eco-vintage!

Nukke

Hey ladies (and gents!)

While planning my vintage-inspired wedding, I realised that a lot of my vintage ideas and purchases are actually eco-chic.  I just thought I'd pass along my fun realisation  (reminder) that buying second-hand and vintage pieces is a great way to reuse and recycle something.  Whether its your wedding dress, grooms shoes, table linens, guest books, etc, you can find a vintage-eco-chic option for your wedding! 

A lot of us are drawn in by purchasing new products created with eco-friendly or fair trade products, but purchasing second-hand is a great option too. 

I hope this helps someone out there. 

nelsonbride33

A wonderful realization and a great thing to keep in mind while planning (the most 'green' item is one that is already made!). I would love to see your vintage dress - i bet it has so much style and character. I have had success with my accessories, finding some great vintage rhinestone pieces that add that bit of Hollywood glam. 

We are trying hard to achieve a 100-Mile-Wedding by hiring only local businesses, getting our invites printed on recycled paper and using soy ink (you'd never know the difference!) and using the website for rsvps instead of added paper, serving local/organic/in season food, growing our own flowers, renting everything we can instead of buying new, searching used websites for second hand stuff (scored all our table runners this way), giving cloth bags to out of town guests when they arrive to avoid them shopping with plastic ones, and incorporating nature into the decor (such as small smooth pebbles on each plate; holds the napkin down in the wind, and provides a surface for guests to write on, giving us a message of love to bring back to our rock garden!). So many ways to go!

There's a great book by a NYC author called "Eco-Chic Weddings"...check it out! 

Thanks for sharing and best of luck in pulling off what will be a classy event with vintage flair.
 

carouselandsold

hi there Nukke and NB! i am going this route as well. i fell in love with some photoshoots over at Style Me Pretty and decided on the vintage/shabby chic theme with lots of flea market wares. i'm from ohio and here we are obsessed with cookie tables... rather than big plastic trays and paper "doilies" to get thrown away, i am going to make cake stands out of vases/candlesticks and fun old plates. i will do the same for the centerpieces, i'm not doing flowers at all (too much of a waste) so lots of old housewares and vases with fallen twigs and whatever else i come up with.
i've found a ton of great sites/pictures/tutorials on projects like these, let me know if you'd like me to post some links!
xo
rach

Nukke

NB--unfortunately I couldn't get a vintage dress, but I did buy one that was locally made and designed.  I am wearing a few borrowed/vintage accessories though, including my FI's mom's/grandmother's veil. 

rach--I'm doing lots of DIY projects as well, including the same cake plates you mentioned!  check out my bio if you're interested.

carouselandsold

hey Nukke!

i looked at your planning site = WOW!! you have some amazing ideas and plans!! everything is so beautiful!  oh and i LOVE the pumpkins! i've never seen anything like that before

when i saw the part about the lace and the candles, i knew i had to send you this tutorial on lace votive holders that i think i will do as well. it's super cute and thrift store friendly!!
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/lacy-votive-holder

xo rach

Nukke

Before I clicked the link, I was thinking "yeah, I've probably seen this before.." but I haven't!!!  I LOVE IT!  Thanks so much, rach!  I might even start this tonight. 

for those who are wondering, you can make your own fabric stiffener by combining the following ingredients (I found this online and tried it months ago, and it works great):

1.  1/2 cup potato starch flour (better than the cornstarch) in 2.5 cups water.
2. mix the starch into a small amount of cold water, and while stirring to keep it from settling out, add boiling water. The boiling water will cook the starch and turn it transparent.

carouselandsold

hey Nukke! i'm so so glad you liked that and they came out FANTASTIC!!!! and thank you so much for the homemade stiffener recipe
also i wanted to tell you that your hairpiece that you posted on your bio is SO gorgeous! i absolutely love it! you should really think about making and selling those on Etsy!
i finally started to get my act together and make a wedding planning site, feel free to check it out. xoxo rach

SmallSails

Hey! I'm just beginning my planning and looking for some cool vintage online resources! Do you know of any great blogs or anything?!

carouselandsold

hey SmallSails - i saw your post above the other day and i've been keeping an eye out. here are a few that are sort of on the vintage-y side, that i love love love:
http://www.stylemepretty.com
http://junebugweddings.com
http://www.nonpareilmag.com/