Looking for a low cost and super eco-friendly way to send your save the dates?  Consider purchasing an e-card!

Save the date e-cards are now available for purchase in our store.  For only $60 you can get a unique and totally customized e-card that you can send out to all your guests.  All colors, text and wording can be customized to your liking for no additional charges and we’ll provide you with a jpg that you can email out to your friends & family.

Contact us if you’d like more information or choose from any pre-existing design and we’ll customize it to your liking.

Spring is here!  In the last couple of weeks I’ve been getting very excited about the summer and starting on the garden in our backyard again.  I planted some seeds that have been coming up nicely in the window sill.  We had a gorgeous weekend so it was time to take out the shovels on Saturday and prepare our garden for the new season.

We had a gorgeous weekend so it was time to take out the shovels on Saturday and prepare our garden for the new season.

We didn’t have nearly as much work to do this year than last year and we were lucky enough to get it all done in one day.  There was still a lot of digging involved to finish up sifting out all the rocks that we didn’t get to last year.

Last year we started up a compost so after the digging was done we mixed the compost into the garden to prep the soil.  Boy does it ever stink!

And of course no gardening session is complete without a photo shoot!

We learned a lot last year that will hopefully help for this year.  I think we’re going to stick to smaller vegetables and avoid planting any squash.  Our zucchini took over the garden last year and killed everything in it’s path,  so we pretty much only had giant zucchinis to eat. We’ll be planting in a couple of weeks and I’ll be posting updates along the way with our progress

Recently I was contacted by Hevin Anne Mueller, owner of Story Weddings & Events.  She plans weddings and events in Edmonton and surrounding areas as well as Vancouver, and encourages her clients to make green choices when planning an event.

Hevin has always had a knack for planning events; from birthday parties, to baby showers, and even her own wedding, she has taken pleasure in bringing others joy by creating memorable experiences.  She had a clear goal in mind of what she wanted for her own wedding and managed to pull it off while staying on budget.  With a background in education and the arts, and her instinctive talent in event planning, becoming an event planner was a natural fit.  After her wedding, she took the wedding planner certification course in 2008 with WPIC.  From there she started Story Weddings & Events.  Her goal is to bring joy and help other couples achieve their wedding vision while staying on budget.

So what makes Story Weddings & Events eco-friendly?

Using her children as inspiration, she thinks of what kind of a world they will grow up in, and encourages her clients to make green choices.  From choosing to use local businesses, to using recycled paper invitations, to purchasing pre-owned products as much as possible, every little bit can affect how much of an impact a wedding or special event has on the environment.

So what sets Story Weddings & Events apart from other event planners?

With a background in education and fine & dramatic arts, Hevin is able to bring a creative eye to everything she does. She studied set design, which has enabled her to bring together what a client envisions for their event.  And with a background in directing shows of up to 300 people, she can put on a large production while creating a mood through lighting, props, décor, and personalized items that tell a story.  Also as a teacher she has learned how to be extremely organized, efficient, and engaging while working within tight deadlines.  All of these unique elements come together in her role as an event planner.

If you’d like to learn more about Story Weddings & Events, visit them online, or check them out on our partners page.

In February we ran a contest with the Green Bride Guide for a chance to win free wedding invitations.

Congratulations to our winner, Quynh P., who is getting married on October 6th and has won 100 cards for her wedding!

If you’d like to be informed about future contests, subscribe to our newsletter or like us on facebook!

I’ve had a lot of brides asking me about the timing of when to order and mail out their save the date cards and wedding invitations.  So here are some handy guidelines to help you stay on top of your wedding planning.

Save the Date Cards
Save the date cards are usually sent anywhere between six months to a year before the wedding.  When to send them depends on a few factors.  If you’re having a destination wedding, have a lot of out of town / international guests, or having your wedding on a popular date (such as New Year’s Eve), it’s best to send your save the date cards about a year out from the wedding.

If you’re having a lot of local guests, sending save the date cards anywhere up to six months ahead of the wedding is fine.

Wedding Invitations
Again, when to send your wedding invitations depends on where the wedding is being held, if your guests are local or out-of-towners, and also the size of the wedding.  Typically, invitations are mailed two to three months ahead of the wedding.  You can send some invitations to out of town guests earlier as well.  If you’re having a small wedding, or a wedding with mostly local guests sending invitations only six weeks before the wedding is also acceptable.

Other factors that may determine when to send your invitations could be dependant on when your venue(s) or caterer needs to have a confirmed number of guests.

Thank You Cards
Thank you cards should be mailed within three months of the wedding, but preferably the sooner the better.  Handwritten cards are considered proper etiquette and they also have a nice touch, showing you took the time to sit down and thank your guests for their gifts.  Always remember to mention what the gift was in your thank you card. If money was given, do not mention the amount, but you can thank the guest for their “generous gift” and how it will help you after your wedding (ie. Travel, honeymoon).

Now that you have these important timelines of when to send different kinds of wedding cards, you might be wondering what our turnaround time is for having cards printed.

It’s actually pretty quick!

If you’re selecting a design from the store and would like some colour and text changes, we can have a proof ready for your approval within the same day.  If you would like a custom design done, an initial proof can be ready within a week.  The design process varies depending on how many changes you would like made, but once the proof is approved printing takes two to three business days.

