Weddings from the Heart

Cake Monkey, Los Angeles

2012-01-27T16:25:00.000-08:00

Yummy bites from Cake Monkey make the best dessert bars. The only sad thing was that the bride could have gotten double the amount: they were gone so fast, there was no bite left for the sugar craving wedding planner:) But then I get to go to their tastings with my brides, delicious.

A Jazzy wedding

2012-01-20T15:26:00.000-08:00

Qian and David got married in October and jazzed the house. David plays this sexy saxophone... Their Asian inspired black and red decor fit to their sparkly spirits.

The cute little vases and wooden table numbers were a re-use and the minimal daisy decor fit perfectly to the relaxed Zen feel of the event.

The ceremony featured a traditional tea ceremony honoring parents and planet.

Their organic menu, an Asian/Mexican fusion, was the result of a special tasting and many foodie discussions: how to fuse the two cuisines without re-inventing the restaurant's banquet menu?

The baker did his best to copy Qian's intricate design.

The musical couple, Qian sang, David played sax, danced amazingly well together without rehearsal.

The bouquet toss made somebody very happy...

Everybody had a lot of fun.

We had a happy time planning and manifesting Qian and David's gorgeous and eco-aware wedding.

DIY Wedding Scrapbook/Guestbook

2012-01-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

Fantastic scrap book guest book by Lorraine who got married to Michel on 11/11/11. The wedding and reception were as marvelous as this book. We had so much fun planning the affair.

Happily hand crafted wedding

2012-01-05T00:10:00.000-08:00

Teacy and Richard's wedding in late August of 2011 was an inspiring event with many heartfelt and hand crafted details and it was at least for some part, about the lucky horse show.

Little blocks from scrap wood with hand painted table numbers matched the colorful mix of "one stroll through the flower mart".

Tracy's eclectic frames with pictures of important memories added to the personal and intimate feel.

Vintage &DIY wedding

2011-11-20T18:18:00.000-08:00

Inessa and Rob celebrated their 2011 wedding integrating lots of vintage and handcrafted details, so beautiful that I just needed to post the inspiring pictures even if the wedding was already a few months ago. The pictures speak for themselves.

Wedding trend: Ombre

2011-11-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

The Ombre pics at green wedding shoes are so cute, I just needed to link everybody to it. What a sweet trend, and if you like, you can "green" it just by using eco cool ingredients and materials. It's fun to be inspired.

Captain America gets his girl

2011-10-26T17:50:00.000-07:00

Claire and Chris got married on Saturday, October 22 in a secret Silverlake, CA mansion, which was only revealed to their 140 guests when Twin Valet shuttled them to the mighty entrance gates. The inspired crowd marveled at the mysterious beauty of the Moreno Estate and celebrated gorgeous Claire and handsome Chris till late into the romantic night. Chris, the renowned writer of Captain America (with his best man Stephen McFeely) wrote the quirkiest Thank You speech I have heard in my 10 years of wedding planning. After Claire's witty welcome it was the second time that guests had tears of laughter and heartfelt emotion in their eyes. It showed perfectly why Chris and Claire truly are a
match made in wonderland.

They met at a traditional tea party in London, found that they both worked on "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", dove into phantasy worlds and philosophies and enjoyed each others sense of humor. Was it a few hours or a few days later that they both realized they missed the other?
We had so much fun telling their story in the details of the day with winks to the tea party, English twists and magical happenings a la Alice in Wonderland.

Chris mom collects romantic pieces of the past and flew in with vintage tea pots and lace linens, which one of the siblings remembered to have seen on their huge dining table many years ago.

The wish fulfilling candies were guarded by waving Elizabeth and to keep the English happy, we had not just coffee but a tea bar with a bunch of different teas and what they call: "bisquits", cute cookies.

And then there was the cocktail party...

Claire and Chris handpicked several hours of music from Chris multifaceted collection from Fred Astaire to disco... Roger from "Angel City Entertainment" presented it and made announcements in his relaxed yet elegant style.

Claire's sister in her purple designer bridesmaid dress: bridesmaids were asked to wear purple but to chose a style matching their personality.

Claire has her hands full...

BBJ Linen delivered the silky "purple smoke" linens which we had unexpectedly decided on after a mock up session in their studio. "Elm Concierge" added a vivid splash of purple for the cocktail and side tables.
Colors certainly popped at the pool where the bartenders served tasty cocktails made with Grey Goose liquors... the one with lavender sirup was just otherworldly.

We passed an English signature drink to avoid waiting at the bars, which worked out great. The "Kitchen" from Pasadena served delicious hors d'oeuvres which we had chosen together at a voluptuous tasting with Claire's mum and dad, everybody voting for their favorites at the end.

After the high spirited cocktail hour a beautiful reception area awaited everybody: the centerpieces by GD Designers, old world flower pots with blooming plants, again matched the mansion's feel. But first there was our art project: the reception table.

Lots of love and attention went into the escort cards: mini envelopes with a vintage tea cup sticker and the guest's name in old typewriter font honoring all those writers in the crowd. Instead of ordering online we supported a local business and the crafty guys from Copy Central in Burbank paid us back by delivering a punctual and precise job. The "looking glass" handmade in Merano, Italy, brought us to Alice's reception land and helped those with tired eyes: guests opened the envelope to find a key stamped on a handmade paper with a tiny number (those movies were they lead to murderous rooms came up also...)

The inviting box for envelopes...

A card somebody sent fit perfectly into the setting.

7 hours earlier:

Claire gets bustled up before guests enter.

Like clock work the sun set when guests arrived at the reception area nestled between big old trees. Even the heater lamps played nicely into the color palette. "Flowers on Mars" ambiance lighting supported the beauty of the mansion with some string - and subtle up-lighting effects.

Colors were chosen in reference to the mansion's tobacco colored walls and rustic brick tower and the owners amazing decor; lush sofas and curtains, countless chandeliers and huge fairy tale mirrors, breathtaking paintings and antiques, and the general feeling of old world charm. As there weren't too many purple plants in bloom Giedra did a mix and match design with cut flowers when needed. The eco cool aspect was that pots and plants were chosen to fit into Claire and Chris garden, which just recently was started to be landscaped. Also greenish: we contracted mostly local vendors. Giedra from GD Designers is a neighbor of my own office in Silverlake, so is Lark, the bake shop and Jimmy, the artist, who manifested our ideas in labels and amazing table number booklets with love quotes (some with this tiny bit of dark humor) chosen by Claire.

The Taxidermy animals of the mansion were a thrill for most.

Claire and Chris childhood pics guarded by a white owl...

A magical evening with a sumptuous dinner a la French Country...
Of course then there was the party... more to come. (Did we see the ghost of Daisy?)

2011-09-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday, 9/24 was declared "Butterfly Day" at the Inn in Topanga; both weddings of the day decided on the delicate (artificial) creatures to be their decorative companions. Re-usable yes, super green no. But then, the Inn is an organic restaurant and also providing all rentals so that the impact through chemicals in the foods, dizzying transport trails and buying new stuff is minimal. All flowers were re-used.
(see more)

2011-09-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

Andrew and Courtney celebrated their wedding at the Inn in Topanga on September 4, 2011. Courtney created the delightful, whimsical table setting.

Favors, napkin rings and photo frames were matching but different on every table. Their child hood animals added the sweet and personal touch.

Wedding at the eco beautiful Marrakesh House in LA

2011-08-25T18:43:00.001-07:00

Chet & Shivani's Wedding - Marrakesh House from David Zentz on Vimeo.

Wedding at the Natural History Museum

2011-08-14T19:37:00.000-07:00

Jessica&Adam got married on June 18, 2011 at the Natural History Museum, a theatrical and elegant venue, educational and impressive in color and size of the exhibits and slightly morbid in its taxidermy heaven. But then, it's the opposing elements that make a modern wedding swing.

When two architects get married expect lots of cool stationary like this amazing drawing of the ceremony on their programs.

The ceremony was under a huge dome and when Jessica peeked down from the upper balcony to check on the design and her 220 guests patiently awaiting the sweet moment, she was fascinated: "Just like I had dreamed it".

One of the best moments: they both stepped on the glass and the roaring "Mazzletoff" made the deer's horns shake.

The design was understated, smart and romantic and let the venue be grand. Jessica's dress, a symphony of lace, was an epiphany of finesse, as delicate as the petite beauty wearing it. The small white rose bouquets in vintage silver vases (La Vie en Rose) on the endlessly long tables were crisp and cleanly organic and perfect in their subtlety, also practical as the food was served family style. Paella Project did a great and tasty job.

