Monthly Archives: June 2010

Real Weddings | Tarzana, California

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Alison in Real Jewish Weddings

This wedding was absolutely breathtaking, while still utilizing the green bag of tricks to be eco-friendly! Paola of Just Chic Events created a thorough and warm event that honored Jewish traditions and also saluted our planet.

Since there were no cut flowers, the centerpieces were florals that could be replanted. The bride wanted to make sure that whatever was used for centerpieces could be easily added to her her mom’s garden the following week. The only cut flowers were her own personal bouquet and even those were florals that the florist had used at an event the night prior. The petals that lined the aisle were also from roses used at a previous night’s event.

The bride borrowed the veil from one of her sisters. Not only was the veil considered her “something borrowed,” but borrowing it minimized the impact that the wedding had on the environment. This is a nice way to honor a family member or friend!

The bride and her entourage enjoyed getting pampered at a green nail salon before the wedding! Talk about beauty AND brains! What a great way to spruce up your tips AND Mother Earth.

Since it was a daytime April wedding and the food had to stay out of the sun, canopies made out of burlap, an eco-friendly material, shaded the food stations. Guests selected their meals from gourmet stations instead of being served at a sit-down lunch in order to avoid unnecessary waste. Since people served themselves, there was less food thrown out. Stations included an amazing interactive salad bar and a grilled cheese bar — yum! Guests also enjoyed shots of tomato soup because, really, what could be better with grilled cheese?! And the gelato! Mmmm, gelato! A gelato bar should make any guest plotz with excitement! The food and cake were organic, and the ingredients were fresh and locally grown.

Classy details even went into napkin decor! They were tied with a piece of eco-friendly raffia. Table numbers were recycled from a past event that the bride’s mother had held at her house. Wedding favors were from Tree In A Box, offering the gift — and mitzvah! — of planting a tree to help the environment. The boxes were personalized and looked super cute!

Many of the vendors are not actually “green-only” vendors, but worked with the couple to make sure that everything they produced was eco-friendly. This just goes to show that you don’t have to do extra work to find “green-only” vendors. Just explain your vision to your dream team and build a wedding together that is is a symbol of you and the ideals in which you believe!

Venue – Private Home, Tarzana
Coordination – Just Chic Events
Photographer – Mi Belle Inc.
Entertainment – DeBois Entertainment
Floral Design – Flowers and Design by Gina
Makeup – Blushing Bridal Makeup
Hair Stylist – Howard Kurtz Salon
Catering – Cornucopia Caterers
Officiant – Rabbi Paul Kipnes
Ketubah – Modern Ketubah
Bakery – Doan’s Bakery
Harpist – HarpWorld
Rentals – A Rental Connection
Favors – Tree In A Box
Bridal Manicures – Soak Nails

tarzana,-california-green-jewish-wedding

In honor of Green Week, we’ve partnered up with our favorite green online store, The Eco Luxe Life! TheEcoLuxeLife loves The Wedding Yentas and all of our readers! So, just for us, they’ve created a coupon code for $5 off any purchase of $20 or more! Start shopping: http://www.theecoluxelifestore.com/Just type in WEDDINGYENTAS at checkout and your loot is all yours for $5 off!

It’s Easy Being – And Partying! – Green

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Alison in Featured, From the Expert, Green Week, Inside Scoop, Planning

For today’s Green Week feature, we went straight to the source to get information about having a GREEN DJ performing all your music and party needs! We’re happy to introduce Randy Lehrman from Real Genius Entertainment!

Hybrid vehicles. Reusable shopping bags. And now Green DJs? Don’t you have enough on your plate thinking about your flower arrangements and whether or not your groom can pick out a tuxedo that doesn’t give your mom an 80s flashback?

Of course you do. But GREEN is in for a reason. It’s not just about your entertainment being environmentally conscious, but being environmentally smart. I’ve been in the business nearly 20 years as a Mobile DJ, Party Host, and event planner, and I can tell you that planning a green wedding should be in the back of your mind somewhere because it’s important.

Power Up Your Circuit Knowledge
Being supportive of the environment is obviously motivated by thinking of our children and our future (cue Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All”), but what if I told you it’s pretty important for your event, too? You don’t have to be Thomas Edison to know there is only a certain amount of energy in every wall outlet (or circuit). No matter how many of those surge protectors your hubby will use in the garage to connect his drill set and saw, there is still only a certain amount of juice available (electricity in the wall). It’s the same principle at your event. Each circuit usually consists of 20 amps, and when you’ve sucked the wall dry, your caterer will end up running to flip the switch after your dad has flipped his lid.

