For Earth Day I thought I'd celebrate by providing you with a nice list of 10 great Green Wedding resources for you to consider in planning your wedding. New sites, blogs and articles are popping up practically daily on this subject and I thought that Earth Day was a good time to share some of what I have found with my Charlottesville Weddings Blog readers.

You'll find lots of great ideas.... large and small ... to make your wedding day a little bit lighter on our beautiful planet. Enjoy! and ... Happy Earth Day!

• Real Green Weddings: see what inspiring couples have done to green their big day!
• Eco Chic Weddings: beauty * body * being
  
• Married to Green: weekly ideas to greenify your wedding
• Green Weddings: Giant Love... Tiny Footprint
• Indie Wedding Guide: a guide to recycling, reusing & reducing for today's weddings
• Eco-friendly Wedding Dresses (article)
• Ethical Weddings: give everyone something to celebrate
  
• Portovert: The Gateway to Greener Weddings
• How to Green Your Wedding (article)
• Something old, something new, something borrowed, something... green? Plan your wedding with the environment in mind (article)
  

It never ceases to amaze me that there are always more incredibly beautiful places in Virginia that I haven't seen yet. This past weekend I had the privilege of officiating for the first time at the Clover Forest Plantation in rural Goochland County (about 50 miles West and South of Charlottesville). According to their website it is "a private, family owned James River plantation ... that has been lovingly, accurately and painstakingly restored and preserved..." The property consists of beautifully landscaped grounds, a private lake and federal period mansion. Both the grounds and the buildings lend themselves perfectly to wedding celebrations and Jenny and Mike's wedding this past Saturday took full advantage of the green beauty of Central Virginia in the Springtime.

Jenny and Mike's very personal and sweet ceremony was held behind the Clover Forest mansion overlooking the lake with a spectacular backdrop of springtime green. The plantation's simple white archway that marks the ceremony spot creates a wonderful feeling for a ceremony. Jenny and Mike kept with the green color theme in all of their choices including Jenny's bridesmaid's dress and the white and green sand that they poured for their sand ceremony.

Although I didn't stay for dinner the tent and simple decor they'd chosen made the most of the already spectacular surroundings. The Clover Forest website says that they also have a full catering department led by professional Chef Michael Fischer which I see as a wonderful plus for this location.

If you'd like to give the Clover Forest Plantation a call you can reach them Tuesday thru Thursday at 804-457-3535 x288.

Changing the Present: Changing the World, One Gift at a Time

With April being Earth Day month, I will be posting several tips throughout the month on how you can create a greener, more eco-friendly event... here's a great one to start with:

At Changing The Present brides and grooms can create an incredible wedding registry allowing their guests to choose from over 1,000 donation gift opportunities... everything from adopting a tiger, educating a girl, providing clean water to an African community to sponsoring a chimp or clearing land mines. Just about any cause that is near and dear to your hearts can be benefited by creating your wedding registry at Changing the Present.

Give it some thought... what a wonderful way to start your new life together!

Blessings,
Claire