Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Being excited about 'Us'; our eco-wedding update

The countdown has commenced (many thanks to 'the knot's monthly reminders... why did I ever sign up for them anyway?), in less than 7 months Andrew and I will be official. Married (ack!). No really, I'm excited :)


As I alluded to briefly, I had some definite 'moments'... so for about three months I took a complete wedding break. No planning, no discussion, no excitement. Although I'm not still 100% back to being super excited, some eco-wedding bits are coming together!


Our wedding bands have had their first 'fitting'! Since my engagement ring is kinda a large opal that won't fit another band (Andrew's response was 'What, you need TWO rings??' haha), we decided to have a combo ring made. 


We found Rita from Seaglass designs, this lovely woman who makes beautiful jewellery from silver and seaglass by hand. Upon our visit to her studio to plan our rings and design, we saw the buckets of organized by colour sea glass that their family had gathered from our Nova Scotian shores. She doesn't tumble them or alter them, as that would defeat the purpose of ocean smoothed glass.


I chose a tiny aqua seaglass from the group her mother had collected from the shores of Cape Breton. It will sit right on top and function as a combo wedding band-engagement ring. Andrew requested a 'pass' on having a stone on his band... lol. Check out her beautiful blog, it's filled with her lovely creations :)


Next, our wedding website and electronic 'save-the-date' emails have been sent. Basically, our STD's (hahaha, seriously) were emails pointing people to our wedding website, which is simply a wordpress site with links, a few stories and pictures, maps and the details. So far, I'm really excited about being able to help people plan their trip and stay this way.


My dress has arrived for it's fitting (which actually was extremely anti-climatic) and looks beautiful. It's made in Canada by a Canadian designer with slightly more sustainable materials. I'm actually not that super excited about this part... I haven't quite figured out why yet... I'll probably be MORE excited when I find funky blue blue comfy flat shoes to wear. Or fun flip flops, haven't decided. :)


We've chosen our food- Andrew was in charge of the meal selection. We actually requested a 'black box local' menu, which the chef was completely pumped to do! Essentially, he will have a skeleton menu (veggie, starch etc). The week of the wedding he'll make a trip to the local farmer markets and create our menu from the produce available. How fantastic is that? 


My favourite part though, is desserts. We've decided on having home made apple and pumpkin pies instead of cake- one per table. This way friends and relatives (my mom makes a wicked apple pie) can make them with in season apples and pumpkins and freeze them super easy! Also, gourmet s'mores (handmade marshmellows, graham crackers etc) for the campfire fun after the reception- Yay! We'll serve apple cider in mugs while people grab a seat outside (October in Nova Scotia can be chilly!) and I'm hoping to score some blankets.


We've decided to donate to Cancer Research in memory of our family and loved ones who are survivors or who have passed instead of favours (who needs trinkets anyway?). We really haven't put much effort into a registry, and on our website we've strongly encouraged guests to donate to one of our three favourite charities (linked there) so that our wedding can actually bring Joy and Hope to others. I hope this works... and people actually follow the links :) 


I've basically given up on flowers and table decorations in general. It all seems pretty wasteful and a huge expenditure of energy... A few coworkers have offered to lend me a bunch of vases, and we'll probably go twig and flower hunting the day before (or I'll delegate to a few adventurous friends). 


Really, what I have begun to consider is that our wedding is so much more than simply this random large party. Table decorations, flower choices, colour schemes... really are non-essentials. Our wedding is about our marriage and public commitment to each other. Our celebration of our love and our families. Worrying about invitation designs seems silly in comparison.


I thought that after a wedding-break I'd return to this planning feeling the same excitement over table decorations as I did before... Instead, I think I grew somewhat. I'm more excited about practicing yoga with Andrew the morning of, seeing friends I haven't seen since our move from BC, listening to our vows and readings during our ceremony... you know. *that* stuff.


So, I have decided to stop worrying over the fact that I really don't seem to care about our invitations. Or our flowers. It will all come together. The important part is that I'm excited about US.



(Our first dance...)


Blessings!


article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

15 comments:

  1. I'm so happy for you both : ) I will treasure memories of our wedding day forever. It's truly magical! It sounds like you have a solid approach to planning, too.

