This week found me starting my search for wedding flowers. I had the perfect plan straight from a past Natural Home article: Call a local "you pick" flower farm, go get a bunch of local, seasonal blooms, and have a big bouquet-making workshop with friends (actually, the farm featured in the article is just outside my town). Fun, local and less expensive than hiring a florist. I visited the farmer's market last weekend for our weekly produce and stopped by the flower farms booth to talk about my plan. BAD NEWS: My wedding is scheduled for May 15th. The flower farm has nothing blooming by then! They said their earliest flowers are peonies, but they couldn't guarantee them by that date. By May 20th, yes. May 15th, no. Oh geez. Plan in ruin.

I called around to a couple other places. Same story.

So now I'm back to the drawing board. I did locate a woman online yesterday who also owns a flower farm and has actually written a book on the subject of growing eco-friendly flowers. I've tried to make contact, so hopefully something will work out. I feel confident that there must be eco-friendly greenhouse growers in my area, but so far I haven't had much luck finding them. Another potential option would be to use some beautiful flowering herbs, which mature more quickly than many flowers. Also on my potentials list is buying a grow light and growing my own flowers indoors. My fiance has a bit of a green thumb, but I have no idea how labor-intensive this might turn out to be. The same article from a past Natural Home also suggested this online organic flower company...a great option, though I would love to find something organic and local. I will keep you posted as my progress continues. Has anyone out there attempted to grow their own wedding flowers? Have other suggestions? Do let me know your thoughts, solutions, etc. I greatly appreciate help and feedback. 'Til then...

After a summer hiatus (it's been a very busy summer!), I am back in the swing of blog-writing, with a whole new line of blogs. My boyfriend and I recently got engaged and are planning a wedding for May of 2010. It's about eight months away, so we will be in full-swing planning mode right from the start. Though I am on a fairly restrictive budget, I am hoping and planning to include as many eco-friendly aspects as possible. I've already got the locations chosen—both fairly eco-friendly if I do say so myself. The ceremony is planned at the small chapel at the Kansas City botanical gardens, Powell Gardens, a beautiful location with 915 acres of gardens and nature trails. The organization is committed to preservation and education. They help area residents grow bigger, better and healthier gardens, so I am thrilled to have my wedding at this gorgeous location, and to support an area business who shares my values. We plan to have our evening reception at a friend's home in the country...aside from the power use we'll require, it should be an eco-friendly location. I'm planning to use LED lights and beeswax candlelight to decorate. I'm also hoping to create hanging lanterns out of mason jars, like these. I'll be blogging regularly as I search for light-on-the-land AND light-on-the-budget wedding supplies and ideas. PLEASE offer me any suggestions you have from your own weddings or those of loved ones. I'm open to any and all suggestions!