Lighten Up!
Lights at your party are key! Most DJs specialize in two kinds of lighting — dance floor lighting and architectural lighting. Dance floor lighting is self explanatory; it’s where the party is, so you want it to be as festive and colorful as possible without it looking like a local Yankee Doodles restaurant. Architectural lighting consists of uplighting (making your walls colorful), pin spotting (mini spotlights specifically focused on your centerpieces for that extra pop), and gobos (projections of designs, pictures, or your names on the walls or dance floor). All of these lighting details really spice up a room and make the difference, creating something wonderful.

But these things take lots and lots of power. So much sometimes, that they might blow a circuit at your party! What a buzz kill! Luckily, since I’m a GREEN DJ, I never have that problem. Almost everything we run is all LED technology. The newest, the latest, the greatest, and most importantly, the least power-consuming technology for lighting. Here’s a quick example: I can do 24 LED uplights, 15 LED pin spots, light the entire dance floor, add my whole DJ system, and I can run around 15 amps with plenty to spare. The other guys who don’t practice Green DJing use so much power that they take up more than one circuit, running the risk of blowing the whole thing, which would really be a bummer for your photographer, videographer, montage projection, etc. since they won’t have use of the local power in the room.

Get Wired to Hire a Green DJ
Simply by using less, you get more. You get more assurance your party runs smoothly, more peace of mind that if your guests accidentally touch an uplight with their foot they won’t scream out in pain (LED lighting is cool to the touch), and the confidence in knowing that you don’t have to run so much A/C to account for all the hot lights the DJ is running. A Green DJ is just one more element that creates a wedding event that looks and sounds the way you want…AMAZING!

When you meet with your DJ, make sure that an interest to care for the environment is a priority! You are now powered with the knowledge! Enjoy dancing your hora, knowing that there’s enough power in the room for the best man’s speech!

Randy Lehrman is the owner of Real Genius Entertainment, a special events company that specializes in Jewish life cycle events, making every event unique and different while paying close attention to detail and a high level of personal service. With 20 years of experience, Randy uses his personality to drive the party. He also will help you with lighting design, music selections, room layout, and making your wedding exactly how you want it. Located in West Hills, CA (818) 346-3482

Real Weddings | Boston, Massachusetts

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Alison in Real Jewish Weddings

Amy and Jon’s Boston wedding was gorgeously green! We are so excited to share the various ways they made their special day eco-friendly.

The bride, who is an environmental lawyer, is currently working on developing a practice in climate change law. She blogs about it here: www.lawandenvironment.com.

The ceremony and reception were held at one venue, which was public transportation-friendly, centrally located and in walking distance of the hotels, to cut down on driving by the bridal party, guests, and vendors. The rehearsal dinner and morning-after brunch were also within 1 mile of the hotels. They encouraged their out of town guests to have a car-free weekend.

Jon and Amy honored the earth by getting married outdoors near the river and incorporating nature (trees!) into their ceremony. Plus, the Museum of Science and Wolfgang Puck Catering both have green initiatives, including sustainable, organic ingredients where possible, wind turbines, and renewable energy education outreach programs (including a symposium on wind power a couple days before their wedding).

They carbon-offset the wedding and all of their guests’ travel through carbonfund.org, and told people about this program via organic chocolate favors, a portion of the cost was also donated to protecting endangered species’ habitats by the manufacturer, www.chocolatebar.com.

Jon and Amy rented potted plants and trees (rather than cut flowers for the large arrangements), and minimized their use of cut flowers in the centerpieces by using glass and color instead of more flowers. Flowers were included in small bouquets and were locally sourced where possible, too.

They used many recycled materials; the bridesmaids’ necklaces were made out of seaglass and Amy’s veil was made out of her mom’s dress. Jon’s cufflinks were even eco-friendly, too!

Their invitation suite and paper goods were designed to minimize use of paper and they used partly recycled paper for some. They used postcards for their save the dates, RSVP cards, rehearsal dinner invitation and morning after brunch invitations, and they used their website to spread wedding-related information.

Amy and Jon further cut down on the use of paper by having river rock escort cards, carefully designed programs, a guestbook that doubled as their engagement photo album, and bubbles rather than confetti.

