A green wedding or an eco-friendly wedding is any wedding where the couple tries to decrease the impact of their event on the planet. Making eco-friendly choices for wedding can be a challenge, but with greener choices, you save money as well as the environment. We have listed some ideas to help you get started with your environmentally friendly wedding.

Eco Friendly Flowers:
Many flowers sold are imported from developing countries where there is high use of pesticides. Choosing a florist where organically grown, in-season, local flowers are used can be a much better earth friendly choice. This will also remove the need for long-distance transportation and will support local garden centers in your area.

Another idea is to reuse your flowers from the wedding ceremony by transforming them into table decorations at the reception. After the party, donate them to a local hospital or senior citizen center or send them home with your guests so they can enjoy them a little longer.

Dried or silk flowers are also another alternative. Ask your local Muskoka florist if they carry silk flowers and ask to see pictures or sample bouquets to see if this option would suite your taste.

Below are some sample pictures of in-season flowers used to decorate weddings and were taken from www.faxongreen.com.

Eco Friendly Centrepieces:
A great addition to the eco-friendly favours on the tables is to pull the “green” theme into your centrepieces. If you are looking for a vessel for the center of your table to hold sea shells or colourful rocks, consider vases made from recycled glass or a bamboo bowl, due to renewable tendencies.

Your centrepieces can incorporate fruit, branches or twisted branches to make vases or containers as well as flower stems. Here is a blog dedicated to green themed weddings www.blog.emeraldgreenweddings.com. Check out all the different categories for pictures and ideas.

Eco Friendly Party Favours
The number of earth-friendly products and services is growing, giving the bride and groom a range of options. It is often as simple as buying local. For instance, supporting a local artisan is much more earth friendly than having cheap trinkets shipped half way around the world.

One of the more obvious eco-friendly wedding favour ideas for couples is to give something organic. There are many options if you want to give small trees, seeds, bulbs or plants. An example of a favour from a local company is buying a large container of honey and filling your own honey jars as a favour. You can also think about using local food and wine at your reception.

I have also been to a wedding where guests had to pay $1 to play a game. All of the proceeds for the game went toward a local charity. This was a great source of entertainment and added fun for any children attending the wedding.

Green weddings incorporate elements of eco-conscious ideas that compliment a couple’s overall style. Remember, weddings are a reflection of your individualistic style, and the level of “greenness” involved is truly up to you.

Chantal Patton with HerWeddingPlanner.com recently interviewed millionaire, author, investor and financial specialist, Derek Foster. Derek Foster retired by the time he was 34! We encourage you to listen to this 20 minute audio clip filled with financial tips. Pick up one of Derek’s books filled with awesome financial insights and simple strategies for financial breakthroughs.

Here’s how you can order some of his books (click the book or book title):

Stop Working , Here’s How You Can! : Using The Strategy Of Canada’s Youngest Retiree

Money For Nothing , And Your Stocks For Free: The Financial Catch-Up Strategy From Canada’s Youngest Retiree

The Lazy Investor

 
We hope this interview and resources help you in your marriage. Derek offered if anyone wanted to email him any questions personally they can do so through his website at www.stopworking.ca

This is the part of the ceremony I read one day and I quote. “The true art of married life is an inner spiritual journey. It is a mutual enrichment, a give and take between two personalities, a mingling of two endowments which diminishes neither, but enhances both. I would like to share with you this poem about this mingling, called “Married Love,” which was written by a medieval poet about seven hundred years ago. In the English translation, it reads:

“You and I
Have so much love,
That it burns like a fire,
In which we bake a lump of clay
Molded into a figure of you
And a figure of me.
Then we take both of them,
And break them into pieces,
And mix the pieces with water,
And mold again a figure of you and a figure of me.
I am in your clay.
You are in my clay.”

This is what marriage is all about! Are you in each other’s clay?

Blog courtesy of Norm Martin – Martin Wedding Officiants
For more marriage blogs visit: www.martinweddingofficiants.blogspot.com

One important tip I can recommend, something I have always done is, I remembered my anniversary and don’t even have to ask my wife. I have always made an effort to remember my wife’s birthday, our anniversary, my Son and Daughter-In-Law’s birthdays and anniversary and the grand kids’ birthdays etc… With the technology we have these days with iPods and Smartphones, there should be no excuse for forgetting an important date. Most calendars will even email you reminders. Guys, be honest, we have no problem remembering the things that are important to us or interest us. Most men know who won the Stanley Cup this year and who won the Super Bowl last year. Forgetting your anniversary or any special date is not good and sends a strong signal that maybe you just don’t care enough to remember. That signal may bring a cold chill that could last for several days, if you know what I mean.

I heard a cute story a few years back about the two guys who were golfing. They had just set up to tee off on the 18th hole when one of the gentlemen stopped, took off his hat and put it over his heart while a funeral possession was going by. His buddy commented afterwards about being impressed over his friend’s display of respect. He said: “Do you do that for all funerals?” His friend’s response was: “No I don’t but this one was special; she was a good wife for almost 40 years.” What’s important to you these days???

Article brought to you by:
Norm Martin
Martin Wedding Officiants
For more marriage blogs visit: www.martinweddingofficiants.blogspot.com

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A beach wedding can come in many forms; you don’t really have to limit yourself to a beach location to hold the wedding you’re aiming for. You can easily compensate with accessories, theme variations and decor.

Playing around with Themes

Aside from the obvious beach and coastline location, what comes to your mind when you think about a beach wedding? For example, if you’ve always wanted a wedding reception by the beach under the stars, you can always book an outdoor wedding and pick a clear and starry night to hold your reception.

If lighthouses remind you of the beach, you can play around with a lighthouse theme for your wedding. If you can rent an old lighthouse in your vicinity, then by all means, go for it. If that’s not possible, you can always pick a secluded area (if possible near the ocean) and play around with the motif.

You can even consider mermaid or fairy themes for your wedding, both of which have proven popular with many brides. A nautical-inspired theme complete with yachting decor, wooden boardwalks and sand can also be done, without having to poke a hole through your wallet.