Weddings offer an amazing opportunity to make a difference. In addition to saving energy, conserving resources, and decreasing pollution, imagine what a boost green brides and grooms can give to sustainable businesses. Other than a house, a wedding is generally the most expensive thing a young couple will ever “buy”. Brides feel a lot of pressure to make everyone happy and are willing to spend whatever it takes — the average cost is around $27,000 these days — to make their wedding “perfect.” Many couples even go into debt to pay for their weddings. Part of having a green wedding is conserving resources — including money.

These days, you don’t need to sacrifice style or beauty to have an eco-friendly wedding. As celebrities like Natalie Portman have shown us, the only difference between a green bride and a bride who doesn’t know about eco-chic alternatives is that creating her fabulous wedding has less impact on human health and the environment.

In an effort to save money and use those creative juices, my mom and I planned to DIY all the flowers for the wedding — bouquets, boutonnieres and centerpieces. Simple enough, we thought, to determine which flowers we liked and arrange them in a beautiful away. We were wrong.

My mom purchased about 40 stems of various flowers, mostly roses and spider mums. She discovered a variety of spray roses she purchased were covered in thorns and were pretty much unable to be worked with for a bouquet at all. Then, she realized that making that pretty, round shape a bouquet has was nearly impossible. As the stress and worry mounted, we got in contact with Becky from Lily Lane florist. 

With our budget in mind, she’s working to take the bridal and bridesmaid bouquets and all the boutonnieres off our plate (although we still plan to arrange the centerpieces ourselves with the help of a crafty family friend). Here's why we’ve decided to leave the bouquets and the bouts to the professional. 

Photo Credit: Infiniti Foto

1. Shades can vary. When you order a “purple” rose, what you actually get could vary from a light lavender to a deep eggplant. When ordering flowers, it’s tough to know what color you’ll actually get. Buying in person can alleviate that worry, but then it’s one other errand close to your wedding day.

How would you describe your latest collection? What was your inspiration behind these designs?
A new sense of contemporary luxury embodies my 2013 collection. I have been inspired by lighter textures and fabrics, along with an array of luscious embellishments. Lace, beading and dimensional details merge to create a modern feel perfect for confident and stylish brides.

Why did you opt to collaborate with Mon Cheri?
I felt that the Mon Cheri label was a quiet achiever with integrity. That is very important to me, and can be hard to find in this business. They are a well-established company and Steve Lang—the CEO of Mon Cheri—and I got along from the start with regards to our vision and philosophies.