With the help of organic coffee from Intelligentsia...

... the party went happily on and on...

A stylish, smart&eco cool wedding in the woods

2011-07-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

Cassandra and Ignacio's beautifully designed wedding in Topanga on Friday, July 15, was effortlessly eco friendly just by being creative. Of course, as the bride is Chrysalis Couture’s Creative Director and Designer Cassandra Stearns, a new emerging designer in the textile and interior design world, the concept was carried out perfectly.

The table runners are Cassandra's design. The table setting: Golden chargers, (Ikea) old fashioned restaurant plates, whimsical vintage plates. Vintage water glasses. Brass bowls and vases from Thrift and Antique stores... Blue candles with LED lights... Everything is re-usable and fun, like...

...the hand made napkin rings. Cassandra even created her own cake stands with trucs trouves: she glued whimsical glass plates onto brass and porcelain candle holders, which made the eclectic look of the cake and dessert display unique and fun.

Her new Argentinian relatives had cooked and baked for many hours, trucking in delicious chocolate mousse, flan and pies, we rarely had so much fun setting up the dessert bar.

To keep it within the looks they hand wrote their table numbers and even the candies matched...

For the chalkboards vintage frames were re-used by painting the inside with chalk board paint. The Happy hour before the wedding invited everybody to a fun and sometimes funny/spontaneous ceremony and heartfelt celebration. Cassandra created her beautiful dress from two separate articles of clothes and chose a bouquet entirely made from Kale.

Everybody played with masks and created a mini carnival for the photo booth to honor the Argentinian wedding tradition.

The Topanga stars twinkled over a unique celebration.

Weddings in Los Angeles

2011-07-07T17:02:00.000-07:00

We are all so busy doing events that blogs have to wait for some of us. I am looking forward to professional pics of Debra&Greg's colorful bash in May at the Upper Las Virgines Ranch...

Lesley&Geoffrey's theatrical Mid May wedding at the Inn...

.... not to forget Christopher&Suzanne's naturally green wedding at the Malibu Nature Preserve or

Pei& Marina in late June who convinced me to create 130 arty cup cake plates...

... Sasha and Lee's joyful celebration in July, one of their highlights were Cake Monkey creations.

and Jessica&Adam's amazing architecturally inspired June wedding in the Natural History Museum...

.... so many pictures to look forward to.

Be inspired, vintage rentals

2011-05-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

We love to hunt for wedding decor treasures in thrift stores but then one has all this stuff, what to do with it? Renting might be the best solution even here and the guys from Archive have the coolest stuff from 50 ties to old fashioned looks, type writers to rustic signs.

Found is another great find...

Organic wedding in Topanga

2011-05-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

Organic food, local wines and an organic wedding cake greened Melanie and Ray's reception at the Inn in Topanga on February 26, 2011.

Read on...

Succulents for the Bride

2011-05-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

In the world of eco cool succulent bridal flowers Flora Grubb swung themselves up to inspiring heights.

Once worn bridal beauty

2011-05-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

One of the recent brides inquiring for my services told me that she would have to look for a used wedding dress as her expenses are overflowing her desired budget. Help is near, as in an eco friendly world this is not a disaster but can actually be fun.
Three companies came to mind immediately selling once worn contemporary designer dresses often half off.
Once Wed
Encore Bridal
White Chicago
You can find interesting designs like the Cymbeline dress on the photo, which just sold.

Green Weddings - Literally

2011-03-12T12:33:00.000-08:00

As more and more catastrophes are hitting the planet people are thinking greener, as in: what can we do to avoid further environmental damage. Green Weddings are a great and very personal contribution. Some take the green literally.

And what better time to remind us of all shades of green with St Patricks day coming up on March 17.

Eco inspired invitations

2011-02-12T22:57:00.000-08:00

Rustic wrapping paper charm in a storytelling vintage way... the 20ties come up, shiny old German printing presses, a foggy street with a red Crossley Silver and its shiny wire wheels, men in soft hats and long cashmere coats...
These green wedding invitation suite is printed on recycled card stock. The outer envelope and the R.S.V.P. envelope made from recycled paper. All wrapped with black twine.
From Beacon Lane.

Malibu Nature Preserve

2011-02-08T16:03:00.000-08:00

I am looking forward to my next wedding at the Malibu Nature Preserve on April 9, 2011. Wedding planning is in full bloom and I will meet Suzanne and Christopher on Sunday to finalize all the fun details.

Hand painted signs on reclaimed wood are beautiful in rustic settings.

Michelle opted for wild flower style center pieces and bridal flowers.

Her hand painted table numbers were already integrated into other wedding designs to the delight of the eco cool thinking brides.

Green Wedding Venues

2011-02-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

Before I go local LA about eco wedding venues, here's one in Nashville, the rustic chic of Cedarwood Weddings in White Creeks.

The 1830′s antebellum farm estate is amazing for fun, contemporary wedding pictures.

They schlep their valuable furniture into the gardens for you to cozy up and offer an amazing array of antique decor for rent: silver, vintage crystal, wedding cake stands, rustic crates, birdcages, chandeliers, lanterns....

Photo: One Wed.
What's also green about them? The place is an historic landmark. To restore and keep these memory packed places alive is a good green way to invest our money. I am awaiting a phone call back from them to see how they deal with their landscaping and energy needs. Maybe there's even more green to them.
"Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Whites Creek Historic District is the best representation of an architecturally and historically significant rural community in Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson Country", seems cool for history buffs and architecture lovers and really for any hip romantic with Wanderlust. (If you ship your guests far away and still want to be eco, carbon offsets can be purchased)

Handmade wedding invitations

2011-01-08T17:17:00.000-08:00

If you love the whimsical, natural and arty, Amy Tan's hand drawn invitations might be the perfect prelude to your wedding.

Wedding Inspiration Boards

2010-12-15T23:44:00.000-08:00

Inspiration boards are fun but my experience with some of the websites offering them, isn't the greatest - so far. I wanted to make it easy on myself and skip Photo shop but wasn't lucky with Style Me Pretty and it took me a while to it right at Polyvore. Next time it will be Photo Shop again.
But to dwell in warm summer and fall wedding colors was a joy in this gray and cold weather in LA.

Upper Las Virgines Weddings

2010-12-14T23:53:00.000-08:00

Ian Grant shot several weddings at the Upper Las Virgines Preserve, which Joan, the manager, loving calls "The Ranch".

The weddings, which we created around the lovely little farm house were all heartfelt, joyful and creative. Maybe it's the love of the endangered frogs, which were saved from big development and preserved many acres of untouched nature, which makes this location into a haven of happiness.

Vintage Wedding

2010-12-08T12:55:00.000-08:00

Olivia and I collected vintage dinner plates, each guest had his own individual design, Amy and I collected bronze and golden candelabras to contrast the jute napkin rings and to match the golden bridesmaids shoes, to find vintage tins for eclectic center pieces will be the next fun task.

Green Country Fair Wedding In Bel Air

2010-12-08T12:47:00.000-08:00

Blake, an excellent horse lady and actress and Stephen, a producer of cool movies like Dogtown and Z Boys and eco cool documentaries like Fuel, invited me to produce their County Fair wedding in Bel Air. We had months of fun designing the exuberant green event. I contracted amazing entertainers, from jugglers to live music, organized a petting zoo and a Maroccan canope for the dessert display to match the Gypsy psychic. So many interesting details and juxtapositions, so much joy and - their 500 guests had a blast.

Come back for more.

Green weddings with a shamanic touch

2010-10-31T23:44:00.000-07:00

Robin and Todd got married at the Inn in Topanga on Saturday, 10/30. They are an elegant couple with a love for whimsical natural design, green and Native American ideas; their favors were dream catchers and they blessed their guests with burning sage during their ceremony.

We loved to decorate their organic, gluten free cake with eclectic fairy tale flowers.

The family helped with sage and lavender decor, a memorial table, Norwegian krumkake and many details and make this a very personal affair.

Eco friendly Cake Toppers

2010-10-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

The handmade monkey cake toppers are easy to associate with the funny, playful, witty Shelley and Jason who celebrated their eclectic, DIY wedding at Nature Friends in Sierra Madre.

Ninjas, sneaky warriors in feudal Japan, specialized in underground war, boy, that's a couple who will get what they want... Wei-lin and Evan successfully snug into the super busy 10-10-10 with a morning brunch wedding at the Inn in Topanga. Recycled wood makes these toppers eco-sweet.
Edible, biodegradable, original: Origami Sugar Birds.

Tips for toppers:

Find arty pieces, which makes a sweet little decor in your house later
Look for toppers made with easy to recycle, sustainable, or natural materials.

Vintage, if not from grandma perhaps from Ebay, is always a good greenish choice, seen in an old fashioned jewelry shop in San Francisco.

DIY wedding cake toppers are somewhat eco friendly to begin with as they don't require shipping, made with sustainable or recycled materials: even better.
Use flowers, herbs, leaves, succulents and branches on your wedding cake. All easily composted.
Edible toppers are recycled by eating, always the easy going choice

.... some cakes like Olivia and Andrew's just don't need a topper.
Their Croquembouche was supposed to be one of the first wedding cakes, created by a French baker. After he supposedly watched a wedding game in medieval England, where bride and groom try to kiss over a big batch of bread roles, which then roll everywhere and guests eat them for luck (?) he was inspired to pile up the super sweet goodness of the cool looking cake. Filled with a pudding/cream this cake works for me, I love small bites of heaven.
Olivia and Andrew also offered tasty and meaningful Argentinian cookies to sweeten up their Good Bye's - and left for a year to Argentina.
Not only the must of wedding favors and the white wedding dress idea but also the cake topper invention came from decor diva Queen Victoria, showing of her self adoration when she married Prince Albert in 1840. In our days she most probably would have created Ebay...
Like many wedding traditions the beginning of the cake is rather ironic: a Roman Empire groom hit a loaf of crunchy bread over his bride's head to show his muscle. Guests then ate the crumbs... Bon appetite and happy slavery... The new "tradition" of smashing cake into each others face at least is a mutual embarrassment.

Wedding on the beach

2010-10-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

Sara and her famous stuntman love Paul Sklar got married at the beach in Topanga...

Driving a styling truck..

...

Having a lot of fun..

They truly enjoyed the casually classy ambience of the Inn of the Seventh Ray.

Wedding Decor

2010-10-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

Cherish and re-use the beauty of the past; vintage is in the air. Paige used a vintage suit case for her wedding on October 2 to Lennin at the Inn of the Seventh Ray in Topanga, displaying their child hood pictures.

The eclectic vases with some flowers, lots of herbs and lavender and her honey favors fit perfectly to girly girl Paige's sweet nature.

The delicious organic chocolate raspberry cake had one vegan layer for the groom. And I had no time to take more pictures...

Art and crafts wedding in Thomas Mann's mansion

2010-10-01T13:10:00.000-07:00

I had a lot of fun designing Amy and Neal's wedding on September 5 in Pacific Palisades. Not only the couple, who had traveled to over 50 countries ( not all together) was inspiring but also the venue, German writer Thomas Mann's house in Pacific Palisades co-created the literati theme.
Buddenbrooks anybody?

It took a while to tie 135 travel tags escort cards on Amy's mom's vintage suitcases, in which we found old dolls from the fifties. Her mom used the suitcase last when she was a little girl... It was worth the effort though as guests enjoyed finding their names on the "antiques" referencing the adventurous couples past and upcoming travels.

Bridesmaid helped tie eclectic gold strings and ribbons around the jute napkin rings, so all looked slightly different. The details were a lot of fun and many actually from the house, from friends and relatives and often with stories attached.

I was amazed by Amy's grand ma's hand blown champagne flutes, wings being a sweet obsession of mine.

The details were a lot of fun and many actually from the house, from friends and relatives and often with stories attached.

Neal brought one of his cigar boxes for the gift cards, Nikki added a candelabra from her grand parents and the house offered hand painted boxes, bronze candle sticks and bowls.

It was amazing working in the famous writer's original office, shellf packed with his first editions... being a published writer myself it had a bit of a sacred feel to it.

We displayed one of Mann's quotes in the antique type writer, of course one of his happier ones, matching the gorgeous event and the sweet occasion.

Green Wedding Spirit & Rubber Duckies for Re-Use

2010-09-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

Kim and Rob were married on Sunday, 9/26 at the Inn. A trendy Soju cocktail party, with guests loving the hot pink "Femme Fatale" concoction and the fresh "Sojitos", set the mood for a classy reception with a few quirks and smirks...

... like the rubber duckies bobbing in the fountain and the Fresh Fries food truck, which was the hip farewell surprise. I handed out cute little tickets worth a bag of creative fries from slightly frightening ones with peanut butter, sweet potato fries with three tomato based dipping sauces and of cause the curly spicy stuff, my favorites.
The party continued in the parking lot, right so, as we find food trucks on the road - to midnight happiness.

One Vampire Repellent please....

At the end everybody was invited and "street folks", meaning valets, servers, dish washers got their share of the amazing potato heaven, even Ray from the book store couldn't help it.

The fries weren't organic but definitely vegetarian and the spirit was surely green: sharing your happiness with your family and friends and your community - and of course the vivacious vibes spread into the whole world...

Handmade steampunk cake topper

2010-09-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

Robot couple on cake? Not for the Sci Fi ethereal lovers but with a rustic steampunk feel; I like the quirky touch. Handmade by Builder's Studio.

More to Green Wedding venues

2010-08-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

Minimalist venues like manufacturing lofts or art galleries are an amazing background for green weddings as they are expressing the wish to be stuff-less. Smack Mellon Gallery in Brooklyn, NY features emerging female artists, which is another green wedding love: to support nature, arts, education, the life confirming goodies of our culture.

A keg of beer rather than a hundreds of little beer bottles has less production needs and in this case also is from a local brewery. All paper used for invite and programs is recycled and printed the eco way.

Congrats to Colleen and Jason. Check out Jason's Mind Body Green Company.
Creative Documentary Photography by JP.

Green Wedding Invitations

2010-08-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

Jody and Hunter sent their invites for their fall wedding with Paperless Post and loved how pretty and easy it was. They even tell you when an email address doesn't work anymore, very professional and thought through.

Green Wedding Signs, reclaimed and rustic

2010-08-10T14:29:00.000-07:00

Eileen and Ian celebrated their country style wedding at the Orella Ranch in Santa Barbara, a gorgeous nature paradise with ocean views. Not only that, celebrating your best day here means supporting sustainable land use and lifestyle practices.

Ian and his father Paul created rustic-cool wedding signs from reclaimed wood and nearly all other details were natural, re-usable, in short: eco-sweet. Their invites held up to their promise of rustic fun, captured perfectly by photographer Jackie Wonders. Read more...

Indian Wedding 2010

2010-08-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite photographers, Jihan Abdalla, is becoming an expert in Indian weddings.

Every Indian wedding I coordinated elevated me to a whole new level of vibrancy and happiness. The joy is expressed in overwhelmingly marvellous colors and is very infectious. Jihan Abdalla dove into the feast of Tarun and Malini’s wedding at the Rockleigh Country Club in New Jersey and came back out with a cornucopia of amazing pictures.
Many meaningful and ancient rituals make the ceremonies hours long. Guests are not glued to chairs but entertain themselves during the ceremony with food and drinks and come back to join again.
The trend of American weddings to begin with a welcome reception might have grown out of these easygoing celebrations.

Pre-parties, ceremony and reception - colors change using the whole painter's palette.

To play with these rich colors, ah the happiness...

Can life ever be dull again?
Thank you, Jihan.

Eco Friendly Venue

2010-08-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

The Malibu Nature Preserve is one of my favorite venues for couples who love the natural approach and also like to support a Preserve and it's wildlife. Several areas to choose for ceremony and reception and never another wedding around...

I have created all kinds of weddings here from classy elegance to eclectic DIY and vintage beauty.
Call to check it out: 323. 953. 0453
Photos: Jimmy Cheng

Green wedding venues California, San Francisco Special

2010-08-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

We work with garden settings, vineyards, historic mansions, eco-friendly homes in the middle of nature and are proud to have friends with arty places. If you are looking for something personal and/or unique we might just know about a venue...
Angelica Weihs Events 323.953.0453
So what's up in San Francisco?
We are on a mission to visit this environmentally evolved city's green venues and will add photos and interviews with the green doers as soon as our busy summer schedule lets us. LA can learn a lot from SF.

Bently Reserve.
A perfect historic venue for the opulent event - but can you be lush in a green way? San Francisco is packed with creative minds, planners, caterers and organic florists so there's a good chance even an "over the top" event won't crash the environment. My own rule No 1: make what you offer re-usable, the best of all options or rent your decor from a local company after checking if they use organic dry cleaning and perhaps travel to their events on bio diesel.
"A Common Green 2011" will show the city's sustainable commerce, progressive technology. Green vendors and caterers will provide fresh ideas, organic drinks, and eco-friendly hors d'oeuvres.
The Fort Mason Center is amazing as it not only has a fire gouse fr weddings but the first and best organic restaurant of the Bay area ready for catering right there: Greens. We loved the food, the service and the place itself hold 125 guests for seated receptions.

(Greens Restaurant, SF)
The San Francisco Planning & Urban Research Association (SPUR) opened its brand new, multi-functional venue space, the SPUR Urban Center, in May 2009. A bright and airy venue designed by renowned local architects Pfau Long Architecture, this $18 million facility offers a beautiful space for hosting events of all kinds.

Solage Calistoga offers 89 eco-friendly studio accommodations.

The healthy, thoughtfully balanced resort is gracious and green, indulgent and nourishing, sophisticated and whimsical. Solage takes the natural and makes it spectacular with organic design, conscientious service and attention to detail.

Green Wedding Extreme

2010-07-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, green are couples making head lines. On Saturday, July 31 Pete and Andrea are getting married, applauded by the press: they will have paid most of their wedding with 400,000 Aluminium cans they collected over several months. Then later this year, on September 25, 2010 Julia and Andy will celebrate in Maine with local and sustainable food - with the small difference that they grow it all themselves in their rented 7,500-square-foot garden in a peaceful meadow. With all the ups and downs of farming, they most probably will find the Zen approach to life on the way.
Meredith Goad from the Portland Press Herald reports today: "Instead of a wedding cake, they'll have pies baked by their mothers and ice cream from John's Ice Cream Factory in Liberty. Davis' parents, Jane and Stan Davis of Wayne, are growing gourds and sunflowers, globe amaranth, statice and strawflowers for decorations. Appropriately enough, the wedding falls on Common Ground Fair weekend, a popular annual gathering of organic farmers and gardeners. "
Even if most of us don't yearn for a quaker wedding style, the cool thing is that stories like these are inspiring others to find something unique and green for our own celebrations, how fancy they might be. Life is to short to be boring but too long to add to mountains of waste and rivers of tears.

It's a wrap! Green registries and the other gift wrap

2010-07-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

I love my green couples, their requests often kick my creativity and I go beyond bed and bath stores, find the impossible re-recyclables, the total re-use idea and recall whatever I have heard, seen, read or thought to manifest their unique ideas. Shelley and Jason above celebrated their spring wedding in the thriftiest venue in Sierra Madre: Nature Friends, a jump into the thirties, and got me into all things DIY.

With Blake and Stephen who partied with 500 guests at their summer county fair feast in Bel Air we did it all: from email invites and website RSVP's over green hotels to gorgeous veggie-sunflower baskets on wooden picnic tables. In lieu of gifts they offered their guests to donate to their favorite charity, online. (come back for their stories)

Today, Robin, one of my future green brides, asked me about eco cool registries, "You know, something more than just the typical Bed, Bath & Beyond stores." Of course that gets you into the massive waste of opulent gift wraps and their fun and funky alternatives like the fabulous ideas of traceable gift bags from Wrap Sacks.
Instead of buying recycled wrapping paper it might be a fun project for guests to come up with their own creative ways to wrap gifts in posters, newspapers, wall paper etc and use interesting "ribbons" from rope to wire or recycle ribbon left overs.
And here is the registry list I put together for Robin and thought is nice to share:
Vivaterra
Branch Home
Green Depot
Gaiam
Re:Modern
3r Living
For couples who are packed with stuff, there is an elegant way to ask for money (mucho verde)
Wishing well
Go Gift
or to ask for a pitch in for the Honeymoon:
Honeymoon Wishes
Honey Fund
Philantropists: Just give...

Green Engagement rings

2010-07-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

Time flies, I can't believe that Leonardo's Blood Diamond came out in 2003. How's the situation in Africa? Are the clunkers on many brides beautifully manicured fingers still mined and produced in a river of blood and tears? It seem so but then there are also articles out there that contribute the bloody media hype to the monopolists in the diamond corner like De Beers, arguing that the Kimberley process, implemented to "protect" the miners, really is a trick to keep Africa from independence and finally becoming the ones who profit from their sparkling wealth.
How to get away from all the craziness?

Check into an cornucopia of vintage engagement rings (oh my gosh how amazing are they?) if you can't rely on his or her grandma's sassy sparkler or because it's style is really "oma" and not your taste.
There's is the out-there alternative of (actually rather fancy) wooden rings.

Or go sci-fi, techno cool:
"Gemesis cultured diamonds are at the forefront of a revolution in the diamond jewelry industry. A Gemesis cultured diamond is a diamond, grown under the same conditions as diamonds grow beneath the earth's surface. By applying tremendous heat and pressure, a diamond begins to grow, atom by atom, layer by layer, just as it does in nature. A Gemesis cultured diamond possess the same physical, optical and chemical properties as earth-grown diamonds."
There are also Apollo and Mia Donna to name a few masters in this field.
A jeweler friend of mine mentions amazing gem stones he created engagement rings with : "Tsavorite garnets are one of the most beautiful stones ever and have a similar refractive index to diamonds. If someone loves ruby or sapphire colors then they should not look at tradition, they should look for something that makes them happy."
And that's what we women really want, a reminder of our love and happiness, not just a status symbol on our finger.

The modern Groom: creative, cool, playful...

2010-07-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

Girls naturally savor beauty, design, fashion. It is a pleasure to see guys stepping up to the cool'n cute and playing with handsomeness. Often it's the green guys...

Photos: Tec Petaja, Nashville, Josh Goleman, Brooklyn, Amy Caroll, Erin Hearts Court, Los Angeles, Megan Beth, Maryland, Austin Gros, Nashville, Jagger

Green Wedding somehow

2010-07-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

Feathers, flowers, fun... There's always something not so eco at every "green" wedding. It's the nature of the beasty beauty: when we invite 500 guests or must have the dress from designer X or can't live without the cake from that famous bakery, our DIY or organic or redefined luxury wedding will be always just green-ish.
And then there are couples like Daralyn and Joe, who got married yesterday, on July 10, in their own home. They love the planet but they are not labeled green. They hired me as their "day of" wedding planner not because they are so eco but because they naturally vibe with fair and good stuff.

Meaning, Daralyn wanted it all super beautiful but economic and her decisions were in several areas simply naturally eco-friendly: flowers were bought locally and arranged by her bridesmaids: no extra gasoline wasted, no formaldehyde floral foam used and the vases will be re-used for years to come. The local rental company, Smart Party, doesn't care much about recycling so we took care of it ourselves.
Not everybody has the luxury to fit 100 guests into their back yard but them using their own home as the wedding venue gave them another green point: no stoves or kitchen equipment needed to be rented, house decor could be integrated into the design and the DJ didn't need the bio diesel generator.

Their sweet and creative caterer Julie Coomes from just around the corner, provided local goodies in her amazingly tasty buffet, where the huge veggie display was passionately frequented by non-vegetarians and vegetarians alike. I helped serving it, as Daralyn saved on servers, so I know. No red meat, more of an economic decision, totally fit the green bill.
There were barely any left overs, kudos to that!

The marshmallow frosted cake was cute but unfortunately neither tasty not eco, how much do you need to hug a bride whose baker disappoints her? But Daralyn also had sweet bites, there were so yummy that they were gone in 10 seconds, so she took the cake disaster the way she is: with a brave smile. (Honestly, I wouldn't have)
My I phone photos will be followed by Cari Hollis professional wedding pics, but then don't these photographers always take sooo long?
Daralyn and Joe are now on their flight to some far away romantic island - I bet they'll find many new ways to be accidentally green.

Green Weddings are universal?

2010-07-04T17:55:00.000-07:00

I had a couple of meetings on Saturday, showing prospective couples the Inn of the Seventh Ray as a possible wedding site, when I saw these cute center pieces by Kelly: a variety of tiny flower pots surrounding a candle tree. The flowers land in gardens and on balconies of 180 happy guests and there we are = green with ease.

Green Rock'n Roll Wedding

2010-06-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

Amee and Benji celebrated their Rockn' Roll wedding in Topanga, CA on April 30, 2010.

The design was funky yet classy, innovative and vintage, DIY and luxurious: the amazing ecclecticism which is born when artists, musicians and fun loving "regular" folks come together to party.

Stephanie from eco friendly Seed Floral design, Los Angeles, created the Bohemian florals. Angelica Weihs Events gave structure to spontaneity and Tiffany Koury's photography style could not have fit better. Food and wine were organic...

Green Wedding Pomanders

2010-06-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

Cute idea for green brides: use colorful magazine pages to create your pomanders for rose petal or lavender toss. For additional decor in tents and other structures Brown Fox offers cute Pomander balls. A creative DIY girl will easily figure out how to integrate LED lights to make this a unique lighting option.

Vegetables center pieces for your green wedding

2010-06-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

Center pieces with real veggies are amazing for country style weddings, like Blake and Stephen's 500 guest Bel Air wedding on May 30, 2010. As they wanted to be as green as possible the veggies were meant to be used afterwards and were donated. We had the fun of our lives planning and producing their unique event and just had a peek of first pictures from their professional photographers... oh, it will be so cool to post those.
See more....

Garden Wedding in OC

2010-06-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

Jamie and Zac got married at the South Botanical Gardens in Orange County on Saturday, June 12, 2010. They wanted it unconventional but still honoring their Jewish culture.

Rabbi Laura Owens fit perfectly into the picture keeping the ceremony easy going yet sacred, humorous yet meaningful, with contemporary wording and Hebrew blessings. When Zac read his vows he promised Jamie to be open to her believes, murmuring: vegan...

Michael Franks of Melange, a friend of Jamie's dad and more on the traditional side of culinary culture, won the catering bid over Eco Caters. To make Jamie happy, he ventured into experimenting with vegan cuisine aside from offering various vegetarian options for the four different food stations, a catering trend my company promotes over the traditional sit down dinner or buffet, when it fits to the theme. I tried Michael's melon mint gazpacho, potato samosas and the sweet potato/red curry quinoa cake, all delicious indeed. Jamie had to give up on some of our green ideas, like serving water in big jars rather than bottled but then Michael Franks made the extra effort and promised to recycle the bottles.

Their 145 guests loved the setting and decor, which was kept at casual elegance. Some recycled materials, like reclaimed wood for the table numbers were used to create a vintage feel. The antique-white clay flower pots were re-used as in becoming gifts for the guests.

Many of the gorgeous girls wore high heels and the grass seemed to do them well. The brides maids in chocolate brown cocktail dresses though flip flopped them after the ceremony.

Jamie's mom Debbie created the gift box on the right and hand painted the beautiful cloth for the Chuppah below.

Jamie patiently collected and assembled the corks for the place card holders. Favors were donations to ASPA in the name of every guest.

Debbie's hand-painted Chuppah was decorated by Rebecca from Lily Pad, who created - very Jamie-like - delicate center pieces integrating succulents and whimsical flowers. The vegan cup cakes came from Jamaica's cakes.

I was glad that I arrived early enough to add some female touch to the general set up aside of my decor duties like re-arranging the ceremony seating, which had the isle ending in a dirt patch rather than in green grass... but in all Anza's crew did a really great job setting everything up in a small time window, their last minute balancing act on high ladders to fit the last strings of twinkle lights was rather Cirque du Soleil.

Unfortunately the rental company does not seem to care about anything eco-friendly and does not even recycle their enormous amounts of plastic trash. In honor of Jamie who hired me as an eco-friendly event planner and to calm my aching heart, thinking of those plastic islands in the oceans, I stuffed a bunch of plastic linen bags into my car and then into a recycling bin by my office.

Of course there was that cute 2 year old who trotted behind the flower girl: "wait up, wait up"...

.... and otherwise curiously explored the premises.

Jamie's dad Moe encouraged the guests to party hard:" I don't want to take all this booze home" and the three police guys who hung out in the staff parking lot for a bit, swinging with the rhythm of DJ Allan Carson, seemed rather tempted to try a vodka-triple sec- spiked lemonade...

And the groom is a drummer

2010-04-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

Gemma and Marcus got married in Topanga, CA on Friday, April 9 and added their very personal touch. Starting with groom Marcus drumming for his guests with his famous friends who last played for Oprah.

.

Marcus walking to the ceremony area was the sign for us to start the processional: two fuchsia junior brides maids stepped down the stairs with two black royal poodles who had the actual wedding rings around their necks.

Guests were guided to the reception area, where more drumming and dancing went on in the lounge, while organic hors d'oeuvres were served.

Gemma's mom brought the home made marzipan frosted cake all the way from England, where she had fed it with alcohol for six months!
It was indeed a swinging event with a trance dance first dance.

Green Wedding Ideas

2010-03-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

When I see Los Angeles tree trimmers often butchering trees when they touch power lines, I cringe. I read a kids' story about "stompies", trees cut back so much that they suffocate and can't recover, which still sits under my skin. I have stepped out of the car and talked to trimmers, who grin at me in oblivion: it's just a tree ma'am. Not a solution for insensitivity but smart crafty vendors are using cut branches to make candle holders - perfect for rustic weddings.

Reclaim wood when you see it. Wine country people check your wineries: these rustic elegance pieces are made from oak barrel staves.

Grape vine trunks looks rather arty and air plants, a unique and so far rarely used idea, are such cool easy to grow creatures.

Green Wonderland wedding

2010-03-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

Photographer Mark Martinez painted Annette and Justin's green wedding on December 30, 2010 at the Inn of the Seventh Ray in Topanga in magical colors. Perfect for Alice in Wonderland brides.

Aside of the delicious organic menu, local and organic wine and beer, most of the decor was handmade and will be re-used. Justin is big in green living and Annette has happily joined him in recycling and no waste efforts. They were interviewed about their green ideas by Arte TV, who did a green wedding interview with me a couple of months ago when they visited the Inn.

Eco friendly florist

2010-02-26T15:17:00.000-08:00

Blake (as in Blake and Stephen, May 30, 2010 in Bel Air) and I visited Dandelion Ranch on Thursday and were smitten by the natural and whimsical beauty of the place. One would think that tires in front of a studio aren't that inviting but Clover Chadvick and her team transform found objects into beautifully unique usables, completely after our hearts.

O joy, we smiled, when we entered into a vintage heaven of metal, wooden and clay containers, bunches of unusual plants, grasses, flowering (or not) twigs, herbs, yeah even weeds can get their place in a caring, creative florists bouquet.

We chose the metal pots and wooden boxes above. The arrangements will be county fair wild, beautiful, mostly organic and also edible, an ode to Stephen who really doesn't like waste.

My green wedding planner promise: Blake and Stephen's 500 guest movie crowd wedding will have less impact on the environment than 80% of smaller weddings in 2010... just love the challenge.

Check in for updates.

Cup cake trailer 50ties style

2010-02-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

After pop corn, lemonade, hot dogs and taco trailers Socal weddings now have their very own and unique cup cake delivery 50ties style.
Photo: the always amazing Jose Villa.

Steampunk weddings

2010-02-19T13:33:00.000-08:00

Chelsea and Francesco's wedding in Paso Robles last year was one of the opening acts of the 2010 creative wedding trend of Steam punk weddings. The steampunk aesthetic hybridizes elements of Victorian design--corsets, brass gears, polished dark woods--with modern technologies, or fantastical re-imaginings of same. Adventurous officiant and friend of mine Elizabet Oakes gives us a cool run down on the creative happenings. Read more...

The exquisite steampunk wedding cake above is by Amanda Macleod of Venus Cakes; it's detailed with high-gloss edible gel and shimmery dusting powders which provide a metallic feel (but fortunately not metallic taste) to the decorative elements. Like a true Victorian bride, the back of the cake is primly laced up like a corset--with teasing tassels for visual spice.

Cake topper by boing boing.
Let's marry past and future and say hi to Mr. Wells.

Wedding in the Rain

2010-02-09T12:28:00.000-08:00

Jennifer and Sarton were married at an outdoor location, the Inn of the Seventh Ray, on Saturday, February 6, 2010 right in the middle of a huge storm. Did I, their wedding planner, sleep after their rehearsal on Friday where we hopped from tent to tent to avoid getting pitch wet? I actually did, I go with the good ol' Mac Gyver quote: There is always a solution.

I ordered an additional tent, had an extra long session with my brave and weathered staff (pun intended) and arrived an hour early in a rain resistant snow boarder jacket. Maintenance staff helped clear foliage and puddles and, it must have been due to our bright smiles: the sun came out right for the ceremony at 12 noon.

Jennifer's flowers (Matt from Flower Garden, Los Angeles) added a happy yellow sunshine feel.

The party turned out to be amazing, with Sarton, the groom, in his cool white cowboy boots, rocking away with the band. Jen's tattoo was perfect for her vintage inspired bridal gown.

They loved their customized cake topper , created to look like them. Reclaimed wood is perfect for eco-cool weddings, gracing an organic carrot cake.
Rain? No fear with us:)

Eco cute guest books

2010-01-25T15:59:00.000-08:00

California locals: I had been looking as far as to China to find handmade paper guest books for one of my wedding couples, who had fallen in love with Daniela's amazing book. Yesterday I stumbled upon an artsy variation browsing the little gift shop at the Inn of the Seventh Ray in Topanga: Eco-friendly guest books entirely handmade including the cute animal art work on the cover and the paper.

Exotic offbeat bridal dress

2010-01-23T13:03:00.000-08:00

Shkank sounds like shrill design, the bridal dresses they have created are gorgeous though.

Something green - like that

2010-01-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

The Couple: Daniela Gesundheit & Dan Goldman

The Challenge: Big Family, Little Footprints

The Location: Daniela’s Grandparents’ Home on the Beach

The Wedding Planner: Angelica Weihs

Daniela Gesundheit, singer/songwriter for the Toronto-based band Snowblink, has never understood cut flowers. “I find them kind of depressing,” she says. “They’re cut and they’re dying… the vital beauty of them only lasts a few hours.” So at Daniela’s wedding to fellow musician Dan last April, the reception tables where bouquets usually sit had potted succulents instead.

“Plants living and growing are much more exciting to me — I feel more connected to that,” she says. “People will take them home, and they’ll be around for years — it seems like to have the right metaphor.”
Another wedding staple that doesn’t resonate with the couple is the cake, so they went with pies instead, minus any refined sugar. “Who doesn’t like pies?” asks Daniela. Unlike some of the sugary vegan cakes they tried, pies “will probably just need a little maple syrup or agave, and then the actual fruit.”

Dan and Daniela have been similarly thoughtful about the main course at the reception — they wanted it to be as organic, local and seasonal as possible. The caterer they used — 21 West — doesn’t identify itself as “green,” but was flexible and accommodating of the couple’s requests. “Food is a big part of our life together,” Daniela says. “Food makes you feel a certain way when you eat it, so if we’re having all these people together, we might as well have them feel good with the food we’re feeding them. And then there’s the impact it makes on that scale.”
With a total of about 250 guests, the other major impact of the event was all that travel required to get everyone to wedding site, Daniela’s grandparents’ home on the beach in LA. When Dan and Daniela’s relationship was long-distance — with him in Toronto and her in the Bay Area — they contributed to a carbon fund to offset their frequent travel. For the wedding, they plan to donate money to an environmental organization whose work they admire: the David Suzuki Foundation. They’ll also offer a shuttle from a nearby motel to the site, eliminating as much auto travel as possible.
To help them with the design and planning of their wedding and coordinate with local vendors, since Dan and Daniela now both live in Toronto, the pair had signed on with Angelica Weihs, of Angelica Weihs Events, a well known green wedding planner in LA with lots of experience in beautiful eco weddings. Daniela says Angelica’s been particularly helpful in communicating their sustainability-first vision to the various vendors. “We’ve been in the middle of a vendor meeting, and starting to feel overwhelmed, and she’ll just sweep in and say, here’s the vision. Maybe you can show us something more like that.”
(Story: Andi McDaniel)

Sweet, sassy, saucy.

2010-01-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

Amazing dessert displays are the way to go: eclectic, whimsical, rustic: matched to the theme of the wedding they are the bang at the end (or crescendo in the middle) of the reception.
By Sweet and Saucy.

Unique Green Wedding

2009-12-31T17:02:00.000-08:00

My favorite in the favors world so far: Model Christina and film maker Marcel collected vintage salt and pepper shakers, cool and cute pop/kitsch/collectible pieces, which everybody truly enjoyed.

Their edible vegetable center piece accompanied by a bud vase with peppermint and lavender were waste free, looked funky fresh, and the fragrance of lavender/mint was invigorating.

All signs were vintage chalk boards, table numbers or trays were cut pieces from a crashed tree and a Moroccan lamp served as the unusual gift card holder.

The crew (guys and girls) were smitten by gorgeous Christina and her tall-glass-of water-model friends cat-walking in heels which took my breath away. It would take me days to learn walking in them that gracefully. The Inn was all light hearted fashion glamor that night.

Driftwood Crafts for Green Weddings

2009-12-27T11:48:00.000-08:00

Love these handmade driftwood chalkboards for seating lists and other green wedding announcements.

Rowan's room offers the elegant chalk board version made with vintage frames, whereas Mark and Robbin from 2 Dogs wood working create these unique rustic frames in an earth friendly way:

No harmful additives such as lead in their paint and all wood comes with the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) logo. This logo identifies products which contain wood from well-managed forests certified in accordance with the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council.

Green Weddings go Photojournalist

2009-12-18T14:01:00.000-08:00

As above so below: as your life style so is your wedding photo style, green is journalistic.
The eye of a photo journalist like Jared Iorio's catches those truly unforgettable moments, often the best and quirky surprises from behind the scenes for the newly weds and sometimes works of art.

Looking at Green as a philosophy of life, wedding receptions are not just me-me-me affairs anymore, they are celebrations of life and community. I haven't met a Greenzilla yet... Couples have a blast with the process of creating the "best weekend in LA" for their guests with the benefit that they'll be joining the fun themselves. Everybody gets their moment of quirky glory and now guests are happily taking pictures without impacting the environment with disposable cameras, go photofest or canditto.

Photos: Jared Iorio
All events : Angelica Weihs Events

Eco Wedding waste

2009-12-17T16:13:00.000-08:00

Checked the eco friendly favor listing at the Knot's wedding shop. I really don't know why disposable cameras would end up in there, they're not friendly at all. So I thought I share this moment of raising my eyebrows: green is greedy? I see the eco business becoming the new money cow, endangered to fall into production craze like everybody else. All that kitsch people sell and think that calling it eco-chic makes consumerism cool is simply ignorant. Yes, we want decor, joyful, lush and head spinning receptions but let them be smart and savvy. Some items, like the bees wax candles are surely useful, rather perfect, plantable paper and confetti, okay. Other cutsey stuff could be so easily avoided without ruining the fun: instead of lavender toss in hundred of little separate bottles, present it in beautiful big bowls and reach then around when the toss is up. We did it with rose petals and guests totally enjoyed loading up with fistful of beautiful colors and fragrance.

Ola, green winter brides

2009-12-16T14:13:00.000-08:00

Handmade, on the rustic side of elegance but surely cozy. From Sea Horse.

Green Wedding Planning

2009-12-15T17:07:00.000-08:00

The amazing ladies from best bridal blogs love the idea of going green and asked me to put up a little planning help. So here is a general list of how to go green on your wedding day. Stay tuned, as I will blog the real life steps leading to Blake and Stephen's green wedding in Bel Air, coming up in May 2010. And then, check in again next year and buy my green wedding book with the coolest couples, vendors and the best creative green tips and ideas ever:)

