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By joanne Sasvari<br />
Why NoT STArT your lifE TogEThEr By mAkiNg ThE World JuST A liTTlE grEENEr?<br />
When Shona Dion married<br />
Ryan Taylor back in 2001,<br />
they held the ceremony<br />
– a neo-pagan handfasting – in a camp<br />
on Bowen Island. The cake was vegan,<br />
the centerpieces were cedar boughs,<br />
the gown was handmade and the<br />
grandparents were perplexed. “It was<br />
very earthy,” Dion says with a laugh.<br />
“My grandparents were a little bit unsure<br />
about it, but it honoured who we were.”<br />
A decade ago, Dion struggled to<br />
find green options for her wedding.<br />
Today, as organizer of the Grassroots<br />
Wedding Fair, the Vancouver<br />
photographer is helping other brides plan<br />
their own green weddings. “It’s so easy<br />
to have a green wedding these days,” she<br />
says. “There are so many options.”<br />
“Today there are green wedding<br />
planners and there are green organic silk<br />
wedding dresses,” adds Lindsay Coulter,<br />
the David Suzuki Foundation’s “Queen<br />
of Green” blogger. “Today there are so<br />
many green products that the challenge<br />
would be to keep things in check and<br />
not consume too much.”<br />
Going green at your wedding<br />
doesn’t just mean recycling the<br />
champagne bottles afterward. It means<br />
planning every aspect of your big day<br />
so you can celebrate your joy without<br />
damaging the planet. After all, as Coulter<br />
points out, “Your impact is going to last a<br />
lot longer than that one day.”<br />
So why not start your life together<br />
by making the world just a little<br />
greener? Here’s how.<br />
ThE riNgS<br />
Gold mining is notoriously hard on the<br />
environment. When it comes to the<br />
engagement ring and wedding band,<br />
go for a custom design in recycled<br />
gold or silver and opt for conflict-free<br />
diamonds. Or choose vintage jewelry,<br />
especially family heirlooms, which<br />
sparkle with generations of meaning.<br />
ThE iNviTATioNS<br />
Invitations with tissues, foil and sparkles<br />
are hard to recycle. Instead, look for<br />
recycled paper, preferably wood-free<br />
fibre, as well as vegetable- or soy-based<br />
inks. You could also consider having<br />
your invites printed on a vintage 1800s<br />
letterpress like the one at Surrey’s Sunlit<br />
Letterpress. (www.sunlit-letterpress.com)<br />
MiCHEl torino CuMa<br />
organiC MalBEC<br />
Argentina $13.99 885418<br />
This malbec is a soft and<br />
fruity organic wine with rich<br />
flavours of plums, prunes<br />
and raisins and gentle spice<br />
notes on the finish. A great<br />
organic value!<br />
prairiE organiC vodKa<br />
uSA $39.99 594457<br />
A luscious vodka produced<br />
by a co-op of 900 organic<br />
corn farmers in minnesota.<br />
Prairie organic features<br />
melon, pear and soft grain<br />
notes, a creamy palate and a<br />
long, smooth finish.<br />
TASTE 101
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