Gina McLean Photography

Okay, so I guess it I am never too old to change my ways. I have been a slow convert to all of this “save the earth” stuff.  I have been pretty lazy and sort of enjoyed the convenience of our microwave, get it now society.  Since I have been in the wedding industry, I have had several incidences  that caused me to pause and examine my feelings on anissue.   I know that I may make a few enemies in my industry, but I have to take a stand somewhere, right?  The first disturbing incident was at a wedding show several years ago with the sudden popularity of “Trash The Dress”.  It just struck me as very sad, that all of this time, energy, resources, and, oh yeah, money, went into this item just to “trash it”.  Would it not be a better idea to donate it for a good cause if the bride really did not care to keep it?  The next incident isnt an isolated event, but more of a regular occurrence that makes wonder.  As a vendor, I am one of the last people to leave a wedding, and so I get to see the insane amount of trash and party favors left after the party has ended.

Okay, so all of these thoughts and ideas have been running through my mind for a while. Well, today I attended the once a month luncheon held by the Professional Wedding Guild.  The guest speaker was Daniel Whittaker from Green Planet Catering .  This guy had such an impressive speech that I was ready to run out this afternoon, sell my car, and convert to bio-diesel. I am not kidding.  I don’t care if I smell like a french fry driving down the road. At $1.20 per gallon, I’ll take it.  I am ready to buy chickens and have my own eggs.  Until I wake up tomorrow tired and hungry.  So what can I bring back home to use in my business life?  Daniel talked about  Into Green Fashions, a local company who will make a bride an eco-friendly wedding gown.  Green Planet Catering will cut the waste from a wedding by almost 95%.  They will deliver food from local farmers only.  They will even complete the cycle from “earth to earth” through a compost service.

About my own wedding. As a wedding vendor, this is also going to make me unpopular with my colleagues, but I just couldn’t stand the thought of a “traditional” wedding.  I usually leave a wedding thinking that if the bride and groom dedicate as much time to nurturing their marriage as they did planning their reception, the world would be a much better place. One of the ideas that Daniel mentioned was other good ideas besides having all of the flowers that will die and be thrown out.  I didn’t have flowers! Score!  I felt the same way and didn’t even know I was being environmentally conscious! Ha!  We splurged on the food, because we wanted to feed our family and friends. We did use real china, so everyone stood around washing dishes when it was all over.  But nothing was thrown away.  Although I didn’t do this, I love the idea of giving plants or seeds as wedding favors. I photographed a wedding about six years ago, and still have the hydrangea that the couple gave away as wedding favors on my front porch. It blooms every year and I think of them!

If any of this stirs you, or you want more great wedding ideas, visit Offbeat Bride. They are a great source that I came across in my search of different ideas for weddings. Update: We have started a blog to share your ideas for Eco-friendly weddings. Please share your ideas and post your comments on Green Planet Wedding.com

Please share with us any of your own ideas!

Thanks to A Step Into Gold International Ballroom for hosting the luncheon!

Rebecca and Allen called us at the last minute in October to see if we were available to photograph their wedding.  We were pretty busy that weekend, but we could not turn down an opportunity to photograph a wedding at The Oceanic Restaurant at Wrightsville Beach. This is the only beachfront restaurant around that offers seating on the pier, so we knew it would be gorgeous.  Well, everyone was set up to have the ceremony on the pier overlooking the ocean, but about ten minutes before the wedding, it began to rain.  The staff was able to quickly move everything inside, on the third floor, near a huge window/wall.  This gave us the beautiful ocean view we were hoping for, and the wedding went smoothly!  As soon as the “I do’s” were done, the sun came out, so we were able to go out to the beach to get great shots of this adorable couple!

This was probably one of the most fun weddings I have ever photographed .  Russ & Morgan had their wedding at Haywood Hall.  They were such a fun couple and the bride was a total ham for the camera.  These are some of my favorites from their day.

Beginning with THE DRESS!

And THEN the SHOES…

And of course, the girls getting ready…….

And Russ putting on his tie and getting a letter from his beloved.

The beautiful bride putting on her garter..

Getting a kiss from dad…

The girls making the walk to the isle…

Dance with dad…

And with her new husband…

And just having fun with the camera…

We finished off last year’s wedding season on December 27, with Daniel and Jessie.   St. Mark’s Chapel, on the grounds of  Mordecai Historic Park in downtown Raleigh is a charming and intimate venue for a  small wedding, and proved to be the perfect backdrop for a unique couple.  Cafe Luna topped it off with incredible food and extraordinary scenery. Congratulations, guys!

Jessie exchanging last minute words with dad before walking down the isle. St. Mark’s Chapel The girls waiting expectantly! Always have to photograph the rings! Last minute before “I do”. Beautiful view from the balcony of St. Mark’s  Chapel

The end of a beautiful evening!