I'm a little behind on my blogging, I have to admit. Wedding planning is an entirely different animal than the other events I've thrown. It's all the "little" things that go into this ritualized celebration that take so much time. You need to research, make decisions, decide, possibly go back and forth several times between you and your to-be spouse, vendors, family, etc. So ... anything that makes life a little easier (and of course, greener) is welcome by me. I am proud to present to you, MyRegistry.com !
 

MyRegistry.com or "MR" as the company abbreviates for branding, is a treasure. It allows you to pick out items from ANY online store, enabling you to obviously have more of a selection but also it eliminates the redundant work you might have to do to register in several places for the items you want or "need" (if we're breathing and can manage a smile, what more do we really "need"?). If you don't know, I would say most of us greenies fall under the "LOHAS" demographic. Visit their website for more information, however, it basically means 1 out of every 4 of us may be a conscious consumer. Last time I checked, 25% did not create a majority, although it is a significant percentage. My point being, I feel like it is very hard to find everything a greenie would want on any one green online website. I created one for our wedding, and my bridal shower. Here is a list of the websites of the conscious companies we chose items from:


Gaiam
Vivaterra.com
Greennest.com
Greenfeet.com
Matteriashop.com
Yankodesign.com
Inhabitatshop.com
Ttheultimategreenstore.com
Buildanest.com
Cc-dt.com
Eatorganicpanties.com
Eberjey.com
Econsciousmarket.com
Elementskateboards.com
Enamore.co.uk
Greenknickers.org
Mcssl.com
Naturalluxe.com
Noblivity.com
Theokobox.com
Toms.com
Urbanfoxeco.com
Us-appliance.com
Rre-modern.com
Solarovens.org
Ttenthousandvillages.com
Worldofgood.com
Uncommongoods.com
Green & Greener

MR made this easy on us. All of the items are on one registry site. When people ask, we only send them there. The beauty however is that your guests will still be redirected to the site that the item will actually come from. I am all about subtle education through exposure. I don't want to be high pressure ... this is a way for our friends and family to become familiar with our living values, see that there are not only green products out there alternative to non-eco options, but where these items can be bought at any time. I partially took it upon myself to try and expose as many companies as possible with this rationale. As you will see, we do have several items on our registry but also several green companies :) So much for "reduce" I guess, but we are trying to replace old items that need to go. We will be donating all of our old items to the most appropriate agencies -old bedding, for instance, will go to Blankets4Buddies.


So where's the green? Well, it's not like they offer any offset to the shipping, like a company such as Better World Books, but again it allows you to choose where you want your items from (so pick conscious companies my greenies :) but also, it allows you to send out nice looking digital announcements and thank you cards! So it helps you cut down on A) Effort :), B) Gas from transport but most importantly, C) PAPER!


When an item has been bought for you, you get an email alert. So easy. I'm so grateful!


What if you don't want gifts? MR will allow you to set up a "fund" -we have one for our honeymoon :) This ties into the last thing that I find really great is, that a non-profit can either set up a registry or fund. For a baby non-profit like mine, Green Wave, this will make our charity easy and green. I actually set one up for Green Wave already. If you're feeling in the spirit to give, although we'll always take money, we are looking for fair trade soccer balls, a projector and screen, and some documentaries. You can check that out by visiting a either of our registries online. Get acquainted with it, and fall in love with it ... MyRegistry.com is definitely a MR right :)


Learn more about Janine at Green Wave

You can follow me on Twitter @GreenGeisha
Green Wave: www.InspiringWavesofChange.org

It's standard for any event ... you must have a team.

I'm lucky, I have a couple friends from high school that started a green wedding consulting company, Green With Envy events. If you have never planned an event before, I would highly recommend you use such a service and plan a minimum of one year out. I am used to planning fundraisers with less than two months time, but really ... the wedding planning has been the hardest event I've ever planned -and it's still not done!

So here's my tips!

1) Hire a Green Wedding Consulting service - you will not regret it. They will work with your budget -whatever you can get from them will help you immensely if not just for ideas. Sometimes you need a 3rd party "professional" to mediate the ideas with your better half ;)

2) Choose your friends! You will have girls that want to help; use them, regardless of their green level. This is your opportunity to convert your friends if not already greenies or make them even greener! You have the opportunity to challenge your team to bring your wedding to a whole new eco-level!

3) Lay down some laws! It depends on what you want. Maybe you are not the Green Queen but you have a friend that is -put that person in charge! If you are the Green Queen, then communicate clearly to your family and friends that are helping you out not only your ideas, but absolute laws. For instance, I had to tell my mom she was not allowed to make impulse purchases unless she could qualify the purchase by knowing the product was sourced responsibly meaning a minimum of fair trade or made in the U.S., reusable, recyclable, and preferably biodegradable. This law has helped significantly!

