Junkin’ is one of my favorite pastimes. I head out to resale shops once a week looking for vintage treasures. And now that garage sale season is heating up – look out!

I love the idea of giving used items a second life. Besides, I ‘m the sentimental type and I love finding things that bring me back to my childhood. Over the years I’ve collected children’s books, toys( just the other day I got my hands on the original Fashion Plates for $3!), games, linens and cookware – all for nostalgia’s sake.

Resale shops and garage sales are also great places to shop for your wedding – especially if you are going for the shabby chic look. Online stores like Etsy and Ebay are also great sources of previously loved items.

And if you are looking for vintage or used wedding dresses and bridesmaids gowns – there are sites like Vintageous.

Let’s take a look at some of the wonderful ways you can have a green wedding with recycled items.

 Katie from A Backyard Wedding used a variety of vintage bedsheets to create napkins for her wedding. And no sewing involved! She simply cut them to size with pinking sheers. This would be perfect for a shabby chic garden wedding.  One of my readers also pointed out that she is using vintage bed sheets to create the linens for the reception. (Photos: A Backyard Wedding)

Katie also bought all of the dishes, glassware, flatware – and even teacups second hand. The couple also used Freecycle.com to get some of the dishes for free. (Photo: A Backyard Wedding)

You can create centerpiece vases for your wedding from recycled bottles. Go to $2,000 Wedding to see how.  You can also purchases vases and containers second-hand for your centerpieces. (Photo: $2,000 Wedding)

This vintage wedding dress is currently listed on Vintageous for $180. But hurry – they go fast!

I’d love to hear from you. Are you planning to use any vintage or second-hand items in your wedding?

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I’ve got a thing for herbs.  Every year I plant lavender, rosemary, parsley, sage, lemon thyme, chives, dill, mint, basil and oregano. By mid-summer, I’ve got enough herbs to supply a hoppin’ gourmet restaurant.

I use some of the herbs in my cooking (I also use mint, lemon thyme and lavender in my handmade soap), but often I have lots left over.

What should I do with rest of my lovely plants?

Well, if I happened to be planning a wedding, I’d have plenty of uses for my leftover herbs! Especially if I was having a green wedding.

Lately, I’ve discovered so many beautiful ways that herbs can be incorporated into a wedding – from the bouquets to the boutonnieres. Here are some ideas that I love:

You can use potted herbs as green wedding favors. Use terra cotta pots which are eco-friendly. Photo by Miki Duisterhof.

Lavender makes lovely halos and wedding bouquets. Photo from Sunshine Lavender Farm.

What about an herb wreath to hang on the door of the church? Photo California Wreath Co.

A hanging herb bouquet for your outdoor reception. Photo alice q. style.

Mint boutonnieres from In Style Weddings via A Sunshine Wedding.

Lavender boutonnieres from Snippet and Ink via A Sunshine Wedding.

Herb and wildflower centerpieces from Snippet and Ink via A Sunshine Wedding.

Sage handmade soap makes for perfect green wedding favors. Photo Good Earth Soap.

For more ideas on how to use herbs in centerpieces watch this short video from Sunset.com

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To celebrate Earth Day and Green Wedding Week here at IntimateWeddings.com, 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, simply leave your answer to the following question in the comment section beneath this post:

What’s your favorite green wedding tip or idea? If it’s something you’ve found online, feel free to leave the website url.

Deadline is 11:59 PM Eastern Time May 13, 2009. The two winners will be chosen by the random number generator and posted May 15, 2009. The winners will be contacted by email. Contest is open to residents of the U.S and Canada only.

Good luck. I look forward to your responses!

P.S. Thanks so much Kate and SourceBooks, Inc for providing books!

Congratulations to Megan, who was the 65th  person to leave a comment on the Wedding Favor Cupcake Giveaway.

Thanks to all of you who entered. Your comments about wedding favors were great! Stay tuned for some blog posts based on these comments.

And thanks so much to Tawnya from Gourmet Gift Company  for offering up a $100 gift certificate towards her gourmet custom label cupcake mix wedding/shower favors as a contest prize for my readers!

(BTW, the last comment didn’t count because it came in after the deadline.)

It’s green wedding week here at IntimateWeddings.com. To kick things off, I’ve reviewed Kate Harrison’s The Green Bride Guide: How to Create an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budget. 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 Guideis 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: How to Create an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budgetwill help you do just that.