My husband and I are big fans of Bravo TV's No. 1 food show Top Chef. So, I was particularly delighted when I fired up my DVR to watch the Season 6 premiere and found that one of the "cheftestants", Kevin Gillespie, is the chef at Woodfire Grill - one of AtlantaBridal's Preferred Restaurants. That news was exciting on its own, but then Kevin actually WON the first elimination challenge with his vice inspired dish! Congrats Kevin!

Woodfire Grill is a fabulous farm-to-table restaurant in Midtown, Atlanta. It is not an "event facility" but it is a great location for smaller wedding related events such as rehearsal dinners and engagement parties. I think it is also the perfect venue for a more refined bachelorette party (or bachelor party) because they offer wine tastings, wine menus and chef's tasting menus - they can and will give you a personalized experience for your special occasion.

Woodfire Grill has several private rooms including "The Mezzanine," which can be divided into three private rooms or one large space that can seat up to 50. The upstairs space, called "The Loft", seats 16 in an intimate and cozy environment. And the restaurant has an outstanding patio where your guests can enjoy a standing cocktail party of up to 75 or a private seated affair for 30.

If you aren't familiar with the term, a farm-to-table restaurant is a restaurant where the ingredients are sourced as locally as possible so they are usually very fresh. Eating locally is considered environmentally-friendly, because it generally requires less resources than importing food from other regions. In addition, farm-to-table restaurants like Woodfire Grill keep money in the community which promotes the local economy here in Atlanta.

Check out Woodfire Grill for your next event - whether it is just for dinner, a night out with the girls, or a wedding related event such as a rehearsal dinner or a bachelorette party. The food at Woodfire Grill is delicious, the restaurant is eco-friendly and supports the local economy...and, if you are lucky, you just may get to meet their famous TV Star, Chef Kevin Gillespie! And tell them Lei from AtlantaBridal sent you!

Location, location, location! When planning your Green Wedding or Event, you should consider a few points before you decide upon a location. How many guests will you be having? Remember the fewer the guests, the lower the carbon footprint! What time of year is your wedding? Do you want an indoor event or a garden wedding? Casual or formal, or perhaps somewhere funky like a hip nightclub? Narrowing down what you want in a venue will alleviate a lot of unnecessary stress when you begin looking at venues.

One thing to consider is that if you have both your ceremony and reception at the same location, you will alleviate the need for your guests to travel to two different places. Look for locations that offer recycling of the empty liquor bottles. Look for locations that include table, chair, and linen rental, as this eliminates quite a bit of shipping and carbon production. One beautiful hidden gem (that is also very reasonable) located near Atlanta is Dolce Atlanta-Peachtree in Peachtree City. You won't believe the beautiful retreat settings are only 25 minutes from the airport! Be sure to tell John that Cameo Event recommended you!

Look for a garden setting if you choose an outdoor event. Look for one with either an inside option or a permanent tent. Look for one that already has tables and chairs for you to rent from the facility to prevent having to rent and truck everything in. One such treasure most Atlantans do not know too much about is buried in Coweta County. Dunaway Gardens is a beautiful historical landscape known for it's beauty and also the place where Sarah Cannon developed her famous character, Minnie Pearl. Dunaway is the largest natural rock and floral garden in Georgia. Try to find a location that incorporates at least a few Green practices into their operations. If you can look for a facility that is Green, such as The Garden at Kennesaw Mountain. They grow their own herbs and some of thier veggies, they run the ballroom off of solar panels, and the even compost! How great is that!

If you do happen to have your heart set on a destination wedding, keep your guest count to a bare minimum and look for a place that offers green wedding packages. To find great eco-friendly hotels and accomodations check out EC3. Also check out the domestic destination Naples Grande Beach Resort, which is a One Palm certified Florida location.

Most of all, have fun and enjoy planning your Green wedding.

Happy Planning!

If you are having a wedding or special event, you probably have not thought about the environmental impact it may have. So here are a few basic points of interest. The average wedding alone produces between 14.5 and 22 tons of CO2 - that is a lot of greenhouse gas and a huge carbon footprint. That number actually increases for weekend long events like destination weddings. So if you want to lessen the environmental impact of your wedding, I will be covering different ways you can reduce your special event's carbon footprint. This post is about food... one of the most important parts of any celebration.

