Eco-Friendly Wedding Thank You Cards!

Welcome back for another wedding post!  As you know, Jason and I felt it was important to have an eco-friendly wedding.  The fact that all of the food eaten was vegan helped a lot in that area of course, but we wanted to do our best to make the other aspects of our wedding equally green!  Which brings us to the topic of paper products at weddings.  

We all know how much paper goes into a wedding... save the dates (which we did digitally to save paper)... invitations (which we also did by email to save paper)... menus (which we skipped)... signs (which I DIYed so we could reuse the frames)... programs (which we also skipped)... and so much more.

But what about thank you cards?  Something about thanking our guests for participation in the most special day of our lives by email seemed inappropriate.  And so, I went in search of eco-friendly options.

That's where Artifact Uprising comes in.  Their cards are customizable, gorgeous, well-priced, and made entirely of recycled paper!  Win-win-win, if you ask me.

Full disclosure, Artifact Uprising reached out to me and offered a gift card to purchase my wedding thank you cards from them.  All opinions are still (as always) my own!

The process of designing and ordering the cards was really easy.  The hardest part was deciding which of Mark and Melanie (our awesome photographers from Karmel Kreative)'s beautiful shots should be on the front! (See some of the others here!!)

We ended up going with this one, because I mean, look at it.  It's incredible!

I was so excited when I got them in the mail!

We went with the untreated brown envelopes to use fewer resources than it we would have had we purchased bleached envelopes.

If you take anything at all from this post, please let it be to start your thank you cards as soon as you get home.  If you're like us and you want to use photos from your wedding in the shots, you'll have to wait to get full resolution files from your photographer to order your cards.  But even if this is the case, get working on them as soon as you can.  Our lives got crazy busy right after the wedding and we ended up putting it off for far too long.  It's much better to do it right away and get it over with!

I got really nervous to start because I hate my handwriting.  I apologize, friends and family, if your card is illegible!  At least half of you will be getting cards written by my husband, who has much nicer handwriting than me.

So if you're looking for an eco-friendly card option this holiday, for a loved one's birthday, or for your wedding, check out Artifact Uprising!  I'll definitely be ordering from them again if we ever need nice custom cards.

What are your tips for throwing an eco-friendly wedding?  Let us know in the comments below!

Until next time,

This Is What A Vegan Wedding Looks Like

It's been one month and one day since we said 'I do'!  Here's a sneak peek into our special day...

Before we get into it I want to take a moment to thank our incredible photographers, Mark Shannon and Melanie Geroche from Karmel Kreative!  

You spend so much of your wedding day with your photographers, and rely on them to capture all of the beautiful moments you never want to forget.  Not only is the quality of Mark and Melanie's photography incredible, but they are just so fun to be around!  I couldn't imagine having had anyone else document our special day.  If you live in the Toronto area I wholeheartedly recommend them to you for engagement or wedding photography!

Check Karmel Kreative out on their website, on facebook, and on twitter!

Without further ado, here is an sneak peek into our vegan and eco-friendly wedding, as shot by Karmel Kreative...

My soon-to be husband gets ready with his best man, Kevin.  

My man has the best smile, doesn't he?

Here's my (now) husband Jason, all ready to go for the ceremony wearing a custom vegan bow-tie!

Here I am, all dolled up and ready to go in my Hayley Paige wedding gown, which is 100% vegan!

Click here to learn why silk isn't vegan and why you should avoid it!

Here's a close up of my vegan and cruelty-free makeup look, which I did myself.

I wanted to keep it very natural and pretty, almost like I wasn't wearing makeup at all.  Let me know if you're interested in a tutorial for my bridal look using 100% vegan and cruelty-free products!

I also did my own hair - in gentle curls with the top pinned back to keep it out of my face.

Here we are, finally husband and wife! 

This forest was the most beautiful setting imaginable for our vegan and eco-friendly wedding!

We had both invisioned a forest as the backdrop to our big day, and couldn't have picked a more gorgeous place.  Here we are taking a moment just the two of us after the ceremony... 

...and walking hand in hand as husband and wife!

We did a really fun mini photoshoot in our Rolls Royce along with our wedding party!  Here's one of just Jason and I (with myself at the wheel, of course!)

I absolutely ADORE this shot!  It is such a magical moment, captured forever...

I love how this shot features my 'something old' and 'something borrowed' - my veil!  It was my mother's, worn for her wedding in 1975.  Not only that, but it was hand made by my grandmother!  I simply removed the headband it has initially been attached to and sewed it onto a comb.  A super easy DIY which brought life back to a 40 year old piece.

Here we are just hanging out in the forest as husband and wife...

It was so fun frolicking through the forest with Mark and Melanie getting lots of cute shots!

Jason and I are both musicians and knew music would be an important part of our day.  What better way to incorporate our love of performing than by being our own wedding band?

My husband was on guitar and I was on bass, with Jason's best man Kevin on second guitar and our friend Joash on drums.  Jason was so thoughtful and made sure to order matching bowties for himself, Kevin, and Joash as well as getting me a custom bass strap from the same fabric so we could all go together as a band!

My husband and I shared the vocals, but I love this shot with Jason singing to me as I rock it out on bass.

I'm starting to get a bit dishevelled at this point, but I didn't mind.  Anyway, performing in a wedding dress is no easy task!

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I hope you enjoyed this look into our special day as much as I did!

I will be sure to share more shots when we get them.  (I can't wait to see them!!)

If you are planning your own wedding, check out last week's post chock full of tips for pulling off a vegan and eco-friendly day!