4) Resources ... you will have your family and friends wanting to help you. They, regardless of their eco-mindedness will sometimes get distracted and want to pick up magazines or books. Here's some rules on resources: use your library, if some book is not available except for purchase please try to use www.BetterWorldBooks.com first, and go online! You can find almost anything online. Start with blogs such as The Green Girls, The Green Bride Guide, Green With Envy, Eco-Luxe Living, Eco Stilletto, The Offbeat Bride. You will find suggestions for how a green wedding goes and from there start typing your wishes into Google's search engine and see what you can find!

5) Challenge your Team! Regardless of their experience in any field, challenge your team to raise the bar if that is important to you. There are many events leading up to the actual wedding, all of which count. Rethink everything and every step. How can you make every motion, every moment as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible.

So who's on my team?

• Right hand woman, leading lady: My Mom!
• Monica Salazar of Green Addict & Rainforest Action Network: General ideas, support, and location for after wedding party in L.A.
• Christine Johnson: My sister, she's my maid of honor, in charge of engagement photos and website www.christinemonet.com
• Phu Styles eco-friendly celebrity stylist (She dressed the people from The Cove for the Academy Awards, as well as Ken for the Grammy's): Wardrobe for myself, wedding party, and my darling fiance
• Demesha Hardy (long time friend and eco: Make-up and hair
• Amy Tan (Treespace Studio): Save the Dates, Invitations, and wedding topper
• Laura Rankin (Green With Envy Events): Bridal shower
• Ann Murray (life long vegetarian and PR): Bachelorette Party

Learn more about Janine at Green Wave

Green with Envy already posted about my ring, however, they did not have the actual photo. So here it is, my beautiful engagement ring approved by Ken, and inspired by one of Liza Shtromberg’s designs; an Austrailian champagne diamond made with 100% certified recycled platinum.
 

Rings symbolize sustainability. They symbolize the circle of life, that life goes full circle. There is no actual destination. Engagement is not an end, and similarly, once you are married you have not arrived at any finality yet have entered just another phase of your life. Rings are a “take me as I am and as I will forever be, whatever that is” or a “journey with me”. To me, marriage or any long term relationship is “real”. You must lose the delusion or expectation of future. You can dream, yet you must accept the path, enjoy the ride.

The journey toward world sustainability is the same. It is not a destination but a path. It teaches you that life goes full circle. It’s a compact with life, a philosophy, a covenant. Take me, Life, seriously. Honor me, cherish me, enjoy me, but sacrifice for me all the same.

On this journey of wedding planning I have realized there are sacrifices as there will be once we are married as well. Sacrifices come in the shape of compromises. I originally wanted quite a few separate events …The Big Fat Green Wedding was to be an extravaganza of small events for the family and one big blowout party for our friends and associates. Now, it will be condensed to a more traditional wedding in that we will have our ceremony and a reception will follow. Although the ceremony will remain private, the reception will now be a larger affair than I had originally envisioned. I am marrying the man of my dreams though, so I have no complaints J

Sacrifices also comes in the form of what you need to cut back on. Both of us have been wanting to go to Burning Man for several years. The wedding is basically 2 weeks after Burning Man … most likely we will forfeit that trip as well. Ken also likes to go to a hockey dream camp in Niagra Falls. He was unable to last year because he was touring, and because of the wedding this year, he will again have to miss his beloved camp. However, sustainability means you can't always be selfish if you want to live harmoniously/ without harm.

As a culture, we have all been living life on the edge whether we have realized it or not. The industries that we take for granted are subconscious pillars of our society and we have leveraged convenience to the point of collapse as seen in the our financial industry as well as the environmental atrocities that continue everyday (most recently, the greatest oil spill in history, just days ago). Now regardless of choice, we as a species live symbiotically to all the other species and systems of the Earth. I realize now that choosing to walk the path of an eco-conscious citizen was like wanting to marry the Earth, or wanting to at least be in a long term relationship with It. Now that I am soon to be officially married, I see Marriage as beautiful. Marriage is on some level sacrifice, and it's beautiful. It causes us to slow down and look at what's important. You realize to make the relationship last, you must compromise, or sacrifice, but the bigger picture, that relationship is so much more important you are more happy to make any sacrifices -in fact, it's joyful. I guess I hope that one day we can all look at Life on this planet not just as a long term relationship but one that we want to be in. Sustainability would become a natural and joyous part of our everyday lives.

For the green girl, there are several options for an eco-friendly gown.

You can buy
There are amazing designers, such as Deborah Lindquist, Wai-Ching, Puridee, and Annatarian.

