Handmade Weddings: Last Minute DIY Tricks for the Eco-friendly Bride

2008-03-30T19:40:00-05:00

These eco-tips from LadybugSF do a Handmade Wedding right! She has notions for making things yourself and also some upcycled picks from the Etsy marketplace — in case you want to go the "pre-owned" route. She's in the process of writing a book on greener weddings and you can find pieces on Vintage Indie and ...below! Enjoy and feel free to ask LadybugSF about any eco-friendly topics you suggest she explore.

When my husband and I married in 2005, there weren't many eco-resources. So, we had to be creative. I was just starting to become a crafty gal, so I made my own purse and a purse for my flower girl (from the bottom half of an old hot pink prom gown of mine) and all the jewelry for the bridesmaids and the mothers (from beads I had collected over the past years). For the reception, I combined as many of the paper goods as I could — and used the guest gifts as name tags, table markers, and gifts all-in-one. My husband designed the wedding flowers, and used mostly potted plants to keep that aspect low-impact.

After the wedding, we both wished there had been a book that had warned us about some of the wedding pitfalls (many financial) and guided us to eco-resources. So I began writing "Murphy's Law-Weddings" with real advice from twenty brides that included several money and planet-saving how-tos that I or the other brides had tested on our wedding days. Now I'll be spreading the eco-wedding word through Etsy, and through Eco-Chic Weddings and Vintage Indie, blogs where excerpts from the wedding book will be published.

Halfway through planning a wedding it becomes clear that weddings are unfriendly to your wallet. They're also often unfriendly to the planet, and yet every bride wants a beautiful, memorable day with special details. Fortunately, there are handmade ways to make your wedding eco-friendly — and take care of those little extras you forgot to put in your budget.

Purchasing bridal accessories in a boutique can add up to a startling figure (and not the one in the mirror). To cut costs, make your veil and consider purchasing vintage or repurposed jewelry.

A veil is easy even for a beginner. Purchase tulle, or cut some from the underside of a prom gown from the Goodwill.

A veil is a circle of fabric, but before cutting, determine the length needed; one-sixth of the circle will be folded into your hair. After the circle is cut, use a whip stitch to sew the edges of the veil, looping through and over the open weave. Make the stitches close together. To add sparkle, press clusters of adhesive rhinestones around the trim.

If time is short, purchase a vintage veil from Etsy seller BlueSkyBridal or poppyart:

Wedding jewelry is often a true racket. Save money and look eco-chic with jewels made from recycled or upcycled materials. Etsy sellers Enthral and Oceano all make gorgeous trashion. Here's some seaglass jewelry from Oceano:

And a necklace Enthral made from an upcycled button.

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 boutonnière. 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 boutonnière. 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.

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.

Corsages or bouquets are traditional for mothers, but flowers are pricey, so save them for visual impact. Instead of a bouquet, give mothers and (soon to be) mothers-in-law gorgeous, handmade recycled silk poppy corsages from Etsy seller Foundling. The poppies would make lovely gifts for attendants as well.

A DIY option is to make corsages in your colors the same way you would make a ribbon boutonniere — only use two yards of ribbon for a larger flower and omit the stem.

After gathering the ribbon, twist it into a rose shape and hand sew in place.

Trim the ribbon's edges with beads for an evening look and add a decorative strait pin to the back.

A ring bearer's pillow is a last minute expense that shouldn't cost more than a few dollars in fabric and trim — hopefully in left-over fabric and recycled trim. Perhaps from Etsy seller GreenTrims or rayela's ethnic fabric remnants:

To do it yourself, you need a fat quarter of fabric, one yard of trim, batting or polyfil, a button, and a short length of ribbon to finish.

Cut two eight inch squares out of your fabric. Pin trim to one piece of fabric, then pin the fabric pieces face-to-face with trim between. Overlap the trim tails at a side, not a corner. Sew the edges leaving a two-inch opening on one side, not a corner. Reverse, fill with batting, and hand-sew closed. Finish by sewing a button on top, and tying a ribbon around it for the rings. You can even give the pillow to your ring bearer's parents as a thank you!

Guest gifts are notoriously eco-unfriendly, so consider an edible wrapped in recycled paper like organic chocolates from Dagoba (www.dagobachocolate.com). Their Tasting Square Box has the perfect bite-size chocolates. But remember, chocolate will melt on a warm day.

So, if you're a summer bride, seeds to grow in your guest's gardens from Etsy shop GraceGraphics are a perfect way to show your love for the planet.

GraceGraphics "Plantable Handmade Wedding Favors" can be customized for your wedding. Another seller who carries similar plantable gift cards is PaperPlanet. Here's an example of what a sprouting seed from the handmade paper looks like, from recycledideas's plantable cards:

Whether you purchase eco-items or hand make them with recycled materials, the details of your wedding will show both the beauty of your aesthetic, and of your heart.

Further Resources:
Ethical Weddings ethicalweddings.com/blog
Katie and Jamie Fewings began this blog when planning their 2005 wedding; it's filled with information on the ethics of each aspect of wedding planning.

Great Green weddings greatgreenwedding.com
This simple blog showcases new products and information by category.

Green Elegance Weddings www.greeneleganceweddings.com
This information portal has recommendations for eco-friendly weddings and great DIY ideas for green favors.

C5: Conflict-free Diamonds www.C5company.com
Meghan Connolly founded this conflict free/man-made diamond hub. No blood diamonds here.

Eco-Chic Weddings and Vintage Indie
Environmentally friendly and indie-centric posts about all things wedding.

Wedding Gift Guide | Wedding Category | Wedding Showcase | Handmade Wedding Series

Storque articles by LadybugSF

Handmade Weddings: Last Minute DIY Tricks for the Eco-friendly Bride