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  2. Eco Yogini,

    This is a beautiful post! It's so "right" that you are excited not about the small details of your wedding day but about what it means for your relationship.

    I think your plans sound amazing! What a great, eco, local way to celebrate your love. :)

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  3. congratulations...your wedding will be so much fun, just as it should be...and i LOVE that you are doing pie and s'mores, that's so YUM :)

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  4. Everything sounds wonderful so far. I think you are doing the right thing by not getting all excited about the little things (everything will fall into place and the wedding will go on). The more you try and do on that special day the more blurry the day will be for you guys afterwards.

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  5. This warms my crusty old married heart! (j/k, we'll be married a year in June.) It's lovely to see you and Andrew piece your wedding together so mindfully. We did our best, but we threw it together in 8 weeks flat, so a few things got lost in the shuffle (hence my polyester, made-in-China dress). I actually found The Knot a great source of amusement--it was fun to skip all their silly little checklist items that I was SO not bothering with! Namaste! :)

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  6. Sounds wonderful. What a great way to do a meal! I think weddings can be wonderful and beautiful, but I often feel the meaning gets lost in the details (centerpieces, colors, flowers...blech). I think what you are doing is so, so great! We didn't do centerpieces and our menu was local and homemade. I didn't have colors or bridesmaids and I don't feel any less married :D

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  7. This all sounds so lovely, it will be a beautiful memory for all of you! Congratulations, I think your wedding planning break was just what you needed. I'm glad you are recognizing your growth and the the person you are becoming, you are inspiring. Namaste

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  8. What you've described and your attitude about it all is simply beautiful!

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  9. THANK YOU!!

    As you know we are engaged and I sooooo cannot be bothered with so much of what the wedding is about and it is nice to hear someone else who is the same.

    Oh and thanks for the wedding blogs you mentioned before - they have certainly made me feel better, although a lot of them get all caught up in the details which I just CANNOT BE BOTHERED with!!

    Jen xx

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  10. your eco-wedding sounds amazing! wedding planning sounds like a huge hassle, and I don't blame you for not getting excited about that stuff.. nothing wrong with it!

    http://callahyoga.blogspot.com/

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  11. I excited about you, too.

    Some friends of mine did their wedding as a vegetarian/kosher pot-luck last summer, which turned out interesting, though the buffet table was rather salad-heavy and entree-light (and they had so much alcohol left over, it was ridiculous...though I, like many of their friends, profited quite nicely from that).

    Overall, weddings tend to be such displays of excess--like throwing away money to create this ostentatious spectacle largely for the purpose of letting friends and relatives know how much you spent on it, as if as a sign of how much your family's worth (don't ya hate the use of the term "worth" to describe how much money a person has?), so it's always great to see people using terms like "sustainable" in reference to their nuptials...

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  12. I was just thinking about your wedding the other day and getting excited. I'm thrilled that you are feeling at peace with your non-excitement about the little details. Who needs the hassle! (Though I love the twig idea!)

    I absolutely love how green your wedding is going to be.

    Thanks for the update - I was very excited to hear!!!

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  13. Awesome! It sounds like you're coming up with some amazing alternatives/solutions, while remembering the wonderful reason for your celebration!

    My hug and I never were able to do our official ceremony due to his inability to get time off for us to fly home (gotta love the Army!)....but maybe we'll eventually have a 5 year renewal. I had hoped to do something incredible simple, with a potlock reception/BBQ, flowers out of my grandfather's rose garden, etc. Your ceremony sounds beautiful! :)

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  14. It all sounds WONDERFUL. I am so with you on the waste. J & I eloped last June after 6 1/2 years together. We planned for 6 months, found a beautiful cabin and did it with just us, my daughter and our dogs. Wouldn't have had it any other way. Congratulations! It will all come together and it will be perfect for you!

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  15. Sign me up for homemade desserts and flower picking!!
    Lisa, I'm so proud of how far you've come on this wedding journey. You are completely right - invitattion designs shouldn't cause you much stress.
    You should be more worried about having to fill in 'Mrs.' from then on! LOL
    As always, whatever you need - we've got your back :)

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