Ecoccasions

Mini Easter eggs are great for Easter treats, Easter egg hunts and for those of us who don’t want to be too greedy – even though we may get through a whole bag of them!

The Natural Collection is offering a pack of free fair-trade Easter eggs with every order over £50.  Take advantage, the Natural Collection offers a great range of eco-friendly gifts and everyday items and you can feel good eating and giving fair-trade Easter eggs this Easter.

The main theme that runs through the majority of children’s party we have attended for my two children under 5 yrs old have been attending one of our various soft play room, whether private or at a local leisure centre.   For the hosts at least this means the mess from birthday tea isn’t at home – quite major consideration!

Party bags are a regular, presents of course and party food are all regular features.  So, how do we make these aspects eco-friendly?

Fait-trade and recycled gifts are fabulous and range from wooden toys to recycled felt tip pens and bags.   Tariro offer a great range of items ideal for party bags, pass the parcel layers or gifts (not all on their website so pick up the phone and ask).    Brilliant eco-friendly gift ideas can also be found at the Ethical Superstore and Natural Collection.

For food think organic and look out for the fair-trade logo.  There are a wide range of organic foods now including sweets and chocolate bars and organic/fair-trade chocolate gift ideas.  And why not incorporate organic / fair-trade ingredients when making the cake? . . . or if you’re not the baking type check out the stylish organic chocolate cakes by Tocco or the beautiful designs from Maisie Fantasie . 

For allergy sufferers or for a full on healthy option try No Wierd Stuff and speak to them about your special request.

Remember to mention Ecoccasions!

We’ll be featuring eco-conscious designers and suppliers for the green wedding dress of your dreams.

If you’re in the North East of England and want a wedding dress to reflect your eco-theme then have a look at the collections from Conscious Elegance who design wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses, accessories and infant wear using hemp, silk, and organic cotton .  This small, independent, family-owned company employs only local UK artists who all earn a fair living wage.    And for our DIY brides, they offer organic and sustainable fabrics by the metre.

Whether you’re planning big bash or a small intimate affair the throwaway items we often purchase and bin bags filled at the end of the day (or night!) for these occasions deserve re-thinking.

The Ethical Superstore offer an Eco party Pack which includes biodegradable, compostable and fair-trade products and caters for a party of 20 with everything from plates and straws to colourful balloons.

For all your eco-catering needs from plates and serving dishes to table clothes and party decorations, Little Cherry offer a great range of eco-friendly party supplies.

Fact: It is true that wedding dresses generally look awful on the hanger but incredibly different when you try them on – be brave!

Fact: The more dresses you try on the more time you will use, stressed you’ll become and the more choice and decision making you are giving yourself.  If you are anything like me this is not a good thing.  And it’s not as if you haven’t got enough else to be thinking about!  Case point : The manager from my children’s nursery was at the shop at the same time as us.  After this occasion I found out they visited another TEN shops before guess what . . . coming back and having her sister try and buy the very first dress she had liked!  Take heed!

Fact: Models are usually skinny with very little to fill a wedding dress.  Try on different styles but the likelyhood is that you’ll have an idea of the style that will suit you and that you’ll feel comfortable in.  If you don’t feel comfortabel doing this then DO try on various styles and colours before you decide which you prefer.

Fact: Wedding dresses are generally worn only once.  I spent far less than I’d budgetted on my dress but some dresses are very expensive.  When owners of pricey dresses decide to sell you could be in for a bargain! 

Fact:  This is recycling!  People selling their dresses on sites such as Ebay will often offer lots of pictures so you know exactly what the dress looks like in real life.  Did your mum get rid of her dress or is it in a box somewhere.  I’d love to have a go at my mum for getting rid of her dress before I got married but apart from the fact that she’d probably given up hope she did recycle her wedding dress anyway so good for her!

Over the coming posts we will look at a few sites specialising in buying and selling wedding dresses ( a great eco wedding dress resource) and checking out a few eco wedding dress designers.

