At this year’s EP!C we were fortunate to participate as exhibitors in the Eco-Friendly Wedding Showcase. The convention was hosted at Vancouver’s green convention centre; a beautiful building which boasts a 6 acre rooftop garden, a rainwater recovery system, and a seawater heating and cooling system.

Weddings

The green wedding showcase debuted at this year’s expo. We are very grateful to Green Chair Events who co-ordinated the showcase.

Some of the vendors that were in the Wedding Showcase included:

• Caroline Calvert Couture – Vancouver local custom gowns, created with natural fabrics.
• Amoda Flowers – Sustainable flower design. Amoda Flowers are fair trade, locally grown, wild crafted or organically grown.
• Sweet Naturally – Wedding cakes and cupcakes created with fresh and natural ingredients.
• Love Green Weddings – Green wedding planning services.
• Evergrow Christmas Trees – Live Christmas tree rentals, very popular for Winter weddings.

And of course there were lots of green vendors that were not wedding related. We can’t list them all, but here are our favorites:

Shirtland Drycleaners – A Vancouver dry cleaning service that uses a non-toxic and biodegradable cleaning solvent. I especially love how they use 100% biodegrable plastic bags that are automatically cut to the size of the garment.

U.S.E.D – A company that designs their products using recycled seatbelts. Their bags are so unique!

EP!C is an annual event, so if you weren’t able to make it this year, make sure to check it out next year May 13-15, 2011.

We first encountered Sustainably Sweet at the Bakers Market in Vancouver. Corinne had bought the Brio Bars – raw energy bars made with all natural ingredients . Our verdict: Absolutely delicious and surprisingly filling. With our busy work schedules, we often don’t have time for breakfast. These bars however, kept as full until lunch. We contacted Stephanie Burlton, the head baker, to learn more about Sustainably Sweet.

Raw energy bar made with all natural, whole foods, free of artificial flavours and chemicals.

Jahzel/Corinne: How did you start?

Stephanie: It’s something (baking) I’ve always loved doing. Especially for my friends birthdays. It made me happy and feel complete. With much encouragement from my friends, I decided to create Sustainably Sweet and to make my passion what I do for a living.

Jahzel/Corinne: Why did you decide to go green?

Stephanie: I don’t think people realize how big an impact their food choices make. It makes a big difference. What I want to provide is the choice for products that are better for the environment.

Jahzel/Corinne: How is Sustainably Sweet eco-friendly?

Stephanie: I am different from many eco-friendly bakers in that I am not fully invested in organic ingredients. I use them, but it’s not my focus. Sustainably Sweet minimize carboon footprint by being completely free of animal products. The amount of resources we use to feed livestock and process meat is staggering, and because of this I felt that it was more important to cut out animal products rather than focusing on all organic ingredients.

Jahzel/Corinne: How do you bake without animal products?

Stephanie: It depends on what animal products you are replacing. For example eggs, if the eggs were originally being used as a binder an excellent alternative is ground flax seed.

Jahzel/Corinne: How else are you green?

Stephanie: I use natural (unbleached) wheat, natural cane sugar, minimize packaging as possible, and use reusable molds for cupckae binders. I am also personally dedicated to living a sustainable life. I do all the basic things like recycling and compost – I bike everywhere!

Jahzel/Corinne: What is the future of Sustainably Sweet?

Stephanie: I defintely want to add cakes and pastries in my menu. In the future I would like to go into catering. I am currently in culinary school to achieve these goals.

Thank you very much Stephanie for meeting with us, we’re excited to have you as our green partner!

100% vegan - a sweet way to reduce your environmental impact

Learn more about Sustainably Sweet - Energy Bars, Cupcakes, Cookies and Treats

This month only we are offering a free wedding website to the first three couples who purchase invitations in June. This promotion includes:

1. A website in the same design as your invitation
2. *Web Hosting up to 1 month after your wedding date
3. Unlimited updates to the information on your website

Check out the 8 Bit Wedding Website for an example.

Check out our store for the 8 Bit Wedding Invitation.