Friday Wine Tasting... Local Wines

Today I thought I would feature some of Connecticut's Best Chardonnays as the wine picks of the week (even though they are slightly higher than my $10 price point, it is worth a couple extra bucks to support local.)

One of the best ways to incorporate "green" into your wedding is to support local farmers and producers. The CT wine trail is also a great thing for guests to do while visiting Connecticut. The vineyards offer daily tastings and tours and also host farmer's markets, music festivals, and wine seminars throughout the year. Be sure to check out each winery's individual site for a calendar of events.

Chamard Vineyard 2004 Estate Chardonnay

A rich, viscous Chardonnay bursting with creamy tropical fruits flavors, hints of ripe melon and pineapple. Bound to attract a lot of fans. With low acidity and very pronounced aromatics, this is a luscious Burgundian style Chardonnay.

$17.99/bottle

Jonathan Edwards 2007 Estate Connecticut Chardonnay

One of our customer and staff favorites! Enjoy the ultra bright, fruit forward citrus bouquet of green apples and lemons, which is framed with light nuances of smoky vanilla oak from our large French barrels. This silky smooth, easy drinking wine pairs perfectly with seafood and fresh cheeses or is excellent all by itself on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

$19/bottle

Sharpe Hill Vineyard Reserve Chardonnay

A well balanced, crisp Chardonnay with good fruit flavors. It is a 100% estate grown blend of Chardonnay and Melon de Bourgogne. Serve with all light fare especially seafood.

$16.99/Bottle

Green Wedding Tip... Water Bottles

These stainless steel water bottles by Earthlust would be a great addition to your bridal party gift bags. They are by far the best designs I have seen on any water bottle. I have already ordered the peacock feather design, I just couldn't resist.

EarthLust bottles are made from high quality food grade stainless steel, which is naturally safe unlined. Most of their bottles are limited edition and are all custom designs- with new designs arriving soon! Every bottle helps to eliminate waste.

Another Green tip: When working with your caterer for your wedding eliminate the use of plastic water bottles. Ask your caterer to use glass jars. Fill the jars with interesting beverages depending on the time of year. I love cucumber infused water, or basil infused lemonade. Not only are you helping the Earth but they make a beautiful display of beverages.

image via, Snippet and Ink

Green Wedding Tip... Bridesmaids Gifts

I am totally obsessed with these bags from Baggu, they are brilliant and come in every color you could imagine. I think they make the perfect bridesmaid gift and are totally eco chic! The reusable bags are 100% ripstop nylon, fold into a flat 5" by 5" pouch, hold up to 25 lbs and you can throw them in the washing machine. Using one Baggu for one year replaces 300 to 700 disposable bags. That helps reduce some of the 100 billion plastic bags sent to a landfill in the US last year.

I love the idea of filling them with things that your bridal party will use and truly enjoy. Fill the bags with something that makes them smell nice, feel nice, and live nice. Another great idea is to wrap them all in mismatched, re-used shopping bags, newspaper, tissue paper, (like the ones from boutiques and wine stores), you can get really creative here using all recycled wrapped supplies.

On the Baggu site they have pictures of different ways people have gotten creative with gifting and using the bags. I would love to see images of the ways you all use the bags and what you put in them, so if you love this idea send me your pics and I will post to the blog.

Eco Chic Wedding Board

Inspired by Monday's Eco Font I have put together a "Green" wedding board. There are many ways to incorporate Eco friendly ideas into your wedding and this week I will be giving you tips on how to do so. I will also share with you some of my favorite DIY projects. I hope this board will inspire you to incorporate "Green" into your wedding.

Row 1:Recycled Glass Centerpiece, via Once Wed blog, Save the Date, via Once Wed Blog, Flower can vignette, via Snippet and Ink, Salad, via Style me Pretty
Row 2: Rock Candy Favors, via Style Me Pretty, Cucumber Cup, brides.com, Food by Counter, NYC, counternyc.com, Tree Stump Stools, via Style Me Pretty, Bocce Ball During Cocktail Hour, the Knot
Row 3: Recycled Map Invitations, Super Fantastico,Starting at $5, Bamboo Flatware, via Snippet and Ink, Bride and Groom Bicycle, via Once Wed Blog, Wedding Cake, by Hot Cakes, via Snippet and Ink
Row 4: Napkin Ring made of Grass, via Brides.com, Soy Wax Candles, via Martha Stewart, Plates, Terra Keramik, Glass Jar Punch, via Style Me Pretty
Row 5: Vegetable Pot Centerpieces, via Snippet and Ink, Moss Julep Cup Vingette, via brides.com, Saltwater Farm Vineyard, image by Black Dog Photography, Centerpiece, via Snippet and Ink
Row 6: Guest Favor, via Once Wed blog, Strawberry Jam Favor, via the Knot, Cake Topper, via Etsy

TRUE & WESSON Philosophy # 6

Stolen from Mark Malazarte.

