Indie Wedding Guide

Outdoor Wedding Series - Garden Themed Accessories

If your plan is to go with a garden style themed wedding consider these handmade accessories that will last for years to come rather than flowers that may dwindle within a few days.

Believe it or not but the gorgeous creation to your left is a small handmade botanical handbag with fabric leaves, & flower petals from The Other Sister.

The best part? These creations can be custom made to fit the color scheme of your wedding. You will be amazed at the flexibility that the designers give you for creating the perfect addition to your wedding.

Visit The Other Sister for their stunning line of botanical handbags, journals and more.

- Gabreial
Vintage Indie

DIY Groom's Boutonnières - Guest Katherine Rothschild

Boutonnières from a florist are pricey, wasteful, and may wilt in warm weather. So, choose a less expensive and more fun DIY ways to dress up his lapel.

    An home herb garden can render thyme, rosemary, or sage for a simple herb boutonniere. This is the most simple, most masculine option. You'll need: three stems, floral wire, wire cutters, green floral tape, and a yard of narrow ribbon (green or brown are good colors for the ribbon).
    A boutonnières should be about three inches in length, so cut your herbs to about three inches, then position them in a triad, and wrap the stems in wire, then floral tape. Wind the ribbon over the floral tape and secure with a strait pin. The pictured boutonnière was made from rosemary and deep green ribbon.

Or, for a more colorful option, create a one-of-a-kind rose ribbon boutonniere. You'll need: one half yard to one yard of 1 1/2 inch wire-edged (recycled or vintage) ribbon, floral wire, wire cutter, floral tape, thread, and a yard of narrow ribbon in a shade of green. (See set-up photo.)

To make the rose, pull the wire ends of one side of the ribbon out, fold them so they don't slip back, and gather one side of the ribbon up. It should make a circular shape. Cut a four-inch piece of floral wire and fold it in half.

Roll the ribbon into a rose shape around the top of the looped wire, leaving a wire "stem." Sew the rose ribbon in place at its base with matching thread. Wrap the stem in floral tape, then in ribbon, and secure with a single pin.

- Katherine Field Rothschild

A Special thanks to Katherine Field Rothschild for this wonderful tutorial. Please be sure to visit her fabulous indie shop Lady Handbags!

{All contributed content/photos in this feature © Katherine Field Rothschild  Please do not copy or redistribute without permission}.

Greenward Shop Owners Scott & Simone Share their "Eco-Indie" Wedding

We love this contribution from Greenward Shop owners Scott & Simone. Here they share the many different ways they supported independent businesses and reduced their environmental impact with their wedding.

    * Selected a friend-of-a-friend photographer, an independent photographer working out of San Francisco arsmagnastudio.com

    

Instead of the traditional cake topper, we commissioned a set of handmade birds from Ashley Anna Brown/Fern Animals.

Since we were getting married in October in Vermont and the weather can be a little iffy, we had a friend knit a shawl for Simone and a capelet sweater for Briana, the maid of honor. These are both gorgeous, heirloom pieces that don't scream "wedding!" so they'll be worn for years quite happily.

   Scott found a jewelry designer through a friend that has taught at the North Bennett Street School in Boston's North End. The NBSS is an amazing school that specializes in "old world" craftsmanship. Our designer, Tracey Jenkins, started her own studio--Green Spot Studio and with her help we ended up with unique custom rings that we admire nearly everyday!

We wanted to try to make as many things as possible for the wedding. We knew doing so would end up cheaper, but--more importantly--would result in a unique event.
          o We designed and hand screen-printed (with a Gocco) our save-the-date cards.
          o We designed, printed, and cut our invitations.

We made much of the table settings including the flowers! We spent about a month making individual paper flowers. We thought this would be an eco-friendly option (since floral industry is particularly tough on the environment--pesticides, flowers traveling long distances, etc.).

* For our rehearsal dinner we hired a Vermont caterer who specializes in using local and/or organic ingredients.     

* Our wedding and reception were at a small inn in Stowe, VT. With their help we selected a menu that included local and organic ingredients, including organic wine and beer.

* Since we live in Cambridge, MA and knew that many of the guests would be traveling to Stowe, VT we purchased carbon offsets from Vermont-based Native Energy.

   * Our registry included the option to donate to our favorite organizations like our local NPR station, the Conservation Law Foundation,  the Massachusetts and Freedom to Marry

Thanks again to Scott & Simone of Greenward. Head over to their shop at                         

1776 Massachusetts Ave. Unit 1
                        Cambridge, MA 02140

Can't make it to this Eco-modern shop in person? They just opened up their online shop!

Emily's Pick of the Day - Handmade Silk Flowers

These flowers are handmade by women in   Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 100% of the money made goes to support these women, all of whom are recovering victims of sex
trafficking, which runs rampant throughout Cambodia. The fabric used is local hand-loomed Khmer (Cambodian) silk. Each flower petal is cut and sewn together, then wrapped with other individual petals to create a full flower. You can find
these on the husband and wife run site The White Aisle.

I love what these flowers represent; that it is possible to find beauty in tragedy, and that people can help each other so much if we just set our minds to do so.

- Emily, Eco-Chic Weddings