo