Family influnce... Jackie helps out

I was going to write another segment on synthetic diamonds but I kept procrastinating so I am going to write about something else for now and go back to diamonds later…

I went to a family gathering at a cousin’s house this past weekend. I saw lots of cousins (there are a lot of us), lots of kids, lots of non-green eating utensils, and lots of eating and drinking in general. Except for the paper and plastic in abundance, it was awesome to spend time with everyone. I think the party topped out at about 35 cousins and another 40 or so friends and assorted relatives of family (not related to me but might as well be). It was great to see everyone and spend the hours catching up, discussing politics, swimming, sharing family news and pictures.

I spent a good portion of the afternoon talking to Jackie. Jackie is my cousin’s mother-in-law and she is awesome. Jackie has been a florist for the past 25 years and is now branching out into event planning. We talked a lot about what goes into a wedding and she has agreed to help me with advice for this blog.

We brainstormed a lot about what and how to green all the elements of a wedding and we both got excited about the possibilities. One of the things that Jackie confirmed for me is about flowers. She has been doing floral arrangements for weddings and other events for a long time and she does them beautifully! Unlike years ago, flowers can be imported year round and seasonal flowers are now available anytime… for a price. And what a price! Not just monetarily but environmentally. Hot houses and overnight shipping from anywhere in the world has changed the way a bouquet looks and a bride’s options. Think about spring flowers in the middle of winter…where do they come from? What about the chemicals used to grow them? And the energy and fuel to transport them? Wow!

Jackie suggested walking through the woods (if you can) in the fall and using found flora for a fall or winter wedding. Sprigs of pine with pine cones and a ribbon make a beautiful bouquet. Fall oak and maple leaves are perfect for any bouquet and can be strewn on tables as a decoration.

Another suggestion is finding a florist who has a greenhouse and is organic. They are out there. Another idea is to force tulips or other bulb flowers in your home and asking the florist to use them. This is easily done and in a future entry I will get Jackie’s specific instructions for this. She also suggested growing straw flowers. These flowers, if you are not familiar with them, actually grow already dried! And they are beautiful!

So, this is just the beginning…. upcoming topics include discussion of dress materials and where the dresses are made, more on flowers and synthetic diamonds, music (can you ‘green’ music?), food, and much, much more. Stay tuned.

Dirty Gold...

OMG! Gold mining is one of the dirtiest types of mining out there! Until I started researching for this blog, I didn’t know this. It is estimated that the production of one, I repeat, ONE, gold ring creates 20 TONS of mining waste! Most modern gold is mined in open strip mines and many such mines have displaced whole communities. The process itself creates horrendous leach fields of toxic waste. Then the gold is sent to smelters for separation where it releases tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. There must be a way around this! There is… use recycled gold to create your perfect ring! There really is a market for that old gold they keep advertising for on television. For more info on gold mining, check out www.dirtygold.org.

You may have gold that you can have recycled or you can talk to your local reputable jeweler to help you find a source. It is possible that you may find it is cheaper to have a local jeweler or jewelry craft person to create your unique, one of a kind, recycled gold band. It will take some work but the benefits for the earth and your conscious are going to make the work worthwhile.

One such alternative is a link I found on the dirty gold site. It is for wooden wedding rings, some plain, some with inlays. Here is the link: www.simplywoodrings.com There are many other jewelers who make wooden rings but I thought these were worth a look. I found some links to titanium rings and looked into them… They seem to suffer the same ecological impact as sold and silver… major pollution in the mining process. A disappointment since I was looking for some other alternatives. So, I will keep looking. If anyone knows of any alternatives, leave a comment and I will include them in the blog (after I make sure about the impact).