Venue: choose an outdoor venue, if possible with caretakers protecting the environment and reinvesting some of the rental fees for restoration and environmental causes. Historical places and museums create perfect settings and your money supports our cultural inheritence.
If it is a well known wedding venue the couple before or after you might have a similar taste or layout, maybe they'd like to share rentals
It must be a destination wedding? Buy carbon offsets, it's like knowing that you will sin and then ask for absolution from your priest but then, it's still better than denial.
Ceremony and Reception: have both at the same location and save lots of traveling and on extra decor. Sarah and Paul did it all in one go, they got married at the beach and drove to their venue just around the corner, the only extra were the hundred chairs on the sand, not too bad.
Season: day time weddings in any season but the winter use much less energy as they don't need heating or lighting. The magic of the night is often too attractive to miss out on though, I certainly would want to party into the night. Led lights and bio diesel generators help to reduce the impact.
Invitations: Forget about paper, create an amazing, interactive website, a lot of fun for your guests. When I did my first one for one of my couples I couldn't stop smiling and the coolest: you get the RSVP's in a fine list, no more checking resonses and other paper war. You can even host it with a low impact company
Love paper like me? Can't live without a keepsake? Do it tree free, use hand made or recycled paper, print with soy inks, find an eco friendly print shop or invitation business
Engagement rings: watch Leo's movie with the same title and stay away from blood diamonds. Ethically mined diamonds sparkle even more and colorful gems can be so uniquely you. The trend to artificially grown diamonds is slowly rising: these sui generis pieces with your one of a kind number and certificate have a futuristic touch.
Wedding rings: Think vintage - is there any gold in your families, which is dusting in drawers? Like broken or outmoded pieces? You can re-use the gold for your wedding rings and have your families on your ring finger (not breathing down your neck) Other metals become fashionable, and, for the extreme tree hugger, I've even seen them in lovingly polished wood showing nature's inventive design.
Talking about family: find a cool but sensitive wedding planner, who not only offers innovative ideas of how to green your wedding, but dances the family dance: yes, you can help and no, you can't dominate my couple. Mom's wedding dress, a roasted pig and the church ceremony might be out.
Wedding dress: Think vintage again: lots of amazing vintage boutiques have opened by now and the choices go from really old fashioned (can be revamped) to slick thirties and sexy fities to retro seventies. The modern bride can go "one-time used" and find contemporary designer dresses from five minutes ago for much less at the new paradigm chic consignment stores.
Shoes: Vegan, meaning shoes without animal skin, become sassier, but buy them in time, as not every new company gets it that shoes have to be comfy too, a wedding day is long. Some of the artificial materials used can be a little unflexible and hurt.
Choose bridesmaids dresses that your friends can wear again, and please let them be sexy too. Eclectic can be rather amazing and if every girl is allowed to wear what actually fits her she will definitely give some extra happy shine to your wedding. Of cause if your friends are all models - go wild
Boys will be boys: don't force the men into tuxedos, if that's not their dream, let them have their organic cotton suits, chucks and flip flops if they wish. Piece silk scarfs rather than the traditional ties add to James Bondish handsomeness and vintage suits are so Fred Astaire visits Casablanca.
Caterer: If there's no eco-caterer handy, serve a local menu and get as many organic ingredients as possible. Vegetarian menus cut down on the environmental impact. We have worked with creative chefs whose vegetarian gourmet dishes tickled even the most convinced carnivore.
Grooms: Sea Shepard warrior grooms love to fan a sustainable fish list in the caterer's face and often really enjoy to find the organic booze.
Beverages: Wine, beer, booze and sodas - organic is becoming big here. If you ever tried a VEEV mojito, you never go back to the regular stuff. And the guys from Sierra Nevada are so eco-fizz.
Rentals: Find an eco-friendly rental company, transporting your tables in bio diesel trucks and use non-toxic laundry detergent.
Linens: Buy your linens and re-use them, give sets to your bridesmaids (after the eco-friendly dry cleaning)
Decor : you might have collectors in the family who go beyond the stamp collections: from Mc Coy's kitschy figurines to grand ma's vases, there's often inspiring decor in attics or cup boards, which add to your creative ideas for your unprecedented wedding design. Decor is re-use galore and you can really go eco-creative here
Donate your decor: If guests don't want to schlepp anything home, donate the left over food (check the health codes) decor and center pieces to a retirement home or a local shelter
DIY: inherently green and fun for family and friends. Handmade decor saves money and is so personal. Jane&Ethan's clan created 1,000 Origami cranes, they dangled from the over head string lighting, in tree and bushes, sat on bars and tables, such a happy sight.
Having an picnic type wedding? Use bio degradable table ware.
Flowers: use none or less cut flowers, make potted plants, herbs or succulents part of the center piece. They make amazing gifts for your guests and will decorate home and garden for quite a while. I still have Dan and Daniela's (wedding was in April, 2009) arty arrangements sweetening up the front of my house.
More on center pieces: Fruits (eat them or donate) and drift wood (recycle or use for the fire place or bonfire) can be the base for spectacular designs. Integrate art objects, candelabras, whatever matches the theme and is already available
Recyle: green waste companies put up their recycle bins for glass, alu, paper. Eco-caterers often recycle their stuff and dispose of gray water the proper way
Transport: Bicycles wedding have been reported but aren't everybody's cup of herbal tea. The other options are eco vans and limos, only available in some cities but most rental companies offer at least hybrids by now. I haven't measured the impact but would imagine that a (often sadly smokey) school bus transporting 60-70 guests is friendlier than 30-40 regular cars.
Registries: choose a couple of the green ones and perhaps add a local animal shelter or any other philanthropic idea so that your guests can give your the healthy iron pots'n pans or save the lives of a herd of wild horses
Gifts: please don't wrap, what a waste.
Favors: combine escort cards and your gift and please make sure, it's something your guests can actually use or eat. Organic chocolates are always good, but when going creative go useful. I had to toss too many little trinkets to happily welcome favors of any kind and then to see my brides sad after most guests didn't take their favor is depressing.
Candles: soy and bees wax candles aren't toxic
PR the green idea: write a little story about your green adventures, the ups and downs, pros and cons on your website.
Have fun don't and leave rigid rules to traditional weddings: there are always different shades of green and if you choose the greenish way or mix and match the good and the questionable, it's still better than stomping on the careless path.
Last: after five years of green wedding planning I can only say that there wasn't any idea yet for which we didn't find an eco-friendly solution and every couple had a blast with innovative green: re-invent, re-create, re-think and live happily ever after.

Eco Friendly Florist

2009-12-15T12:45:00.000-08:00

Flower Dec in Los Angeles dives into colors, I love how they spiced the orange fall/winter color with yellow napkins and fuchsia/pink in the center pieces. Owner Rosalee sources eco friendly and local flowers by request. She used all organic flowers last year for one of my weddings at the Adamson house. 30 big eco cool center pieces saved a lot of chemicals and as nothing was flown in, the carbon foot print was ballet dancer light.

Place cards: Gerbias with names on little paper "leaves". Check on other eco florists in our side bar.

Vintage wedding signs on reclaimed wood

2009-12-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

My new green couple, Blake and Stephen, will get married on May 30, 2010 in Bel Air. They are the most adoring couple with a life loving, creative green life style. Stephen drives a zero emission GM, for carbon print's sake! I really like to make them happy with a sparkling green wedding.
We will have a green county fair theme, which is an oximoron and therefore even more fun.
Every food stand will have a funky sign and the guys of not-on-the-high-street, who create vintage looking signs on reclaimed wood seem to be the perfect guys for the job.

Expert Green Wedding Planning

2009-11-22T17:33:00.000-08:00

Olivia and Andrew's light hearted country wedding took place at the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, we lovingly call it "The Ranch" in Calabasas on October 20, 2009. They posted a big applause for the most innovative green wedding planner in California, Angelica Weihs:
Angelica was wonderful in helping us brainstorm and plan our wedding. She completely understood our vision and suggested amazing elements that enhanced it. For us, the four qualities that we most valued about Angelica were her equanimity--she's a calming presence; her creativity in all areas and details of the wedding; her ability to listen and advise in equal parts; and her commitment for keeping our wedding within budget. I never felt pressured by her to go more than what we wanted to do.
The wedding day itself was organized, stress-free and ethereal. Our green wedding was in all aspects more than we even dreamed about. It was a perfect fusion of Italian country wedding and Shakespearean charm.

Photos: Jared Iorio, Los Angeles

Eco friendly wedding books

2009-11-21T16:30:00.000-08:00

Not happy with online photos only? No problem. Wedding books are up to the green challenge. Wild Magnolia's organic vintage covers are made from 100% hemp canvas printed with a special transfer process involving archival quality ink. They use Sugar Cane papers from“bagasse” pulp that is a by-product of raw sugar production and the cotton portion is made from recycling Wild Magnolia's own paper waste. Go books.

Must love Vintage 50ties dresses

2009-11-19T14:28:00.000-08:00

Can a dress make you wanna get married? Yes, it can.

New Moon Vampire Wedding, anybody?

2009-11-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

For lovers of the night...

Bravo Brides Recycle

2009-11-17T10:38:00.000-08:00

Wanna sell your wedding dress or decor? There's a site for that. Buy and sell in the wedding worlds ebay at Bravo.

Handmade Bird Cage Veils

2009-11-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

Bold and beautiful bird cage veils are always fun to check out. These are from Looks Good together with faszinators and head bands, and all handmade of course.

Pumpkins and a Vineyard Wedding

2009-11-13T11:41:00.000-08:00

It's the season: another pumpkin inspired wedding by the talented Martha Andrews.
this one on a beautiful vineyard in Plymouth, CA, Terra d'Oro

Photos: Allison Stahl

The arty bridesmaid in recycled fashion

2009-11-11T10:27:00.000-08:00

For bohemians, art lovers, green and wild girls:
Deluz reconstructs and reinvents dresses using existing fabrics and reusable garments to create One-of-a-kind, Wearable Art.

