Thanks to everyone who participated in The DIY Bride and Intimate Weddings book giveway. Your kind comments are much appreciated! Stay tuned for more contests.

I used the random number generator to pick a winner. And the winner is:

#23 is Darcy B. I’ll be sending your books in the mail asap! Hope you enjoy them!

1 in 22 – those are pretty darn good odds when you compare them to the local lottery. And as I write this, these are the odds of winning a copy of Kate Harrison’s The Green Bride Guide. But you’ve only got two days left!

We’re giving away two copies of Kate Harrison’s The Green Bride Guide. (I just wrote a review of the book over here.) For your chance to win go here and read all about the giveaway.

Deadline is 11:59 PM Eastern Time May 13, 2009.

It’s green wedding week here at IntimateWeddings.com. To kick things off, I’ve reviewed Kate Harrison’s The Green Bride Guide. Stay tuned for more eco-friendly wedding posts throughout the week!

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You will not save the planet by having a green wedding (headlines like this one from the Toronto Star bring my blood to a rolling boil.) Using soy ink on your recycled paper invitations, and opting for a second-hand dress is not going to save Mother Earth, but if you are an eco-conscious individual who happens to be planning a wedding, green nuptials are a natural choice. After all, a wedding is one of the most significant events in one’s life and it usually reflects the values of the couple saying ‘I do.’

That said, just because you are environmentally conscious does not necessarily mean you know how to navigate the foreign land of veils and vendors with a ‘green’ compass. And that’s where Kate Harrison’s The Green Bride Guide comes in.

The Green Bride Guide is a comprehensive guide to help eco-conscious couples of all budgets make green decisions in all phases of wedding planning. The book covers everything from finding a ‘green’ venue to choosing the most eco-friendly wedding favors. In every chapter, the green choices that are offered are divided into price categories ranging from the least expensive to the most expensive.

According to Harrison, the size of a wedding has the biggest influence on how ‘green’ it is.

“The size of your wedding is the most influential factor affecting both the cost and sustainability of your wedding. Generally speaking, the smaller the wedding, the less expensive it will be and the less environmental impact it will have. A fifty-person wedding at $100 a head is $5,000. A two-hundred person wedding at the same location is $20,000 and has roughly four times the environmental impact,” she writes. {Chock another one up for small weddings!}

Harrison stresses the importance of communicating your vision of a green wedding to each of your wedding vendors. She includes an anecdote from her own wedding that highlights the importance of clear communication.

“My new husband and I were waiting with our friends for the arrival of what was supposed to be a biodiesel shuttle, when up pulls a pimped out (faux-leopard interior) SUV limo – pretty much the least environmentally friendly form of transportation you can imagine … We had been unwittingly ‘upgraded’ by our well -intentioned but environmentally uninformed transportation company,” she writes.

Harrison also discusses ‘greenwashing’ and advises couples to be vigilant about choosing vendors. Terms like ‘green’, ‘eco’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ are not regulated by the US government and can be used by anyone. (Just think of all the ‘organic’ shampoos on the shelves that are loaded with parabens.) ‘Green’ has become a giant money-making industry and oftentimes it’s difficult to know who is legitimate and who is simply out to make a buck. Harrison’s book and website  help couples choose legitimately sustainable businesses that the author personally recommends.

One of the most important points that Harrison makes is that a green wedding is not only about making eco-friendly purchasing decisions, but also about spreading the gospel – in a non-preachy way.

” … in the same way that a wedding is an opportunity for you and your fiancé to showcase your tastes, it is also a unique chance for you to showcase your values.”

When it comes to creating a green event,  it doesn’t have to be all or nothing: trying your best is what counts, says Harrison. And The Green Bride Guide will help you do just that.

What happens when you wake up on Monday morning, check your inbox and find a lovely note from wedding book author Sharon Naylor? You do a little dance, that’s what you do.

Sharon, who is currently working on her 40th book (titles include 1001 Ways to Save Money … And Still Have a Dazzling Wedding, The Bride’s Survival Guide and The Complete Outdoor Wedding Planner), wrote a lovely blog post about Intimate Weddings: Planning a Small Wedding that Fits Your Budget and Style.  Thanks so much Sharon! You are one talented and generous lady.

Sharon’s website is a fabulous resource for anyone planning a wedding. Not only does it highlight all of the wonderful books she has written, the blog offers heaps of great ideas and tips for planning a wedding. Check it out.

I am so glad that the rules have changed about wedding attendants. You can have five bridesmaids. You can have one. You can have no bridesmaids. You can have male friends stand up for you. Your dog. Your cat. Your guinea pig. And it’s all okay – no matter what the size of your wedding.

I had a maid of honor and no bridesmaids. I cannot relate to the drama that oftentimes surrounds bridesmaids. To get a better understanding of this topic, I read Siri Agrell’s Bad Bridesmaid: Bachelorette Brawls and Taffeta Tantrums. 

Bad Bridesmaid gives an inside glimpse into the mind of a bridesmaid. How does she feel about all of those obligatory bridesmaid outings? What does she really think when she hears you obsess over napkins, pew bows and cake toppers? How does she feel when she walks down the aisle in a dress that’s too tight, too sweaty and really not her colour?

Sound interesting? Check out my book review of Bad Bridesmaid over here.

Congratulations to Cathy in Nepean, Ontario who won a copy of Intimate Weddings: Planning a Small Wedding that Fits Your Budget and Style just for becoming a member of IntimateWeddings.com. Be February’s winner.  Just sign up. A winner is chosen randomly at the end of each month.

The Big White Wedding Industry 101 should be a mandatory course in university and Rebecca Mead’s book One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding should be required reading.

Since that’s not going to happen any time soon, I recommend to anyone who is engaged to read this book. It will open your eyes.

It tears back the curtain from the wedding industry and gives you a glimpse inside the big, white wedding machine. A machine that ain’t so pretty.

Read my review here.