May 15th, 2011
Congrats to all you green brides out there getting married in 2011. The following are the top sustainable wedding trends for this year from those clever folks at RecycledBride.com.
So what are you waiting for? Be on top of the eco chic curve and add some of these great ideas to your wedding plans!
Eleven Sustainable Wedding Trends for 2011
1. Diamonds are no longer a girl’s best friend: Inspired by the sapphire ring that Prince William gave to Kate Middleton, alternative gemstones are all the rage for engagements in 2011. Brides will express their individual style — and avoid conflict diamonds — with rings made of colored stones like sapphires, emeralds, and rubies, and sparkly diamond alternatives like moissonite and synthetic diamonds.
2. Chalkboard chic: Stylish slate signs will take the place of paper wedding programs, seating cards, and menus. Chalkboard signs can be made to look elegant and fancy or sweet and rustic, and can be created inexpensively at home using scavenged picture frames, chalkboard paint, and a little creativity. Reducing paper waste at your wedding never looked so stylish!
3. Weddings go local: Farmer’s market menus and locally sourced favors and gifts are hip as can be this year. By doing their wedding shopping locally, couples minimize their carbon footprint, support their local economy, and delight guests with unique details they won’t find elsewhere. This trend caught fire after Chelsea Clinton’s locally lovely wedding in Rhinebeck, New York, and will continue well into 2011.
4. The “staycation-moon”: The popular staycation trend meets the honeymoon as couples skip the expense and carbon footprint associated with honeymoon travel in favor of romantic hometown adventures. Picture a week of museum visits, local theater and sporting events, park picnics, bucket-list adventures, and romantic dining — no luggage required!
5. Intimate weddings: Weddings with small guest lists create less waste, offer more warmth, and give couples tons of flexibility when choosing a location. Intimate wedding celebrations range from elegant multi-course dinners in hotel penthouses to backyard barbecues featuring local bands and brews.
6. Cocktail wedding dresses: Short wedding dresses are all the rage, and just about every major bridal designer has debuted a knee-length collection for 2011. A cocktail-length dress can be worn again, and many are just as formal and elegant as a long gown. Look for tons of short and sweet styles for sale on Recycled Bride right now.
7. Paperless Invitations: Electronic wedding communication is easier and prettier than ever, with companies like Glo offering stunning, interactive online save-the-dates, reply cards, invitations, and more. E-mail invites are less expensive than paper and help to reduce wedding waste.
8. Greener Gifting: Registries have gone green, with tons of new options for brides and grooms who want to receive ethically-made gifts and support the sustainable economy. Two of our faves are the Green Bride Guide Shop and The Knot’s Gift Registry 360, which lets couples create one centralized registry with products from any online retailer they choose. And green donation gifts, like Bluebell Giving Cards, will be popular as both wedding presents and guest favors.
9. Face Forward: Long veils are sitting on the sidelines this year, as brides forgo them in favor of birdcage styles and unique hair accessories that can be worn again. Expect to see 2011’s brides in headbands, vintage hair clips, flowers, and chic tiaras.
10. Flexitarian Feasts: Another trend inspired by Chelsea Clinton’s veggie-conscious wedding is reducing the amount of meat on the menu. This year, more couples will offer vegetable- and grain-based meal options for their guests in an effort to save money and save the Earth.
11. Wedding Recycling: More brides, grooms, bridesmaids and guests than ever are shopping and selling on sites like RecycledBride.com. Smart users enjoy the financial, environmental, and social benefits of wedding recycling, and discover the joy of sharing, saving, and passing on treasured wedding items to other happy couples.
January 6th, 2011
Blooming Branch hopes that everyone finds themselves well thus far in 2011! Hard to believe that 2010 is already over and January is quickly floating by. Blooming Branch will be making quite the announcement in the days to come so stay tuned….
Best wishes for you all in the upcoming year!