For the queen of arts only: A radical eco fashion creation by Rachel Wright. The dress is made entirely out of recycled materials: the skirt is half-inch polyethylene foam and the jacket is very thin packing foam. Underneath is a 1930’s satin nightgown.
Where can you find the wildest creations? At Etsy of course. A bit of a hit and miss but always worth to have a peek.

5o ties inspired bridal dresses

2009-11-10T12:49:00.000-08:00

Blush , a new bridal boutique shines in pretty design. Erika, the owner's taste is rather impeccable. Love those "Fancy" 5o ties dresses.

Japanese Green Wedding

2009-11-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

When Noguchi told me that they'll have a "little Sake ritual" I did not imagine a huge cauldron filled with the amazing brew, nor the couple smashing the lid with two wooden hammers and spooning the rice wine out with wooden ladles. Noguchi and Asako got married on Thursday, November 5 at the Inn in Topanga mixing up American and Japanese wedding traditions with lots of giggles and happy smiles and a couple of fun surprises.

The wooden cups had to be arranged in a "mountain" shape for good luck and were taken home as favors.

Everybody had a blast and welcomed the next surprise: Noguchi's friend serenaded a song written for them, which was emotional...

... and funny...

...and very much enjoyed and applauded by their guests.

The organic cakes and cup cakes were all baked by family and so delicious!

About 50 cameras clicked...

...until I climbed on the roof and shot the Inn's famous staircase picture.

I'm still smiling, thank you Asako and Noguchi for having me as your wedding planner for your fun wedding, where we didn't need a DJ to get the party going.
Photos: Copyright Angelica Weihs

Organic Halloween wedding

2009-10-31T23:41:00.000-07:00

Aurora and Ryan's Halloween wedding was a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. The organic pumpkin pies were their guests favorites.

We had pumpkins serve as vases, which gave the decor the personal touch the couple wanted and orange really goes amazingly well with purple. It seems to be one of the latest color trends, (remember pink and chocolate? It was everywhere a year ago) Melinda and Tyler's wedding on 10/12 featured orange Indian style overlays on dark purple with purple napkins.

Malibu Nature Wedding, luxuriously green

2009-10-26T21:30:00.001-07:00

Stephanie and Randal who were the first couple partying at the former horse arena at the Malibu Nature Preserve had an amazing time. The ocean view was spectacular especially from the lounge area in front of the tent. We got the locals, Malibu Party Rents to deliver white cotton sofas for a friendly price.

There's always that sports fan who can't do without the ball and the beer...

The local food was market fresh, the Martini mashed potato bar deliciously organic and the fish was sustainable.
The wine wasn't organic but local and brought in by the couple's parents.

Stephanie and her mom made the escort cards, orange paper flowers on long stems holding the cards. Guests hurried to take bunches of them home, they were too cool.

Uptown supplied their shiny metal bathrooms, it was powered by a bio diesel generator which was also used for the DJ and lighting by ELM Concierge.

From happy sunlight to saturated sunset colors into the star spangled night... the lighting was spectacular, nature is the best show, Elm's swirly out side effect were pretty cool too.

200 guests partied with one of the Nature Preserve's best DJ's, Gil Goren.

Vintage Wedding Cuffs and Gloves

2009-10-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

La Camelot handcrafted embroidered cuffs and gloves are perfect for vintage loving ladies.

It's a nice notch up from the knitted wrist warmer.

Malibu wedding tent adventures

2009-10-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

There was nothing but a plain huge horse arena with amazing ocean view. Then we came with eco friendly trucks and built a tent for 250 guests.

We worked on this for 9 hours and then we got the lanterns competing with the sunset.

What was

Do we skip leather once and for all?

2009-10-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

Antiseptic does corsets with a Xena touch and if it would be reclaimed leather we could also have a good green conscience. Their creations would surely rock a fluffy, silky multi-layered skirt and will definitely last forever. Romp (UK) is the first company working with organic farmers, using only their leather for their fashion. My inner vegan is upset, but as long as people eat meat why not support the ethical farmers and create awareness by advertising organic leather? It's that Native American motto to use every little bit of the "respectfully killed" animal... I have a bunch of gorgeous leather shoes and boots, some already of an vintage age, restored every year. Too cool to toss but buying new ones, I don't think so, the idea to wear a tortured MC Donald cow on my feet is disturbing.
Companies like Romp make us aware to question where the leather we wear comes from or to loose it once and for all. Romp is honorable in their organic approach but unfortunately they are using fur, sheep skin they say, which eliminates them from my list. Green is a philosophy of life not just a new shopping catalog. Any furry collar on a sexy picture suggests that it is desirable and in fashion. The demand for fur should be stopped not promoted in any way. Rockn Roll brides watch out.

Organic beauty

2009-10-19T17:50:00.001-07:00

Hip and healthy girls found another perfect venue to polish up: the chi-nailbars in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills pamper hand and feet with organic goodies, amazing for bridal parties. Invite me:)

I so love my green weddings

2009-10-18T20:19:00.000-07:00

Actually I love my green couples even more, those amazing people who care enough for life around themselves that they arrange their wedding in a waste-less way, like Blake and Steven, who will get married in May 2010.

Creative Wedding Photography

2009-10-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

Let's do pictures, shall we? Stephanie and Randal got married at the Malibu Nature Preserve on September 26, on a former horse arena overlooking the ocean.

Their photographer, Leslie Talley, was totally hands on...

And Randal needed a break...
More about this amazing wedding, to which 100 out-of-towners were shuttled in eco-vans after the busy weekend.

California Ranch Wedding, so eco-beautiful

2009-10-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

Olivia and Andrew got married on Sunday, October 11, 2009. Their theme: "classy country with a touch of Shakespeare" resonated perfectly with the Upper Las Virgines Ranch in the hills of Calabasas, CA; the theme actually was born while strolling through the cozy property. The ranch was saved from big development in 2003. Over 1000 mature California oak trees were saved along with habitat for threatened California red-legged frogs, endangered Least Bell's vireos, endangered Southwestern willow flycatchers, and San Fernando Valley spineflower (once thought to be extinct). Money spent on the venue goes back to protecting nature, how much greener can you get?

We kept it eclectic with integrating the couple's lineages, the bag piper for Olivia, Persian music for Andrew, and their life style: wild flowers in vintage vases, Olivia and I patrolled dozens of thrift stores for six months, serving an all vegetarian menu with mostly organic and local ingredients presented family style and Argentinian Dulce de Leche cookies as they will live in Buenos Aires for half a year.

We tried our vintage vases on many designs and fell in love with the "garden toile" linen. Buying it in Downtown LA and without having it hemmed saves some cash but the best is: it's reusable for a long time. It turned out to be even more beautiful than we imagined under ancient oak trees and with our overhead retro lighting and bare light bulbs on Shepard hooks. (Olivia saved as I am the bargain hunter and got some bride share reduction for this one)
Guests lived the Provencale life accentuated by the delicious Croque en Bouche, called "Piece Monte" in France.

DJ Tony from "Good Times" brought his Congas and rocked the party until midnight.

Photographer Jared Iorio was complimented by everybody as being everywhere but felt like a friend not a stranger doing his job. Tip: use an up and coming photographer who gives you a deal as he wants to fill his portfolio. ( Jared's photos )
I am so happy to have chosen the perfect crew as not only Jared but Tony from Good Times and the Barrista from Intelligencia got to swing with this amazing community of life loving people. When the drums touched people's souls, Mary, Olivia's mom pulled me onto the dance floor .... Thanks to the embracing spirit of the Ranch's director Joan Pankratz and Maritza, her guard in uniform, even the supervision felt like part of the party.

Adamson House, Malibu

2009-09-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

Shannon and Jesse celebrated at the Adamson House in Malibu.

The venue is certainly one of the most gorgeous ocean front locations in the area, right at the beach and loaded with old California charm. Shannon and Jesse got married at the star fountain and partied with a group of 200 guests at the Sycamore lawn in April. We had been afraid of rain but needed umbrellas against the sun.

Shannon wore a traditional dress in honor of her father, who had given it to her and bought a hip and contemporary dress from a trendy consignment store.

The dress was amazing for partying...

Her mom made all table cloths and cut the material for the guest book tree, guests of all ages wrote their best wishes on small pieces of cloth for a quilt.

Only the cake was not organic...

Vintage wedding Los Angeles

2009-09-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

Warwick moved to Sunset Boul. Their vintage items are hand-selected by the designer, some are kept as dicovered, some are restyled. Inventory is circulated weekly so we don't get bored with the same old.