An Interview with Earthly Affair

A fellow blogger, and one of the go-to gals I have listed on GorgeousandGreen for green event inspiration, is Jennifer from Earth Friendly Weddings.  Apart from her creative blogging skills, she is also responsible for Earthly Affair, a green invitation business.  They offer two earth-friendly papers for their invites: One is a 100% pcw, using no new trees and the other is a cotton paper, FSC certified for responsible forest management and made of partially recycled content.

Take a look at some of the whimsical, romantic and clean designs they provide:

This one is my favorite.  I love the large graphic flowers.

I asked her some questions about her own wedding, her business and sustainable weddings.  Check out what she had to say: 1. Why did you start your business and how did you decide to get involved in Earth Friendly Weddings... Earthly Affair was created after the planning of my own wedding. While searching for invitations, I noticed a lack of truly earth friendly and stylish invitations for today’s modern bride. I decided to design my own invitations and that’s when the idea was born. Nearly one year later, we launched our site and started selling eco-friendly, customizable invitations online! 2. I noticed you recently planned your own Green Wedding, what did you do to make it sustainable and green? I have to admit, I didn’t start out planning a green wedding. Our plan was to keep the wedding fairly simple and as the planning process intensified, I became determined to make more sustainable choices. We held it at a beautiful and historic antebellum house in the city that also acted as a restaurant. Our ceremony and reception were both held there, so guests didn’t have to travel from one event to another. Apart from the flowers, all of the decor was either rented or available to us from our venue, reducing unnecessary waste. The one thing I purchased for decoration was a set of letters that spelled out “LOVE,” and even those were re-used for my friend’s wedding and they now reside as decoration in her home. I was hesitant about favors, but in the end I decided to create something that I thought people would keep. I spent hours researching and printing romantic quotes to put on little favor boxes, which we then filled with chocolate bought in bulk. Those were a big hit and most people loved them. 3. How would you define sustainable living? Sustainable living is respecting that which we depend on. I’ve always believed this and although it’s a somewhat cheesy outlook, I think if people took the time to realize how lucky we are to have such a beautiful earth, which is our home, there would be a lot less problems in the world. 4. What do you think is the biggest barrier in getting couples to choose a green wedding? A big barrier is the misconception that it costs more. In some cases, they’re right, but with a little extra work and patience, it doesn’t have to be. 5. What is the most un-green or insustainable wedding practice that you can think of or have seen in your experience? I’ve never witnessed any one thing, but putting sentimental feelings aside, the wedding dress is pretty unsustainable. Many resources go into making this overpriced jungle of fabric and then we only wear it once. I don’t have much room to talk though. I bought a brand new dress for my wedding and it’s still hanging in my closet. There is a conflict of emotions there because while I know it’s highly unsustainable, I fell in love with it and wasn’t able to let go. 6. Let's pretend for a moment that you could create one green invention in your life (that worked) what would it be? Would teleportation be green? I love to travel, but I know how horrible air and car travel is for the environment. Of course, the thought of actually being teleported is a different story, but the convenience factor is hard to deny. I wonder if we would run into each other mid-teleport and end up with someone else’s legs or arms… If you get the chance, do look at her blog and check out those lovely invitations if you're holding an event or wedding.  I know they are doing a lot to be eco-friendly, and as a fellow greenie I can vouch for their strong values and sustainable methods.  Take a look at some of the ways they are acting as a sustainable business:

• they offset co2 emissions resulting from our shipments and our business through carbonfund.org.
• they donate a portion of our profits to environmental projects.
• they recycle or reuse everything we can.
• they implement energy saving practices
• they compost and/or recycle leftover paper scraps.
• they reuse shipping supplies or materials.

If only I needed wedding invitations.... In Green, Party and Health, G&G