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One tip that we’ve seen is to rent your wedding accessories instead of buying them.  I personally love this idea; Although having a special necklace or bracelet on your wedding day can serve as an excellent keepsake, you might not want to shell out for every piece of jewelry that you’ll be wearing.  From dresses to handbags, jewelry to hairpieces, rentals are available across the country.  Check out some of our favorites:

• Avelle (formerly known as Bag, Borrow or Steal) has a special section of their website dedicated specifically to wedding rentals.  From handbags to extravagant jewelry, they have everything you’ll need to make you feel like a princess on your big day.

• Adorn Brides offers rental jewelry in all shapes and sizes.  They even have matching sets for both brides and bridesmaids!

• Many brides opt to Rent their Bridal Gown.  Often, this will include shoes and a headpiece/veil.  Most of these stores are local, so I suggest doing a search in your local area for a bridal gown rental store.  One example is Fairy Godmother Gown Rentals, located in the San Francisco Bay Area.  They’ll even deliver your dress directly to your door!

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1) Birdseed:  Although this doesn’t solve the problem of cleanup, it’s not nearly as slippery as rice and, obviously, not dangerous to birds.  Plus, it’s simple to make.  You can purchase large quantities of birdseed and any nursery or home improvement store.  Then, diving and conquer–package the birdseed into small favor bags and tie with a pretty ribbon.  You can even attach a sticker to tag to complete the look.  Try these great Polka Dot Organza Bags from Beau-coup.

2)  Flower Petals:  Another simple yes beautiful alternative to rice:  flower petals.  You can order petals from any florist in bulk.  Package them the same way you would the birdseed (see above) and you’ll have an environmentally-friendly ceremony toss with gorgeous color!

3)  Bubbles:  OK, not so DIY…but still adorable!  Blowing bubbles on the bride and groom requires no cleanup and still produces a gorgeous effect.  My favorites are these Wedding Bubble Tubes from Beau-coup.

4) Sparklers:  Admittedly, some parents may not be thrilled to have handfuls of sparklers in close proximity to their children, so proceed with caution based on your guest list.  However, if you have an adult-only wedding, this is an amazing alternative to rice.  I’ve seen some amazing wedding photography with all the guests wielding sparklers around the happy couple (see below!).  Plus, so easy to DIY…check out this tip from Martha Stewart Weddings:

“These can also be used as favors for the guests at an evening wedding, where they can be given out along with printed matchboxes or matchbooks. Tape a sparkler to the back of each matchbox to keep them from sliding about, and tie with a ribbon.”

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Why not share some of this same kind of sentiment with your wedding guests? You can find corked glass bottles for as little as 50 cents each, print out your own sweet messages or words of encouragement and leave them scattered around your tables. You can even adorn them with starfish, sand or other sweet details. It’s the perfect accessory for a summer wedding!

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As you see in the photo below, each package featured five thank you cards that were designed to match the event colors & marked with a personalized gift tag.  After, each set was placed at each table setting for the perfect finished look.  Check it out:

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Not only will these favors add eco-friendly heart to your celebration, they also bring a touch of style and elegance that plastic simply can’t touch.

Check out some of these sweet eco-friendly favors:

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The many shades of pink available to brides will let each girl make this color scheme her own.  Today, I’ve chosen hot pink–the shock of color on a black backdrop is so stunning, your wedding will surely not be forgotten.  A close friend of mine used these colors for her wedding and I still remember the way the gorgeous bouquets looked against our black bridesmaid dresses, both in real life and in photos!

From left to right, top to bottom: Luxurious Lace Thermography Wedding Invitation and Thank You Card from Wedding Paper Divas; Draped Silk  Alexander McQueen Dress from Bergdorf Goodman; Pink Martini; Handmade Chocolates; Dressmaker Mannequin Soap Favors from Beau-coup; Pink Flower Arrangements from Stem Flowers London; Kristen and Scott’s Candy Bar from The Knot Real Weddings.

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From Top to Bottom, Left to Right:   DIY Flower Hair Pieces from Diva Dialogue; Flip Flop Favors from There Went The Bride; Tissue Paper Pom Poms from DIY Wedding; Hanging Chair Placecards (using a Wedding Paper Divas design!) from Style Me Pretty; Wine Label Table Numbers from Martha Stewart Weddings; Coffee Bean Centerpieces from Showers Blog; Ringbearer Book Sling from Style Me Pretty.

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What you’ll need:

Homemade Kettle Corn (without a Kettle Corn Machine!) – recipe below

Small Plastic Bags

Personalized Gift Tag Stickers from Wedding paper Divas

Ribbon or Twine

Instructions:

To start, you’ll have to prepare the kettle corn.  You won’t need a kettle corn maker; This easy recipe makes it east to bring the same salty sweet flavor to popcorn right on your stovetop!

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Oil
1/2cup kernels
1 ½ tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Makes 3 cups

1)    Heat Up 3 TBS of oil and put one kernel in the oil to test when it is hot enough. Once the kernel pops, you will know it is ready for the rest.

2)    Turn the heat down to med-low and pour ½ cup of kernels followed by 1 ½ tsp of sugar

3)    Saturate the kernels in the sugar otherwise the sugar will caramelize in the pan. Make sure you keep the lid on.

4)    Let the kernels pop and kind of shake it around to get even coverage.

5)    Once the popping has stopped, pour the popcorn into a large bowl and add salt to taste. Toss and mix a bit and you’re done!

6) Package the popcorn into the small plastic bags.  Fold the top of the bag over and wrap a ribbon around it.  Complete your package with a personalized gift tag sticker from Wedding Paper Divas.

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From L to R: Bird Salt & Pepper Shakers; Birds Nest Favor Holder with Jordan Almonds; Mint Tin Favor; Bird Box;  Soap in a Nest Favor

To view other posts from this series, click the following links:

• Bird Themed Wedding Invitations and Stationery
• Bird Wedding Cakes
• Bird Cake Toppers

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