November 11th, 2010
Let your administrative assistant off the hook this holiday season and let the folks at Blooming Branch Green Events plan your holiday soiree. No matter the size or scale of your function, we can help make this years event sustainable and memorable while still being cost effective! Why not give a secret Santa present to the earth this year and make your holiday party eco friendly! Choose from either our “Holiday Helper Package” or the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rejoice Package” and this holiday season you will be a huge hit around the water cooler. The following packages include:
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rejoice Package $500
- Initial consultation to discuss green event details
- Site selection assistance
- Vendor selection assistance
- Green decor assistance
- Assistance with carbon credit/charitable donation coordination
- On site recycling services
- Post event recycling
- Post event food donation (if applicable)
- Post event decor/flower donation (if applicable)
Holiday Helper Package $250
- Initial consultation to discuss green event details
- Green decor assistance
- On site recycling services
- Post event recycling
- Post event food donation (if applicable)
- Post event decor/flower donation (if applicable)
Don’t see what you are looking for? Contact Blooming Branch Green Events for a customized party package. Some restrictions do apply, contact Blooming Branch to book your holiday party planning package today, save the earth, save your time, drink more egg nog!
October 19th, 2010
Hello friends, we’re back! Blooming Branch decided to take a month long hiatus and do some much anticipated traveling across the wild west. This two week long road trip took us from Seattle, WA to Vancouver BC, Montana, Colorado, all the way to Lawrence, KS and back home again. But now, we are back and ready for more green events! Stay tuned in the next few days for a special holiday announcement!
September 12th, 2010
In case you didnt catch it, Blooming Branch was written up in a nice little article in the Indy Star Home and Garden section this weekend! Following is the article in its entirety as written by Cristina. Can’t beat a bit of free press…
Eco-friendly lifestyle was impetus to launch eco-friendly company
“I am an event planner by profession, but an environmentalist at heart.
I grew up in Indianapolis and moved to Bloomington in college. I’ve always liked hiking and have been conscious of preserving and conserving. I try to put the environment first when thinking of purchases, like considering: Is the packaging recyclable? It’s thinking beyond the basic use of a product.
My company, Blooming Branch Green Events (317-690-9381; www.blooming branch.com) was started because event and convention planning is one of the most wasteful of all industries. My passion for living an environmentally conscious lifestyle compelled me to find a way to bring sustainable practices to my professional career. Blooming Branch became the answer.
I do my best to live a simple and sustainable life. I recycle and I compost. I live in a small and efficient apartment, am a member of my local co-op and ride my bicycle or walk whenever possible. I do everything I can to minimize my impact on the planet.
Planning my wedding a few years ago, I found it incredibly difficult to find event vendors who shared similar environmental beliefs and practices. A couple of years later, while working for an environmentally focused convention center in Minnesota, I learned that, if a company believes in it, you can create spectacular events of all sizes while incorporating green practices.
Upon returning to Indiana, I set out to bring my personal environmental beliefs into the event-planning industry and started Blooming Branch Green Events. I believe that if people live their daily lives in an eco-friendly way, then why should the biggest celebrations in their lives be any different?
Blooming Branch Green Events handles all of the traditional wedding and event planning. But we do it all in consideration of its environmental impact.
Green event planning, and green living, is not about compromise or additional expense. It’s simply about re-thinking the choices we make when we design our life’s celebrations.”
September 8th, 2010
Calling all Indianapolis area friends. Blooming Branch’s own Cristina McGinnis Widman will be featured this Saturday, September 11th in a green lifestyle column in this weekends Indianapolis Star written by TJ Banks. We can’t wait to see the article and hope you will all snag a copy too! Stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled.
July 1st, 2010
Our dear friends Claire and Justin recently tied the knot and I was so thrilled that they let Blooming Branch play a role in their wonderful wedding. As Claire and Justin both work for a winery, they had the honor of being able to hold their reception at the vineyard (a special gift reserved for only employees).
The weekend forecast was calling for rain all weekend so we were thrilled that we were able to get in the outdoor ceremony and get almost through the entire reception before our luck shifted. The severe thunderstorm was certainly an uninvited guest but ended up being a memorable moment for all. The bride loves storms and the party continued on in a nearby shelter with plenty of bottles of wine!
Claire and Justin chose our friends the Juniper Spoon to cater their big day and a local, grass fed hog was donated by a friend of the groom and the rest of the fare was local and organic and had a festive tropical note. All beer and wine at the reception were from the local winery and brewery and were mighty tasty. All table wares were rented and reused (those that didnt blow away in the storm-seriously!) and all bottles and cans were recycled. Biodegradable trash bags were used and food scraps were composted.
The Hunter Graham was an eco reception in a surreal setting and Blooming Branch was honored to plan such a green event in such an unbelievable setting!