Don't forget to let me know if you have any questions or requests for videos or blog posts on any aspect of our wedding day.  I'm happy to oblige!

Until next time,

How To Plan A Vegan & Eco-Friendly Wedding!

So almost a month ago I did this thing where you get dressed up in impractical attire and cry in front of all of your family and friends as you spill your guts about how much you love your significant other.  

In other words, I got married.

And it was definitely, 100%, the best day of my life.

Another bonus?  It was completely vegan!

Today I'm going to share my top 10 tips for planning a vegan, eco-friendly wedding:

ONE Get On The Same Page

With your significant other.

Whether your partner is vegan or not, you need to be on the same page about your big day.  Hopefully they will respect your wishes and acquiesce to a fully vegan wedding, but if not, you need to compromise and figure out what aspects of your day can be cruelty-free!

TWO Make Friends With Your Caterer

The first thing that comes to mind when you think about a vegan wedding is the food!  This is likely going to be the most challenging aspect of veganizing your day.  We were lucky and found a venue with a vegan menu option (albeit after months of searching), but if that isn't the case for you, it's time to become buddies with your caterer!

Most caterers or venues will be happy to offer vegan options at events, but not all are willing to do a fully vegan menu.  Often this is simply due to inexperience with vegan cooking.  Do your research and talk to people over the phone or in person, if possible, to show that you are a kind, friendly person that they want to help by doing a 100% vegan menu! 

Another option is to reach out to local vegan restaurants and see if they would be willing to supply the food for your day.  Even if an establishment doesn't advertise catering, it never hurts to ask!

THREE Keep Your Clothes In Mind

If you're anything like me, picking out your wedding outfit was a pretty exciting task.  But there are so many options, no matter what your style, that it can be incredibly overwhelming.  Add in the vegan materials factor, and things get a touch more interesting.

The big one for wedding dresses is silk - it's in everything!  I wrote an entire blog post about shopping for a silk-free wedding dress, so go check that out if that's your thing!

Not the dress type?  Also watch out for silk in ties, suits, and shirts.  Suit-wearers should also consider whether their suits contain wool.  And everyone should consider their footwear - leather-free, please!

FOUR Make Your Guests Happy

Your guests might not be excited by the prospect of vegan food, but that doesn't mean your wedding meal will disappoint!  Be sure to include foods that are at least somewhat familiar in taste and texture for your guests to act as a bridge from their normal fare.  Pasta (we did a potato gnocchi), soup (we had a fabulous gazpacho), and bread and cheeze are all great options!

I would also suggest doing a buffet, as we did.  That way guests can pick and choose which foods they want to try and be as adventurous as they like!

We got rave reviews for our vegan brunch buffet - from vegans and non-vegans alike!

FIVE Ditch The Paper

I recently penned a post about my experience using MailChimp to send save the dates and invitations for the wedding.  Not only did this facilitate the management of RSVPs, but it also saved a LOT of paper!

Another way we cut down on unnecessary paper products?  No programs and no menus.  Really feel as though your guests need this information?  Consider creating one sign with that information for people to snap a photo of with their phones!

SIX Use Living Plants As Decor

This is something that people often don't consider.  The transportation of fresh-cut flowers contributes to our growing climate destruction for a product that lasts a couple of days and then withers away.  As much as you can, rather than buying flowers that will die, try using living plants as your decor!

We used potted mums across the front of our stage and loved the added greenery.  After the wedding, we gave those plants to friends and family who wanted to plant them in their gardens!

My sister and I also used clippings from a couple varieties of living ferns in our bouquets - leaving us with new house plants!

While we still used cut plants and flowers for the wedding, the number was greatly reduced due to our utilisation of living plants.  

SEVEN Keep It Simple

Another reason why we didn't need to buy a lot of flowers?  We kept it simple.

Less is more.  Don't buy a lot of stuff you'll throw out later.  What's the point?

The jars and bottles we bought for centrepieces?  They're in our house as vases, storage in the pantry, and water glasses.

The signs I made from store-bought frames?  They'll be repurposed to house photos from our special day around our home.

You don't need a lot of stuff to make your day special.  Trust me!

EIGHT Make Your Own Traditions

You don't have to do every "wedding tradition" just because it exists.  

Can't find a vegan baker in your area?  Don't have a cake!  (We didn't.)

Don't like the idea of throwing your hard work into a crowd of single women expecting them to claw over each other to catch it because they obviously desperately want to get married?  Don't throw your bouquet.  (I didn't.)

Don't want your new spouse to put their head up your skirt, grab a piece of your negligee with their teeth, and throw it to a crowd of men?   Don't do the garter toss.  (We didn't.)

This is your day.  Only do the things that truly matter to you.

That includes any tradition that includes killing and consuming an animal.

NINE Rethink The Guest Book

There's no reason why you should have your guests sign the pages of a book if it won't bring you joy.  Jason and I decided to go for a guest guitar, and now we have a gorgeous and meaningful twelve string around the house to play, use, and cherish.  Use the 'guest book' tradition as a way to create meaningful memories of your day, not clutter!

TEN Ask For Money

Ask for money rather than gifts that you don't want.  With money you can be sure to purchase things that:

1. Fit your ethics, and;
2. Are items you actually need and want in your life.

Don't feel uncomfortable asking for money rather than physical gifts.  Believe me, if someone really wants to get you a gift, they will anyway!

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I hope these ten tips help you as you plan your vegan and eco-friendly wedding!  Be sure to ask any questions or opinions you have on the topic in the comments below.

Until next time,