We have moved! Part 2

We see that may people are still coming to the blog - but we have moved...Our magazine has launched!
To see both the magazine and the blog click on the buttons below!  See you there!

Eco-Beautiful Weddings Blog has moved!

Please join the green fun at our new website!

We will no longer be posting here.  Click on the button to get to where the action is!

Eco-Beautiful Weddings® New Blog Goes Live on 12/5!

Our new blog for brides that will accompany our new magazine goes live on 12/5!  The E-Zine goes live on 12/15!  I will post here once it has gone live and then we will be shutting down this blog to focus all of our attention there!

Elegance & Simplicity's Blog Updated

Take a look at the new blog layout of Elegance & Simplicity- Engaged & Green Blog!

Katie Martin to be a guest blogger on the Green Bride Guide

We are thrilled that Katie Martin will be a regular blogger for the Green Bride Guide!  Stay tuned!

E-Zine & Blog

Our new Online E-Zine and Blog will go live and we will soon be directing you to a brand new blog!

Check back for more details!

The Blog is set to go live later this month and the E-Zine will go Live on 12.15.2009!

Cheers!

Being Green & One Step Ahead in the Wedding Industry.

photo by The Observatory


I find it amazing that so many people I know have been asking me for simple & quick tips about going green. I try my best to help people with a "quick tip".  However, my expertise really lies in weddings.  There are ways that I am still learning to "green" my life myself and I don't think you ever really stop learning as technology changes every day!

However, there is one large component that most people do not understand about going green.  When I finally tell them one of the biggest mysteries - their reaction is normally: "Huh?  Really?"

What is it?  Social Justice. Yes - Really!

You have heard all the buzz words: fair-trade, fair-wages, greenwashing and carbon-offsetting.  However, have you taken the time to actually read about these issues?  Even in your own daily life, there are very specific ways to help you go green.

Is your business only centered around doing weddings and making money?  Or do you give back to the community somehow?  Are you taking care of your employees?  Are you donating money or your time?

If you are an expert in your wedding "field" (in a particular city/state/country), you are probably "well known".  Most well-known wedding professionals do an enormous amount of branding and marketing. The industry is growing exponentially (especially with the advent of national wedding cable TV shows).  Almost every single wedding professional that I have spoken to over the past year has told me that competition has never been so fierce. Fears that the industry is becoming watered down by untrained wedding professionals became apparent during these past two years (while the world spiraled into a global recession).

The green economy grew and the wedding industry grew while most of the other industries in the world faltered.

Eco-Beautiful Weddings® Seminars helps the wedding professional navigate the green economy while maintaining a luxury wedding business.

Find out how!

Register for one of our seminars today!

The 3 R's and Wedding Industry

photo by DocumentaryAssociates

I am looking forward to speaking this upcoming week at Maximize Your Brand about some simple steps on how to "green" your business and attract the green bride.

Most people know about the 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  However, most people miss the fact that being eco-friendly or green is also about social justice.  When it comes to translating it to weddings, I have heard countless wedding professionals ask me - how can I go green when the wedding industry is about consumption?  Consumption? I beg to differ.

The wedding industry is about celebrating traditions, style and marriage.  Weddings have become more of a statement of a lifestyle than just a wedding day.  There are ways that brides are incorporating what is already in their lives into the wedding, then turning around and reusing items for their future lives together.  They are celebrating with friends and family that they have not seen in a while and throwing a party with a purpose.  The purpose is love and some couples are giving back to the community and the environment at their weddings as well.  (Some without even knowing it - I will explain this at the conference).

Brides want to know that the money they are spending on their weddings are going to a greater good.  They are asking sustainability questions while shopping for their dresses all the way to the type of eye-shadow their make-up artist will use.

Brides have a conscious and want to know that they are giving their money to wedding professionals that actually care about the community they live in and the world around us.

Learn how to make the 3 R's  and social justice work for your company as the growing eco-consciousness of the green bride increases!  Hope to see you at the Maximize Your Brand Conference next week or at one of our Eco-Beautiful Weddings® seminars near you!

~Katie Martin

New Logo!

We love our new logo!

We will have another similar trademarked logo for wedding professionals that become certified through our specific seminars for wedding planners, floral designers, photographers and more!  Stay tuned for an upcoming press release for other exciting news and an update to our blog!

Katie Martin to speak at DC Green Festival Today!

Katie Martin was invited by Green America to be speaker at this year's DC Green Festival.  She will be speaking at 1pm and focusing on what brides should be looking for when it comes to planning their wedding.

If you miss the festival and you would like to see Katie speak before the Denver Eco-Beautiful Weddings® Seminar, come out to NYC for the Maximize Your Brand Conference on October 20th!  Katie will be focusing on how to attract green brides to your wedding business!

Michelle Slaughter, Wedding Public Relations Expert

When Michelle Slaughter made the move to Washington, DC she decided she wanted to finally follow her dream of having her own public relations company. For years she worked in the nonprofit and political sectors advocating for the rights of women and girls, while helping to empower young people to harness their own political power.

Michelle earned her B.A. in Public Relations from Western Kentucky University. She is a national board member for the Younger Women's Task Force and a member of Eta Omega Tau Sorority, Inc.

Although now a Washington, DC resident, she will always be a Kentucky girl at heart.  In her spare time, she enjoys watching sports, writing, keeping up with politics and exploring the city she now calls home.

Come see Michelle Slaughter live at the Eco-Beautiful Weddings® Seminar in your city!  See how public relations for the wedding professional community is vital to the ever-changing bridal market.

Free Green Wedding Giveaway Worth $50,000!

WIN A $50,000 ECO-FRIENDLY WEDDING!  If you live in the DC area - register to win this wedding for Earth Day 2010!
More details and information on the DC Green Wedding Consortium website - click on the Logo Below!