It occurred to me while flicking through many bridal magazines over the months how many hundreds if not thousands of wedding designs and dresses are created every year.  Admittedly every now and then I’d see one I really liked but in general it all seemed a little repetitive and unnecessary.  I figured the more dresses the more choice and the more stress surely . . .

I booked an appointment at a new wedding dress shop well in advance looking forward to a girlie day enjoying a glass of bubbly with my head bridesmaid.  In the meantime while my mum was visiting I asked if she’d like to head off to a quaint local bridal shop to try on a few dresses.  I figured it was the kind of thing you should do with your mum.  The bridal shop comprised of a leaning Tudor cottage with one room on the ground floor and a mezzanine sales area/fitting partition.  From the outside it didn’t look like it could fit more than a couple of dresses inside.  But I forgot, I only need one dress!

Can you believe the first dress I picked out (from last season’s sale rail)  the first I tried on of about seven varying in design and colour was the one I fell in love with.  I dragged my head bridesmaid to the shop the next morning (she’s not a morning person)  and she agreed.  It was settled.

So, first eco point.  Always check out your local shops to support local (often small) businesses.

Whatever your tipple go for the eco option!

The Ethical Superstore has a fabulous selection of organic and fair-trade wine, ales and spirits to test out and you can buy the odd bottle or by the caseload.  It’s always a good time for stocking up the wine cellar right?!

Nick

If the weather is fair why not get into spring with a few ideas for the outdoors!  Treasure hunt – hiding the eggs with a twist!  Kids love pirates, why not stretch the traditional egg hunt to a golden egg treasure hunt.  Depending how creative you’re feeling and the age of the kids this could involve a treasure map with an ‘X’ marks the spot, or written clues leading to the hidden eco-treasure.  Use any fair-trade and organic ranges for complete egg-hunting satisfaction.

Egg and spoon races - you could use chocolate eggs so as  not to waste any real ones!  Otherwise use real ones and give chocolate eggs or treats for the winners.

Why not go for gold with an Easter planting session – April is a great time for summer planting and it’s a brilliant way of getting the kids involved.  Why not use sticks or old lolly sticks and make signs for the plants using pictures with a spring and Easter theme.   This will certainly build up a good appetite – or burn of the calories, whichever way you want to look at it!

All your Easter goodies can be purchased at the Natural Collection for fair-trade and organic eggs and Easter gifts or the Ethical Superstore for chocs, flowers and other ideal Easter gifts.

Nick

Why is your venue choice an important one? 

All sorts of factors come into play.  If you want to reduce the environmental impact of your wedding then consider transport, catering and how much local suppliers can be utilised to cut down on transport and provide business for the local community.   Is the venue company eco-conscious?  And all these on top of whether they can accommodate your date and your guests!

The venue for your ceremony will very much depend on your beliefs.  If you are having a religious wedding or a civil ceremony or partnership at a Registry Office then the most eco-friendly choice for your reception will be somewhere local to cut down on one of the main environmental issues – transport. 

We’ll be looking at venues where your booking can contribute to their future and ones which give a little help to the future of us all. . .

Nick

If you are travelling any distance then a very green wedding idea to hold your ceremony and reception at the same venue. 

This will cut down on transport and allow more time for people to enjoy themselves.  It will also help with organisation.  Your venue is likely to have a dedicated wedding planner on site to help with planning and to ensure all runs smoothly on the day. 

We had our wedding in a hotel 200 miles from our home and the majority of long distance guests travelled together on two coaches.  We all stayed at the hotel (and other local hotels and camp sites!) which meant time and money spent locally helping support the local community and businesses. 

Entertainment and decorations including flowers can be transferred easily from ceremony to your reception room which helps cut costs as well as environmental impact!  And having the ceremony and reception in the hotel where you are staying with your three kids certainly makes family dynamics and bedtime with a nanny in the room a dream!

Nick