I just finished reading The Green Bride Guide: How to Create an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budget. No, no… I’m not planning to get married any time soon! (Although since my boyfriend and I have been together for over five years now, we have a few friends who keep asking if and when it will happen… ) The publishers of the book, Sourcebooks, offered to send me a copy to review, plus an extra copy to give away to one of you!
I actually really enjoyed this book, even though I’ve never been one of those wedding-crazed girls. The author, Kate L. Harrison, has degrees in Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development, and she’s currently finishing a degree in Environmental Policy and Law. She and her husband Barry planned their own green wedding in 2007, and she mentions some of their own green choices they made for their wedding throughout the book. Kate also has a website, www.greenbrideguide.com, where she provides additional information and links to sustainable wedding vendors.
The Green Bride Guide is a really great resource for anyone trying to plan an eco-conscious wedding. I’m going to pass on my copy of the book to my sister, who will be getting married this summer in a small, DIY affair. Kate does a great job of explaining both the why and the how of green wedding planning, and she covers everything from the engagement and bridal shower to the wedding location, transportation, ceremony, reception, food, flowers, and even the honeymoon! I really can’t think of a single thing she’s missed here.
Kate lists website addresses throughout the book where applicable, and she includes a lot of vintage, DIY and handmade alternatives, as well as more upscale, but still sustainable, green wedding options. In each section she’s listed the different options in order of relative price, so it’s easy to figure out what options will work best for your own needs and budget. And that’s something I really appreciated throughout the book — Kate often emphasizes that this is YOUR wedding and that there’s no need to buy into all of the hype and consumerism created by the commercial wedding industry unless it’s something that YOU really want for your own wedding.
At the end of the book Kate provides sustainability worksheets with checklists of questions to ask your wedding vendors, and she also includes a full list of further reading and all the website addresses mentioned in the book, plus there’s an index for handy reference.
If you want to check out this book for yourself, you’re in luck because I’ve got an extra copy of The Green Bride Guide to give away to one of you! Just leave a comment on this post before midnight on Sunday, January 18, 2009 (Central Standard Time – go here to figure out what time that is where you are). I’ll pick the recipient at random from the comments and e-mail the winner to find out where to ship the book!
Also, if you’re still in search of even more unique handmade & eco-friendly wedding resources, check out my Eco-Friendly Wedding Options post I made on the subject awhile back, or stop by Victoria E’s new website, Planning an Eco-Indie Wedding, where she is documenting her own green wedding plans. Plus, the new Poppytalk Handmade Market launches today with a special Valentine’s Day and wedding theme, and it’s filled with lots of beautiful love-inspired handmade items.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
wow! Thanks for the suggestion…i’m planning a wedding for september and this book sounds like a perfect reference to check out! fabulous!
This sounds like a fun and informative read that could be of help to me in my custom wedding knitwear & accessories business. The green perspective and the down-to-earth approach sound like something I would definitely appreciate.
Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
Nice! I love that there are more wedding books out there that focus on NOT buying into the WIC (wedding industrial complex) as much as people do. I’m doing the last minute planning for our wedding on March 14th right now.
This would be a perfect find for my more eco-conscious co-worker who is getting married in August…
Great article. See http://www.creative-theme-wedding-ideas.com
for other theme wedding ideas
This would be a good book for my niece who lives in St. Thomas and very eco-conscious. She is appalled at how much footprint a wedding leaves behind.
Thanks for the giveaway my son and his fiancee could use this.
kimspam66(at)yahoo(dot)com
This would be a great book for my sister who is planning her wedding.
Kate’s book is brilliant, isn’t it!
In addition to that, you may be interested to know about my blog:
http://www.HowToGetMarriedInGreen.blogspot.com
… where readers can post questions about how to make their weddings and other celebrations more eco-friendly, or they can email them to me, and I respond with the answers.
The blog is based on my latest book, “How To Get Married In Green: have an eco-friendly wedding without compromising on style,” which was published recently.
You can read more about the book here:
How to Get Married in Green
…although of course it’s available on all Amazons, not just the UK version, and is in most good book stores worldwide.
With all good wishes
SUZAN ST MAUR
We do a lot of floral design on Maui and I think a green wedding would work here as well. thanks for the write up!
I always enjoy checking out your blog. What a nice post and a great giveaway. As a photographer, I have a lot of brides that ask me for ideas and this looks like a great resource for green weddings that are all the rage!
Best wishes,
Alison
Oh I would love this! We are planning our wedding for early 2010 and it would be a big help! We are thinking of having the reception at one of my aunt’s houses to save a little in these tough times… so I bet this book would be great help to save in little things we ignore!!! I can’t wait til the 18th!!!!
this would be great! i’d love to give it to my niece
The book looks interesting:)) I am planning to get married in summer and I look for every help. Greetings from Slovakia, Lucia
Thanks for the giveaway!
And the randomly chosen winner is… Vivian Deliz! Congrats Vivian! I’ll be emailing you to find out where to send the book!
Thanks for the giveaway. Just got it… it is great!!