How do you make green (no, that doesn't mean you have to have only veggies) choices for your special event menu? Look for caterers who utilize local and organically grown produce and meats that are in season. You will not believe how fresh and fabulous your food will be. And you not only help the environment by doing this, you help your local economy by supporting small businesses and local farms. Make sure your caterer understands you want all local and organic products used, not partially local (ie. it got flown in the day before you event from a neighboring state as air travel is one of the highest carbon emitting ways to travel or ship things) so that you and your guests have the best and freshest possible dishes. Also look for a caterer who will provide To Go Boxes of food for the wedding party and will recycle all the glass, metal, and plastics as well as compost the leftover food. That way everyone benefits including you! If you are local to Atlanta, check out Parsley's Catering in Marietta.

What about the beverage side of your menu? Well, if you have not had organic or bio-dynamically grown wines, you are in for a treat. Napa Valley has some of the best local vineyards that produce great and environmentally friendly wines. Most can be found at your local liquor store where you will receive a discount on cases (bonus!) and you will also be able to find organic vodka, scotch, and several other liquors are joining the green movement. Check out Robert Sinskey for amazing eco friendly wines and they have great pairing recipes to go with them! Go to Starbucks for fair trade certified coffee and tea for your non-alcoholic selections. Check out their web site to learn more about their fair trade practices.

What about Wedding cake? If you have never had an organic cake you should expect it to taste even better than any other cake you have ever had. The less processed flour has a slightly heavier texture, but the butter is preservative free so you get the yumminess of butter without the oily taste or the metallic aftertaste, because the eggs are fresher and are not full of pesticides and antibiotics its fluffier and richer than most cakes. All around, organic pastry products are twice as yummy as their over processed counterparts. Check out Dulce Vegan for organic vegan creations in Atlanta that are delicious! If you haven't tried their cupcakes you have to go by!

Enjoy your earth friendly celebrations!

Golfo Dulce – Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica – Costa Rica’s Pacific coast has been described by National Geographic Magazine as ‘the most biologically intense place on earth.’ This Eden-like setting is an idyllic, remote location for a romantic and adventurous honeymoon and a perfect spot to make it a Green one where you can not only unite two hearts into one, but also show your desire for working together towards a more sustainable planet.

Imagine hiking with your new partner to a secluded swimming hole with a cascading waterfall in the rainforest? Or peacefully kayaking in one of only four tropical fjords in the world? The Golfo Dulce, or the Sweet Gulf, off the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica offers a unique opportunity for both a beach and a rainforest honeymoon in one location. The gulf is surrounded by protected rainforest preserves, national parks, biological corridors and sanctuaries with hiking trails and a myriad of wildlife easily viewed wildlife.

A Dream Honeymoon

Though teeming with natural beauty, the Osa Peninsula is still far enough off the beaten track so you’ll not be surrounded by hordes of other travelers. Most resorts are accessible only by boat. One such resort, Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge, has the tranquil waters and unspoiled beaches of the gulf at its front door, and its 165-acre rainforest preserve and the lush Piedras Blancas National Park out back. If you’re looking for a private escape for your adventurous honeymoon, this may be the place for you.

The small size of Playa Nicuesa allows for an intimate experience with nature. Its cabins, guestrooms and the main lodge are uniquely designed to create a seamless and enjoyable transition between the indoors and outdoors. The lodge’s five cabins are all very private and great for couples seeking unique accommodation, including a special garden open air shower surrounded by nature.

Playa Nicuesa’s honeymoon package offers intimate rainforest cabins, aromatherapy massages, and candlelit dinners on the lodge’s rainforest terrace, and a selection of adventure activities, such as a private hike with a naturalist guide to a hidden waterfall, kayaking, mangrove river tours, snorkeling, fishing and bird watching. The package includes meals with an emphasis on local cuisine and fresh fish, tropical fruits and vegetables. If you want a little more room, a Cabin Suite is yours for the asking.

