Let’s face it. Most women have a large selection of shoes suitable for all occasions. You probably already have a pair that will work quite well for your wedding. However, if you must buy a brand new pair for your special day (and barefoot is not an option!) look for shoes that are vegan. The amount of energy required to create leather hide is 20 times greater than the production of synthetic material. Not to mention what is required to feed and transport animals, and the chemicals required to prevent the leather to biodegrade. Leather is just not an option for eco-friendly brides. Here a list of vendors to check out:

1. Olsen Haus
100% vegan shoes. Olsenhaus uses alternative, sustainable and renewable plant-based and man-made, non-animal materials such as: ultra suede, organic cotton, canvas, nylon, velvet, linen, cork, and a synthetic eco-lining.

2. Melissa Plastic Dreams (Brazil)
Amazing shoes created from recycled plastic. You can buy Melissa Plastic Dreams at Tobi and Epaulet.

3. Elegant Wedding Shoes (UK)
Boots, shoes, and strappy sandals. As a specialist service, Elegant Wedding makes their shoes and boots to meet the requirements of vegetarian and vegan principles.

4. Beyond Skin Online Boutique
Cruelty free, vegan shoes. Beyond Skin is an ethical footwear label that pledges 10% of pre-tax profits to grass-root environmental and social projects.

5. Vegan Chic
All vegan footwear.

6. Also try Etsy for vintage shoes. You never know what you will find! http://www.etsy.com/category/vintage/accessories/shoes

Cute pieces of toast prove they were made for each other in this unique card design.

Intricate patterns inspired by Mehndi. Bring an Eastern flavour to your wedding!

I love to make stuff.  I have so many projects on the go all at once in different kinds of mediums.  I’ve been artsy fartsy ever since I can remember and when I was six my mom taught me how to knit, and I’ve been knitting ever since.  However I’ve kept it a secret and was a “closet knitter” for the longest time.  It has such an old lady association attached to it and I was super embarrassed to let any of my friends know that I knew how to knit.  That’s all changed now, and I’m actually knitting a lot of my friends gifts for Christmas.  I started to look into some alternative types of wool that were out there and there are now a lot of eco-friendly options that are readily available.

Toque I made and another project i'm working on.

Red Heart wool has a variety of options.  They have yarn that is recycled from old acrylic yarn, and recycled cotton yarn as well as bamboo wool.

Pattons also has a wide variety of bamboo blend yarn, as well as yarn that is soy based.

My favourite brand of yarn, Moda Dea, has their own line of bamboo yarn as well.  It’s super soft and great to knit with.

Another big yarn company, Bernat, also has bamboo wool.  They have a few eco-friendly options, and a lot of their wool is FSC certified using recycled material from mixed sources.

And the great thing is that most of these brands are available at your local Michael’s store.  Or you can order online from the craft site Herrschners.   They usually have a lot of great deals and you can usually find what you’re looking for on their site for a lot less than what you would pay at a retail store.

If you’re into crafting, but not so much knitting, check out Ready Made.  They have some really great project ideas for making things out of recycled materials.  Anything from planters to furniture you can find a lot of great inspiration on their website.  They also have a magazine that you can subscribe to and a book out as well (both of which I love).

Happy Crafting!

Other than the wedding day itself, the other major event you will plan for is your honeymoon.  Thinking of an eco-friendly option?  Of course, the most environmentally friendly option would be go to nowhere, thus eliminating your carbon footprint, but that’s no fun.  Here are some alternative (and some low cost) ideas on planning your Honeymoon.

Live in Vancouver?  Why not plan a weekend away in Victoria?

Helijet, a charter helicopter company offers several daily flights between Vancouver and Victoria.  They are carbon neutral, offsetting their carbon emissions by partnering with Pacific Carbon Trust.  They’re also being environmentally responsible by making sure their equipment is upgraded with the newest technologies and using other carbon-neutral companies to do business with.

If you also want to stay somewhere local, plan a trip up to Whistler.  Whistler Eco Tours has a variety of tours available where you can get back to nature.

To find a green hotel to stay at, take a look at the Top Canadian Hotels Guide .  They have a “Green Leaf Guide”, indicating which hotels participate in environmentally friendly practices.  This ranges anywhere from reusing linens and towels to using alternate energy sources.

If you’re planning on going away on a trip somewhere, here are a few links to some eco-friendly alternatives.

RUES Hotel Selection
Has a list of hotels World-wide that are environmentally oriented.

EcoTour
Has a wide range of information for planning an Eco Friendly holiday, and includes tips on being more environmentally friendly while on your holiday.

Terra Incognita Ecotours
They are an adventure tour company that focuses on conserving the environment, and they provide a wide range of tours all over the world.  They partner with a different conservation society in each area that a tour is offered.

Eco Travelling
Includes articles written by experts not only on holiday travel but also has information and tips on daily travel, such as commuting to work and how to make lifestyle changes to minimize your carbon footprint.