You can borrow
You can borrow a family member's dress. I think it is every matriarch's dream to have someone reuse their dress whether it's their daughter or grandaughter. You can even borrow from aunt's and cousins. Friends also seem eager to share their love in offering their dress.

Dress by Deborah Lindquist -- Heidi Luerra, Janine Johnson, Apple Levy @ Green Wave Fundraiser, Safair Soiree 07/09


You can make your own
There are many talented people in this world. If you are one of them and have that DIY spirit, perhaps consider making your own dress.

You can rent!
This is the option I chose. Although I toyed with the idea of renting a dress from Rent the Runway, I decided to, with the suggestion of my mom, visit a rental salon and try on dresses. In Los Angeles there is a great place called One Night Affair. I could not have been happier. The dress I chose ended up being the first pulled, actually from my little sister who will be my maid of honor, but I still tried on over 20 more dresses just to make sure. The staff is well experienced and was able to pull dresses for me that I might not have tried on otherwise and ended up being in my top 4. Renting a dress runs typically from $500-900. Although for $900 you could buy a dress, $900 may or may not get you the dress you want (depending on your style). What I like about the renting though is that you don't have the burden of storing or figuring out what to do with it afterwards :)




"Antoinette" dress by Wai-Ching
Antoinette is my middle name, had to like this dress ;)




My favorite Deborah Lindquist dress!

You can follow me on Twitter @GreenGeisha or @InspiredWaves  

Learn more about Janine at Green Wave

The Deepwater Horizon continues to be the worst environmental disaster in our nation's history. I'm not sure exactly what the majority of people feel, but I do know some have feelings of despair or helplessness stemming from not knowing what to do. Some people are even feeling like they don't understand why this the situation cannot be rectified.

This problem was created by us. Every single on of us who drives a car, drinks out of plastic straws, plastic bottles of any kind (soda, water, fruit drinks), uses cheap beauty products with petroleum in them, doesn't shop locally, eats "conventional" food ... and the list goes on.. We should all take personal responsibility for this disaster, be really honest with ourselves, and also realize the power to change the situation lies within us and our daily habits.


So do something! Get active! Get inspired! We really need everyone stepping out of the complacency which seems to run standard in our culture. Let's raise the bar, the future needs us to. Even little things count. If you need help, you can always contact me personally, my non-profit seeks to teach and inspire a legion of international eco-ambassadors. That may seem like a lofty title, "eco-ambassador" ,but even if you are simply using your re-usable bags, using your refillable water canteens, signing petitions here and there, you are an eco-ambassador. There are many shades of green, and every gesture helps the planet and helps influence those around you. So I encourage you to please do anything.

Creative recycling. Rubber band ball to be given to our local CSA (community supported agriculture) program along with fruit baskets.


Examine your life for the small things you can do to lead a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Maybe it's an increased effort to support a CSA or farmer's market so you can get local, organic produce (not sprayed with petroleum based pesticides) and which doesn't travel from another country (which expends oil for gas AND carbon). Non-local food travels an average of 1500 miles before it hits our plate. That's a lot of gas and carbon.


Flirt with public transportation and carpooling options, or increase your already existing habit. Try the bus, ride your bike somewhere, take the metro, opt for the train over plane. Next time around for car shopping, buy a hybrid or electric vehicle.


Be creative with recycling and reuse. Start mini recycling programs if there isn't one. For instance, I save the fruit baskets our farmer's market berries come in and give them back. I also started a rubber band ball I will bring to one of the farmer's. Silly, but every little gesture counts. A lot of us doing little things turns into a serious impact.


Our country was built on entrepreneurism, business creativity, but we need to switch gears to sustainable business ideas. Look at your local community and see what you could create to fill a need. You can look to your local environmental non-profits or go back to school, read some books, or email me for ideas to inspire your creative business sense. Need a role model? Check out what Richard Branson is up to.

What can you do right this moment?

• Do a self-assesment of your daily life. If you need help with self examination, email me through my website: Inspiringwavesofchange.org
• You can call the salon you go to or call several local salons, and have them sign up with A Matter of Trust. Pet hair works too. Talk to your local groomers. This is an organization that collects hair scraps and uses them to make needed booms that help soak up oil.
• You can sign up to be a volunteer
• Start signing those petitions on Change.org, Earthjustice.org, Surfrider.org (just to mention a few) -Drilling is Not the answer -let's put a stop to spending money on a dirty energy source and redirect the funds to a clean solution, solar.
• Watch some documentaries! Essentials: FUEL, The Story of Stuff, CRUDE
• Search out events that give us a collective voice. Hands in the Sand in next Saturday!

You can follow me on Twitter @GreenGeisha or @InspiredWaves  

Learn more about Janine at Green Wave