Eco Chic Wedding... Hanging Hankerchief Vases

I came across this fabulous DIY project on Once Wed this morning and just had to share with all of you. This is a great way to recycle glass jars and beautiful handkerchiefs to add a vintage "Eco Chic" design element to your wedding.

What You'll Need:

Several Canning Jars (1/2 pint wide mouth with the straight sides)
Several Handkerchiefs (in coordinating colors)
Ribbon
Bailing Wire
Rubber Bands
Flowers
Wire Cutters
Scissors
Iron and Ironing Board

Resources: Canning jars are easy to find at yard sales and thrift stores, so are handkerchiefs. Bailing wire is available at any hardware store.

Directions:
1. Press all of your handkerchiefs flat. (if you're going to be use these in a humid location, I would suggest using a little spray starch to help keep them crisp)
2. Fold the bottom of your handkerchief up (see figure 1) and the top of the handkerchief down (see figure 2) to create a band of fabric that is the same height as the jar. Press the folds.
3. Cut a 2 1/2 foot length of bailing wire. Wrap it tightly around the grooves in the top of the jar, then create a hanger. (see figure 3)
4. Wrap the folded handkerchief around the vase and secure it with a rubber band. (see figure 4)
5. Cut a length of ribbon (about 18 inches or so) and tie it around the vase to conceal the rubber band. Tie the tails in a bow. (see figure 5)
6. Add a little water in the bottom of your vase, insert the flowers. ( see figure 6)
7. Create a grouping of coordinating vases and hang from a tree, and arbor, or from the ceiling.

What it Cost:
Handkerchiefs $.25 - $3.00 each
Ribbon $.25 a yard
Bailing wire $3 for a 50 foot spool
Jars, if purchased new are about $9 for one dozen (but they are easily found for much less when used)

Green Wedding Tip... Save a Tree

Spare a Tree Create a Web site with event details so guests can print only the information they need or want, like the weekend itinerary or directions. The majority of the paper used for wedding invitations comes from virgin pulp sourced from endangered forests. By simply eliminating costly invitation inserts, you'll save at least 25% and preserve the carbon-absorbing power of countless trees. (via, Eco Chic Weddings Blog)

Wedding Website Templates available online are quite limited unless you work with a graphic designer. Chocolate Creative Design will work with you to customize your website based on your invitation design and overall color story and vision for your event.

Website Templates available online:
Wed Page Designs
Wed Share
Wedding Window

Free Sites:
The Knot
Wedding Channel
E Wedding

True Event New Site

Today is a very exciting day! True Event's new site is live! It has definitely been a labor of love designing this site in collaboration with Lucinda and Jon from Braincloud Media and I couldn't be happier with the outcome. It is everything and more than I had hoped for. Working with Lucinda is truly amazing, her eye for design and attention to detail is impeccable. She is the hardest working person I know and never settles for just ok. We worked on the site together until it was 100% perfect. So I want to give a huge shout out to Chocolate Creative Design and to my dear friend Lucinda for taking my vision and making it come alive on the web. And to Jon from Braincloud Media for adding the magic behind the site and his incredible patience.
Check out the site at www.trueevent.com

A beautiful collaboration...

In celebration of the launch of True Event and Chocolate Creative Design and our love of collaboration, we have teamed up with Erica from Adeline and Grace Photography to offer this special promotion for the month of March. The three of us had such an amazing time working together on Deirdre and Jason's wedding (pictured above and on Style Me Pretty this month) we are hoping to collaborate many more times in 2010.

Monday Typefaces...Ecofont

We are all trying to do our part to be green. Fortunately, there are some who are making it a little easier for all of us to adapt. There's a new font in town, Ecofont, created by Dutch agency Sprang. Apparently, it uses 20% less ink than other fonts, therefore extending the life of ink cartridges and toners. Green in graphics!! Love it! What's even better, is that it's free to download.