My flower girl is obsessed with princesses, so her dress will double as a dress up outfit once the wedding is over.
For the other girls things were a bit trickier. Ideally we would have loved to go with organic fabrics, but after doing some research these dresses were way out of my friends' budgets. If you have the money to blow and want a more traditional cocktail look, Alfred Angelo had a very cute line of organic silk & cotton dresses Simply Alfred Angelo.There's nothing worse than spending a ton of money on a brides maid dress and then see it taking up space in your closet because there is no way you'd ever wear it again. We had considered sundresses but decided we wanted a more formal look. Renting a dress is a very green option, but for the money, my girls wanted something of their own.
So we opted for the next best option, we found dresses that my friends would wear again and they cost less than $100. We picked out several styles the girls liked, that flattered everyone and gave them two color choices. This way everyone got something they liked, was flattering and they would definitely wear again.As far as my dress goes, it was tricky. I wanted something in an eco friendly fabric that was still comfortable & stylish. There are some wonderful designers out there such as Olivia Luca, who offer a lot of earth friendlier fabrics but they were out of my budget and weren't style wise what I was looking for. A lot of the organic dresses I saw made of cotton were a little too casual for what I was looking for. After all, I still wanted to look like Ginger Rogers when I dance on my big day. I decided on a compromise. I ended up getting an elegant gown, but I can very easily shorten it to turn it into a formal dress to wear again and again. It also was within a very reasonable price point. ( I can't see blowing several thousand dollars on a dress when i could use that money to buy solar panels or soemthing more responsible). I absolutely love my dress, I feel like a Greek goddess in it, so that is a realistic expectation. (Pictures will follow on the big day wrap up post).
With all the information about the nastiness of the diamond trade I really was concerned about my engagement ring. There are some wonderful jewelry artisans on etsy. I also love the rings & jewelry on the Brilliant Earth website, which uses cruelty free diamonds and uses recycled gold and platinum. I will say these tend to be on the expensive side. My fiance actually surprised me with my engagement ring. He found one that was previously owned from a local jeweler and its totally unique. I never told him what I liked and he found the perfect ring. He's awesome ... what can I say?!
For all of our other accessories, I am a huge fan of Etsy. There are a ton of amazing artisans who make all kinds of jewelry, handbags, shoe clips, even veils. You can include eco-friendly in your item searchand you'd be amazed at the thousands of products available. Our shoes will be ones that we'll get use out of as well. I bought myself a new pair of ballroom dance shoes (which I needed anyway). They are super cute and very comfortable. I'm decorating them with some shoe clips that were made from sustainable materials that will tie into our purple and green orchid theme.
I also found some great dresses to wear for the bridal shower, the bachelorette night, and rehearsal dinner made from organic fabrics such as cotton & bamboo. Here are a few companies that do that well: EcoSkin, Mountains of the Moon, Greenloop and I especially love the wrap from AngelRox which is made of bamboo, so its super soft and can be manipulated in several ways.
So, as you can see its not as hard to dress responsibly as you'd think. Yes there is a huge market in organic fabric dresses and and specialty shoes that you will pay a bit more for. If that's not an option, there are still plenty of alternatives out there that are still responsible choices. Who says you can't have it all?!
Up next on the Green Aisle: Favors & Bridal Party Gifts
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