"Ask Corina" Blog

We’re all loving the phonetic spelling…it’s so adorable. Thanks to her mom, Sirena, for sharing the beauty and innocence of childhood with us…and the power of love!

This was asked by a reporter recently, and I thought I’d publish my full remarks…

We live in a time where people have a growing concern for our environment– loss of biodiversity, pollution, social injustices, and fossil fuel dependency. This concern has driven millions of people to choose a more balanced and healthy lifestyle. These consumers are known at the LOHAS (Lifestyle of the Healthy and Sustainable) market, and are about 50 million people in the US today. This market represents individuals who are willing to pay more to have an organic, healthy lifestyle that supports sustainable systems.

Vibrant Events was started because I feel that the wedding industry has missed the opportunity to support the sustainable economy. It sells over-consumption and unsustainable products, trying to get brides and grooms to buy more, more, more. Until just the last three years, it was extraordinarily difficult for couples to fully integrate their sustainable lifestyles into their wedding. It took 1) a lot of research and work to find the right products and services, and 2) it was hard to find sources that lived up to a certain refined style aesthetic people wanted for their wedding. But now with the onset of companies like Organic Bouquet, Brilliant Earth, and the HauteGreen movement happening in NYC, there are plenty of high quality, and high style sustainable alternatives to meet every couples needs.

Within the green wedding market there has been a wonderful trend in wedding gowns. The fashion industry has been slow to green itself, for a number of reasons, so I can’t be more happy to see today the amazing trend among gown designers to think eco-friendly. I’m certain this will continue and grow as more designers think outside of the box, and create stylish and sustainable alternatives for the green-minded bride!

But of course, my favorite trend within green weddings, is the ability for couples to offset the carbon emissions from the event through several organizations like CarbonFund.org. Though still controversial, I’m a big believer in using innovative solutions to combat the challenges we face environmentally and socially, and to me, carbon offsetting is a solution we can engage in now. I like that kind of immediate gratification, and I think most brides and grooms do too!

The EPA lists reuse as the top strategy for reducing waste in landfills. Quilters have know the fabulousness of scrap material reuse for centuries, and create masterpieces of art and meaning with them. So I wondered what was possible with the reuse of scrap material for a green wedding or special event. Here are some fun, whimsical, and playful opportunities to integrate reuse of linens!

Feel free to send more ideas my way. This was a lot of fun to research.

1.  Escort Cards: Perfect for the DIY bride who may have integrated customized vintage table runners into her tablescapes. From Martha Stewart .com here is a very cute way to guide your guests to their tables. Find DIY directions online here.

2. Flower Vessels: Are you like me and can’t bare to throw out (or recycle) beautiful glass milk containers, ceramic yogurt jars, and other sweet food vessels? Then reusing them with vintage scrap fabric can create a gorgeous alternative to your usual flower vases, and could be a very unique approach to your special event centerpieces. 100 Layer Cake shows you how to re-create these vessel alternatives here.

 3. Bunting Banner: Festive for yourbackyard or any special event, bunting banners easily utilize scrap material, old curtains, or plastic shower curtail you can’t bare to chuck away. Decide on a color palate or range of colors, find some fun scrap materials, grab your pinking sheers, make a cardboard triangle template, and start cutting! Crafting a Green World.com has directions for you online here.

4. Napkins & more: Check out this article from Apartment Therapy which has multiple uses for your home, but might be translated to an event. Like  lavender sachet’s as favors for your guests, or re-creating fabric scraps as napkins!

Head’s up on this amazing workshop with the founders of Cafe Gratitude, in Los Angeles May 1st & 2nd. We’ll be participating in the March 20th, 21st workshop in San Francisco, and I’m so excited!

The foundation of being in relationship is explored with the guidance of Cafe Gratitude founders, Mathew and Terces Engelhart. Personally, I’ve declared them  models in relationship and marriage for myself, and I can’t wait to deepen my understanding of the love that they embody and radiate!

Check out all their powerful workshops through out the year. But if you are getting married this year, and live in LA, I say this one in particular is a must!

Not just a trend anymore, the recent Forbes.com article on green weddings proves eco-nuptuals are here to stay. And, it’s not just couples that are making the shift to green weddings, the article points to a change in the midset of caterers as well as the onset of the ever popular eco-bridal registry.

“[Another trend is]… caterers’ use of local produce and a decrease in portion sizes–both in response to seeing so much food waste.”

Congratulations to green wedding planner Sarah Shewey ,of Pink Cloud Evens in LA, for a great interview. Green weddings are not just about the wedding, and Shewey knows how great it feels when lifestyles are changed as well.

“There’s an education process that affects the bride’s lifestyle after the wedding, which we get really excited about,” she says. “The wedding is a small reflection and projection of what our lifestyle is going to be, so being able to incorporate things like fashion and makeup and hair, something all of us girls do every day, is cool.”

It’s amazing to think that green weddings can have, and do have, a lasting effect on couples. One couple interviewed said “Before this, we didn’t do anything…it didn’t even cross our mind.” Now they are more concious and aware of their daily impacts. What a great feeling!!

