Jill Bellenger got in touch with me a few weeks ago, and we immediately had a connection since her wedding fell on the same day as mine, and was also held on the North Carolina coast.
But, what really caught my attention was that Jill was planning a green wedding. With my own wedding, I tried (often unsuccessfully) to reduce waste and excess, and I know first hand how hard this can be. I found it especially frustrating that many “green” choices were also more expensive choices. Jill was very creative and I hope she can serve as inspiration for other wanna-be-green brides out there!
• Jill special ordered 100% recycled paper for as many of the paper goods as she possible. She kept paper to a minimum, using online RSVPs and save the dates.
• Her reception was at a restaurant co-owned by her cousins, and run on wind power. The
Outer Banks Brewing Station brews their own beer, so there were no bottles to recycle or utensils & plates to order.
• Her shoes were from
Planet Shoes, which donates to earth friendly organizations & uses many eco-friendly materials.
• Most of the guests stayed at rental homes instead of wasteful hotels. That meant a cleaning crew only once a week instead of every day, and guests could brought their own food and supplies.
• She and “her girls” went to an organic Aveda salon for hair and makeup. As Jill says, “all natural, baby!”
• They used a minimal amount of cut flowers, mostly using reusable potted perennials & planters from second hand stores for centerpieces.
• The women made their own bouquets, and grew the flowers for the boutonnieres themselves! They re-used the flowers from the bouquets to decorate the desserts at the reception.
• For favors, Jill & Ed gave out seed packets.
• I don’t think this counts as green but she gets points for creativity: Jill added the flowers and other embellishments to her wedding dress herself!
Thanks Jill and Heather!
May 20th, 2009 at 9:18 am
gorgeous! thanks for sharing!
May 20th, 2009 at 10:34 am
What an inspiration! How beautiful!
May 20th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
I was lusting so much for her bridesmaids’ dresses a few months! They are gorgeous.
This wedding is very beautiful. The green aspect only makes it that much better!
May 20th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Glad you shared this! We just did research for our first “green” client (for a wedding in Oct). It’s a challenge but looks like it can turn out beautifully!
May 20th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
lovely! and so inspiring!
May 21st, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Where did you get these bridesmaid dresses?
May 21st, 2009 at 7:03 pm
yes! where did find those dresses?? so great. i love her DIY additions to the dress.
May 22nd, 2009 at 12:32 am
they were from anthropologie, but unfortunately they are sold out!
May 22nd, 2009 at 4:45 pm
thank you for sharing these, ellie! And yes the dresses were from Anthro, which was probably my and my sister’s first time in the store. Now I’m obsessed! They always turn out great dresses so keep an eye out if you like their style.
July 3rd, 2009 at 12:25 pm
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