Even guests were in on the green goodness! They received out-of-town bags that were recycled plastic reusable shopping bags!

Lastly, Amy and Jon encouraged post-wedding reuse as much as possible: the reusable shopping bags, the rocks, bridesmaid dresses (which were totally rewearable from J. Crew) and groomsmen ties (Amy designed them on Zazzle.com). Amy is even wearing her dress again at a second reception in Texas, before donating it to Brides Against Breast Cancer, to honor her mother, and so it can continue life and make another bride’s perfect day.

Mazel tov, Amy and Jon and kudos to you on your green wedding!

Venue – Museum of Science, Boston
Photographer – Kate McElwee Photography
Catering – Wolfgang Puck
Florist – Cedar Grove Gardens
Favors – chocolatebar.com
Bridesmaid Dresses – JCrew

boston-massachusetts-jewish-weding

Happy Green Week!

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Alison in Green Week, Inside Scoop, Planning

Sure, you were wearing your flip flops and sun dresses weeks ago, but it’s June 21st: It’s the official start of summer. So in honor of this new, sunny season, we are going to give you a whole week all about Green Weddings!! Check out The Wedding Yentas all week for Real GREEN Weddings, awesome offers from our friends at The Eco Luxe Life, and a fantastic giveaway that you could win that would leave your friends GREEN with envy!

There are a number of ways to create a beautiful wedding, while still honoring the earth and sparing waste.

BRIDE ATTIRE:
You can save thousands of dollars by buying a dress that’s not brand new! And while you’re saving, you’re also cutting back on machinery and fabric waste. Borrow a friend’s or your mom’s and if it needs alterations and they say it’s okay, you can still make it your own with additional details or cuts. This is a great way to honor a special woman in your life.

You can also check out PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com for designer gowns sold at totally discounted prices! The dresses are sometimes totally unworn (NEWSFLASH: Brides can have trouble making up their minds and sometimes buy more dresses than needed!) or just even gently worn. After all, how many times does a bride wear the same wedding dress? All you have to do is browse the dresses on the site, find one you love, reach out to the seller, talk money, and discuss shipping and you’re done! We’ve seen some real beauties on PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com, and it’s a terrific way to promote the green wedding movement.

Go vintage! Nothing would make your wedding more unique than donning a classic 1950s wedding dress or a 1930s gown. On a day that’s all about you and your beau, why not make a statement with style? And, while doing so, save the planet! Buying a dress that has already been created with rich history is so special. Check out our friends at Mill Crest Vintage. There are so many beautiful styles of dresses that will make you swoon!

Borrow a veil! Some brides only wear their veils for the ceremony, thus leaving them basically completely unused. If a recent bride you know has a veil that matches your dress and is still in good condition, why save the cash and the earth and borrow a barely used veil?

FLOWERS:
Choose local and in-season flowers! You’ll save yourself tons of money. If you’re not sure what flowers are in season during your wedding weekend, check with your florist or a local nursery. You and your florist can also visit a farm to purchase organic florals. Buying local is key because as you may know, importing isn’t cheap!

Consider using uncut flowers in beautiful pots that can be replanted at a later time. Plants and flowers in decorative pottery make for unique centerpieces! They can also serve as favors if you choose to leave your guests with a parting gift.

images-courtesy-of-inthedetailsblog.com

Also, your bouquet can be eco-friendly! As we know, flowers can be brilliant for more than just one day. Ask your florist if she has left over blooms from an event the night before, or perhaps connect with other green brides and reuse their flowers. Your flowers will shine just as beautifully as they did hours before your wedding and you’ll feel good knowing you haven’t cut new flowers for a one-day affair.

UPCYCLE:
You’ve heard a lot, over the years, about recycling, but did you know that you can upcycle, too? You can upcycle when you convert unused materials or useless products into new items that are better quality and provide a higher environmental value. Basically, you’re just taking something you don’t love, and turning into something fabulous that you adore! Old assorted beads that may not have any importance individually could look really cool on your bouquet or fastened into your garter! Mismatched old jugs and drinking glasses can become interesting and personable vases or candle holders. The possibilities are truly endless.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION:
Consider keeping all of your wedding events in one location so your guests don’t have to travel too much. Think of how much cleaner the air could be if all of your guests abstained from driving during your wedding weekend. If your rehearsal dinner is in walking distance from the out-of-towners’ hotel, we give you high fives! Keeping the ceremony and the reception in the same location also helps minimize the need for a car.