“Yay” for fabulous green wedding planners, couples, and all the eco-vendors that help make this life ritual/passage possible AND responsible! Thanks to all!!

We love the gorgeous spring garden bouquet’s from San Francisco’s Flora Grubb. Their wild, natural beauty speaks to the soul!

Flora Grubb designers use local, in season, and foraged flowers. Their unique hand picked approach is such a fabulous look for any green event or home desktop (hint to the boyfriend!). Learn how to create your own on their blog-(floragrubb.com/cutting) be sure to scroll down! Enjoy!!

Union Street Winter Bridal Walk
Sunday, Feb 28 12:00p to 4:00p
at Union Street ~ Gough to Steiner, San Francisco, CA

Price: $45 for VIP brides, $20 for General Admission Brides
Phone: (415) 346-5712

Buy Tickets here

Hosted by Union Street Wedding Ring, the Winter Bridal Walk is designed for brides-to-be to meet nearly two dozen of San Francisco’s most exclusive bridal shops for an elegant afternoon of walking and wedding inspiration on Union Street. Peruse couture gowns, stunning jewels, peony bouquets, perfectly letter-pressed stationery, handmade photo albums and more.

The Winter Bridal Walk is designed for brides-to-be to meet nearly two dozen of San Francisco’s most exclusive bridal shops for an elegant afternoon of walking and wedding inspiration on Union Street. Peruse couture gowns, stunning jewels, peony bouquets, perfectly letter-pressed stationery, handmade photo albums and more. All guests will enjoy delectable sweets, as well as amazing offers created just for the Bridal Walk brides.

Net proceeds from the event will support The Thrive House for Youth.

Round up your ladies for an afternoon designed to please the entire bridal posse! Not your average bridal fair, this eclectic gathering of event professionals includes many hidden gems on the SF wedding scene.

This is your show to be inspired! From thowing swanky soirees to planning an eco-friendly wedding, this pop-up wedding salon will showcase handcrafted and fresh approaches to design, gifts, dress and more.

Admission is FREE so bring the whole crew!

When? Sunday, March 7, 2010  *  1:00 - 4:00 PM

Where? BellaPelle Skin Studio  *  9 Maiden Lane, San Francisco, Union Square

It’s time again…another holiday full of thoughtful cards, expensive flowers, and calorie-laden chocolates. Valentine’s Day alone, according to the U.S. Greeting Card Association, generates over one billion Valentine’s cards each year, while fifty-five million roses are traded globally. This is big business! So, as you prepare to acknowledge your sweetheart this February 14th, spoil yourselves, not the planet, with these environmentally-aware alternatives.

Heart Shaped Plantable Valentine’s Day Card @ Botanical Paperworks
Always fun, these hearts are made from 100% post consumer waste stock with emended wildflower seeds. Plant them and they will grow!

Silver Heart Pendant with Conflict Free Diamond @ Brilliant Earth
A true gift from the heart, this delicate recycled sterling silver pendant sparkles with a conflict free diamond. By the fine jewelers of Brilliant Earth, are committed to pure and socially responsible sourcing, and harvesting.

Organic, Vegan, Aphrodisiac Dinner @ Millennium Restaurant
This gourmet dining experience in San Francisco is prepared with vegetarian, healthy, and environmentally friendly foods. Enjoy a five course prix fixe menu laced with aphrodisiacs to ignite your evening of love.

Sustainable Sex @ Good Clean Love
Making love sustainable, Good Clean Love sells all natural and organic green products for your health and sexual enhancement. Try their love set– a collection of the best selling products, destined to make l make your Valentine’s night a celebration that will last throughout the year.

Eco-Elegant Valentine Flowers & Chocolates @ Organic Bouquet
Send your love to that special someone with sustainable flowers, wreaths and chocolates. Organic Bouquet, the original online organic flower store, offers products with the highest social and environmental standards and practices.

If you live in the Bay Area, you know you have limitless options for healthy, organic, local food and drink. So there’s no reason why your green wedding can’t have a super sustainable cake to represent your passion for the environment, and appreciation for the abundance we have available as California residents.

One of SF’s premier vegetarian restaurants, Millenium, offers made-to-order organic, vegan wedding cakes – and most of the ingredients are sourced locally. Miette Cakes, true to their farmer’s market beginnings, chooses organic, local, and sustainable ingredients for all their confections – they book up quickly for wedding cakes.

If you want your cake to reflect your ethical as well as environmental values, there are many in the Bay that will not let you down. Hannah’s Edible Arts commitment to support sustainable agriculture, fair trade, and humane treatment of animals shows in her fabulous artistic creations. True Confections Cakes in the East Bay takes great care in minimizing their environmental impact by delivering your cake using a ride-share service, reducing their energy use, and using biodegradable cleaning products. Clara Lindstrom, who has been baking gluten-free for 10 years, gets her ingredients from local farmers markets and works with a family owned dairy. Check out her wedding cake gallery at Simply the Best – the Devilish Ginger sounds decadent! We love that Edith Meyer chooses to use Green and Blacks Chocolate in her cakes, ensuring quality (it’s certified organic) and fair working conditions.