June 11th, 2010
So Blooming Branch has the distinct pleasure of helping to plan the wedding of two dear friends Claire and Justin. Both work at Oliver Winery and the wedding and ceremony will be held at the vineyard. It will be a beautiful day and pictures will follow as soon as possible! Rain or shine, it will be an unbelievable outdoor event! Thanks to the two of you for letting Blooming Branch play a special role in your day! We love you!
May 11th, 2010
Blooming Branch Green Events approves of the following message, so much so that we couldn’t resist adding our two cents! Great ideas from Recycled Bride!
There’s No Place Like Home – Local is the hot word for sustainable weddings in 2010. From venues to menus, couples are making efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and cut their budgets by keeping celebrations “all in the neighborhood”. Backyard weddings are helping guests cut back on travel, and caterers are responding to clients’ demands for more locally produced food. Even wedding favors and decorations will be sought out from local artisans and shops. (Central Indiana is filled with amazing vendors, utilize some of your favorites to personalize your wedding!)
Alterna-florals – The hippest weddings are in full bloom with flower alternatives like sustainable succulents and DIY paper flowers. Conventional cut flowers are expensive, plus they’re grown with pesticides and have a huge carbon footprint, so couples are seeking alternative ways to decorate. Many will eschew the floral look altogether by using soy candles, fruit, and found objects for table centerpieces and bouquets. (If you must have flowers, consider buying them at the farmers market or from sustainable flower farms like Harvest Moon Flower Farm)
Not-So-Mellow Yellow
– The hottest color of 2010 is also the warmest. Sunshine-y yellow pairs beautifully with cobalt blue and violet for an electrifying palette that’s bright and bold. Or combine pale yellows with white, ivory, and fresh green tones for a sunny and natural color theme. Many succulents bear yellow blossoms, making this cheerful color an easy choice for sustainable bouquets and centerpieces.(so fun, so fresh!)
The Times Are A-Changing – Saturday night weddings aren’t the only game in town. Brides and grooms are scheduling their nuptials on weeknights, Sundays, and even early mornings in 2010. It’s less expensive to book a venue or caterer on “off days”, and as telecommuting becomes more popular, guests are gaining flexibility in their schedules. Weddings we’ll see this year will include sunrise affairs followed by romantic brunches, and chic mid-week dinner parties. (be creative, save some money!)
Bright Bridal Shoes – Forget the white and ivory satin slippers and “dyeable” sandals of wedding days gone by. Bridal shoes in bright and bold hues like fuschia, emerald green and electric blue are hot hot hot in 2010. Colored shoes are a chic and stylish surprise under a white wedding gown, plus they’re more versatile than white satin and can be worn again with a little black dress. (think reuse!)
Flexible Registries – The registry has been reinvented by sites like the AlternativeGiftRegistry.org, and this year we’ll see many brides and grooms skipping the Stepford registries in favor of more flexible options. More couples will opt for “open” online registries where they can request everything from charitable donations to eco-friendly housewares to cash for a down payment on a home. (honeymoon registries are also an amazing idea, who wouldn’t want a free vacation! Send us Off even has some eco friendly travel options)
Unexpected Seating – At both receptions and ceremonies, seating arrangements are being switched up. Think scattered chairs and benches for ceremonies, and long communal tables, clustered couches, and bar tables with stools for receptions. No more will the family and friends of the bride and groom be kept apart by rigid seating assignments at separate tables. This year’s seating arrangements will encourage guests to mix, mingle, dine and dance. (fun!)
Something Old, Something New – The hottest sustainable trend for 2010 (and our personal favorite, of course!) is incorporating recycled elements like gently used wedding dresses and bridesmaids dresses, pre-owned wedding decorations, and vintage bridal jewelry into weddings. Sites like RecycledBride.com connect buyers and sellers for free, so they can reduce their wedding budgets and their carbon footprints. More and more brides are joining the wedding resale revolution, discovering how easy it is to save money and be a little greener by buying and selling their gently used wedding items. (brilliant!)
April 22nd, 2010
Happy Earth Day to you all! When we at Blooming Branch were reflecting upon the numerous changes we were planning to make for this years Earth Day, we were shocked and delighted to realize that there are not many things on our list. Aside from the evil necessity of driving, we do our best to make every day earth day and hopefully you do as well.
So this year instead of making drastic changes for one day only, Blooming Branch challenges you to join us in incorporating as many environmentally beneficial aspects into your world to make our world a better place for everyone!!!!
Ps: Join us in celebrating with some local beer or wine in a toast to your green self! 
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