Also, pick a beautiful location that doesn’t need much decor! When you choose a venue or a ceremony spot that is already complete with flowers or plants or drapery — or whatever it is that you fancy — then you can enjoy it in its original and natural state!

image-courtesy-of-susan-garden

FOOD & DRINK:
If you want to greenify your wedding, ask your caterers to buy their food locally and cook with organic ingredients. Your food will taste better and you’ll be supporting local growers! Double whammy on the goodness meter! Also, try to incorporate local wines in your bar. The more products and vendors from the Slow Food movement, the better for your health, the economy, and your taste buds! After all, not only should food taste good, but it should be produced so that it does not harm the environment and that’s usually in a safe clean way. By doing this, we are also looking out for animal welfare or our health. It’s a win-win!

SEATING ARRANGEMENTS:
Clever ideas for letting your guests know the tables at which they’ll be dining are fun and paper-saving alternatives to escort cards. At the entrance of your reception venue, you could create a seating chart on a chalkboard, using different colors and incorporating whimsical designs to match your wedding’s overall style. Make it big enough so guests can see. You could even include two of the same chalkboards on two sides of the space.

Create a rock pattern on a table with names painted on pebbles or river stones. This idea incorporates nature without wasting or killing it, and complements your natural style. We’ve seen this executed well before, and let’s just say, it rocks!

Double dip your seating assignments and make them your favors, too! Made out of totally recyclable materials, the box contains a tiny terracotta pot and seeds ready for planting! You or someone you know can beautifully write the names of the guests and their table numbers on the front of the box so they can PLANT themselves in their seats and then again, PLANT their favors in their gardens. We like these Plant a Memory favors from Tree Beginnings, Inc.

CEREMONY DETAILS:
Rent a pre-made chuppah! Unless you plan on keeping it (which is fine!), there’s no sense in making your own to just trash it later. Renting allows for many uses of one product that only has to be manufactured once. Using organic materials or upcycling cloth or poles would be nice, green touches!

If you’re going to order yarmulkes for your guests, consider donating them to a local synogogue or Hillel site after the wedding. You’re going to have leftover yarmulkes so it would be great, and even mitzvah-ish, to donate them to an organization that always needs them. Or, go the other way: if you don’t want to order new yarmulkes, you can collect some from various Jewish affiliations that would probably be happy to let you borrow them for such a wonderful simcha! Spreading love through a kippah: now that’s green AND warm-fuzzies.

Many brides choose to create programs, and they’re often very helpful for Jewish weddings for non-Jewish guests who may be unfamiliar with the ceremony. It’s okay to have programs if you want them. Print them on recycled paper and keep them short and sweet. Simple programs with the necessary information

RESOURCES:
If you’re a green bride looking for online places to research, check out RecycledBride.com for ecofriendly wedding purchases! You can find gently used… everything! We especially love what’s offered in Decor and Table items! With RecycledBride.com, planning your green wedding is a fun and feel-good treasure hunt!

In honor of Green Week, we’ve partnered up with our favorite green online store, The Eco Luxe Life! These green gurus know about every hot product on the market because they’ve personally tested them. From bath & body, to Fido, to chocolate, The Eco Luxe Life has got you covered in all your eco-friendly endeavors. They know all about luxury and pampering and promise that you don’t have to foresake any of the girly stuff we love while saving the planet.

AND guess what? TheEcoLuxeLife loves The Wedding Yentas and all of our readers! So, just for us, they’ve created a coupon code for $5 off any purchase of $20 or more! Start shopping: http://www.theecoluxelifestore.com/

Just type in WEDDINGYENTAS at checkout and your loot is all yours for $5 off!

Preserving our planet, planning a wedding, and purchasing posh treasures: Life. Is. Good.

ModernTribe Winner Announced

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Alison in Real Jewish Weddings

We are bursting with joy to announce our winner for the Paloma’s Nest Ahava Ring Bearer Bowl exclusive to ModernTribe.com! We know that this prize will have a wonderful place in the wedding of…

Alli and Joe!

Congrats, Alli, on winning this beautiful piece! It will be a special addition to your wedding! The Wedding Yentas, Paloma’s Nest, and ModernTribe Jewish Gifts all wish you a perfect and happy day!

Thanks to all of our entries! We hope you continue to participate in more exciting sweepstakes with The Wedding Yentas!!