For local orders within the lower mainland, we can have delivery done as quickly as same day service if using a local eco courier!  In the rest of BC, delivery is 2 to 3 business days, and for the rest of Canada delivery is 4 to 5 business days.  If you’re ordering from the U.S., delivery is anywhere from 5 to 9 business days.

That being said, if you’re based in Vancouver and approve your order right away it can be delivered to you in as little as three days from placing your order.

If you have any further questions about when to order or mail out your invitations, please contact us!

Last weekend we participated in Indie I Do for the 3^rd year in a row.  It was a great day and we had a lot of friendly brides to talk to.  Thanks to all of you for stopping by to say hello.

We had a number of people enter our draw for a chance to win free wedding invitations. Congratulations to our winner, Josie A., who is getting married on August 25th and has won 200 cards for her wedding!

There were quite a few new & interesting vendors this year, and here were some of our favorites.

Lana Betty – Looking for some unique jewelry for your special day? Lana Betty has some very beautiful and vintage inspired jewelry.  I especially liked her cute owl earrings.  They come in so many different colours too!

Revel Events – An event planning company run by Jenna Smith, she makes sure every little detail is taken care of for your special day.  I absolutely loved her booth too! Her DIY backdrop of streamers and bouquets of handmade crepe paper flowers were gorgeous.

Feest – They provide all natural bath products and use eco-consious packaging.  I loved how environmentally friendly they were.  What was especially neat was their lavender bud confetti.  Instead of blowing bubbles or showering the newlyweds with rice, shower them with the scent of lavender.  They’re biodegradable too!

Thanks to everyone for making it a great day.  We had a great time and got quite a few interesting suggestions for new wedding invitation designs.  We’ll be expanding our catalog throughout the year, so watch for design updates!

So I decided to make the swag for this year’s Indie I Do.  It was fun doing it myself and I think it added a nice touch as well.  So what are we giving away?  French Vanilla Soy Candles!  They would also work great for wedding favours (and are all-natural to boot!)  If you’d like to try and make these yourself, here’s how to do it.

The candles I made were done in 125ml mason jars, but you can really use anything you like.  At this time of year, mason jars were great as they have now been emptied from eating everything from summer canning  All the candle supplies were purchased locally from Wicks and Wax in Burnaby.

If you’re aiming to make 100 candles, here’s what you’ll need:

-       8kg of wax
-       100 wick tabs
-       5 meters of wicks
-       Scent (if desired)
-       100 125ml jars

Melt the wax in a pot and heat to 155 degrees farenheight.

In the meantime, cut the wicks to 2” in length.

Insert the wicks into the wick tabs and squeeze with pliers to secure.

When the wax gets to 155 degrees, add the scent.  Don’t heat the scent for too long or else the smell will disappear.  It didn’t take too long for the wax to melt completely, so make sure to watch it closely.

Pour the wax into jars when it’s between 125 – 155 degrees.

Drop in the wicks and wait for the wax to solidify.

That’s it!  You could make some custom labels (like I did) or cover the jar with a bit of fabric for a personal touch

These were really easy to make, and only ended up costing about $70, not including the jars.  If you were to purchase the jars they run about $13/dozen.

I was feeling extra creative and I had a small bit of wax leftover, and with our recycling bin nearby I decided to make a beer can-dle (haha!).  This just shows how versatile and creative you can be.

Come to Indie I Do next weekend to grab a swag bag filled with some awesome loot!  We still have a couple of free passes to give away so contact us if you’d like some.

We’ve recently partnered with another event planning company, deBelle Designs.  deBelle Designs is a Vancouver-based wedding planner, run by Elise Duchesneau.

Elise originally got involved with the wedding industry through a friend that started her own wedding dress company (www.puresomething.com), where she modeled some of the dresses, and fell in love.  Because of her experience with Pure Something, Elise had attended numerous wedding shows and had made a number of contacts with a variety of wedding vendors, so becoming a wedding planner came naturally.  She also planned her own wedding so she knows just how stressful things can be from the bride’s point of view.  Unlike some wedding planners, Elise designs weddings that are tailored to each couple.

deBelle designs is also eco-friendly.  They reuse many of their items and instead of buying brand new items, they often find things at second hand stores.  They also encourage their couples to rent items instead of buying them.

For more information about Elise and deBelle Designs and how they can be of service to you on your special day, visit them online or check out our partners page.

Five new Valentine’s Day cards are now available for purchase.  Check out these unique and punny designs, which can be purchased in singles or in packages of 10.  Done post-card style, in traditional Valentine’s Day Card format.

It’s January, which means wedding season is now upon us.  Time to put away the Christmas decorations and get planning!

On January 28th we’ll be participating in the Indie I Do Wedding Show for the third year in a row, and we have some free passes to give away.

If you would like receive some passes to the show, follow us on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook and let us know about it in the comments below.

The first 70 tickets purchased receive a swag bag filled with all sorts of tangible goodies!  I’ll be making all of our swag so keep an eye out for an upcoming post for a sneak peek to see what we’re giving away this year.

Valentine’s Day cards will also be available for purchase at our booth.

For more information about Indie I Do Wedding show, visit them online at www.indieido.com.