Playa Nicuesa’s green philosophy stands out. They understand the fragility and value of the beauty and nature that surrounds them, and have adopted strong environmental practices and policies. They practice sustainable, low-emission living and have adopted carbon neutrality as a way of life.

Their conservation program protects 95 per cent of its 65 hectare (165 acres) rainforest property in an undeveloped and natural condition. They also use clean energy powered by solar panels to run the majority of the lodge’s electrical service, and candles are used throughout the lodge to maintain the natural experience.

Playa Nicuesa Lodge has also earned a FONAFIFO (Costa Rica’s official carbon credits foundation) certification for offsetting their use of fossil fuel by purchasing carbon credits and has begun the official process to be certified a Carbon Neutral Business. Guests can offset the carbon footprints from their flights to Costa Rica by purchasing carbon credits with FONAFIFO that will be used to reforest and preserve the Golfo Dulce/Osa Peninsula.

Honeymoon couples can also plant their own hardwood tree to symbolize their start of their own marriage and contribute to the lodges Osa Peninsula conservation program that donated $10,000 to the Nature Conservancy last year. A perfect combination for romancing the green.

Playa Nicuesa also offers special rates to rent the entire lodge, if you are looking for a wedding venue. This option includes a nature guides, chef, boat captain and housekeeping, as well as unlimited use of preserve trails, kayaks, windsurfers, snorkeling equipment and fishing gear. The lodge can accommodate 22 guests.

If you want to go off on our own adventure the lodge will set you up with a delicious packed lunch, a bottle of wine and some snorkeling equipment to put in your kayak and go off for a day of exploring private beaches and snorkeling spots.

The Golfo Dulce

Corcovado National Park, Piedras Blancas National Park, and private reserves create a protected biological corridor around the gulf, and an extraordinary large trail system for hiking and exploring the incredibly bio-diverse rainforest. The region is only accessible by boat, so you know you’ll be able to experience nature intact complete with howler monkeys, over 250 types of birds including toucans and parrots, butterflies, coati, iguanas, lizards, tree frogs and much more.

Golfo Dulce, protected from the open Pacific by the Osa Peninsula, is home to groups of whales and at least three types of dolphins, as well as sea turtles, sea birds and other marine life. The gulf, the tenth deepest in the world, is a great place for kayaking, snorkeling, fishing, windsurfing, sailing or surfing. Its tranquil waters are pleasant for sailing and windsurfing, and excellent for snorkeling and fishing. The lodge has its own boats and local guides to take you out for a variety of tours including a private sunset boat tour of the Gulf or a variety of fishing trips.

The Golfo Dulce and Playa Nicuesa Lodge are a perfect combination for romancing the green.

Contact:
Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge
Toll Free: 1-866-504-8116
Website: www.Nicuesalodge.com

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I would introduce you all to a fabulous Atlanta based eco-friendly wedding invitation company that I met formally this weekend at the Atlanta Brides Against Breast Cancer Wedding Gown Sale…. Earthly Affair: Earth Friendly Invitations.

Earthly Affair is the brainchild of Jennifer Stambolsky who, during the planning of her own wedding, noticed a lack of truly environmentally friendly and stylish invitations for today's modern bride. Her appreciation of nature and her love of beautiful stationery inspired her to create a modern and unique invitation line, perfect for the bride who wishes to send an original invitation while still lessening her impact on the environment.

Jennifer sponsored a table at the Atlanta Brides Against Breast Cancer Wedding Gown Sale and I got to chat with her quite a bit. Her invitations are beautiful and eco-friendly - awesome! And, bonus points… she is a lot of fun too!

Check out the invitations on the Earthly Affair Web site and visit her blog: Earth Friendly Weddings - for more on eco-friendly and green weddings.

While Earthly Affair carries only eco-friendly invitations, you can find green wedding invitations through other stationers as well. For example, Atlanta's Linvites carries a selection of recycled invitations and is currently the only reseller of "Meant To Bee", Cast Paper Art's Eco-Friendly line of invitations, announcements, and stationery and which is 100% green. When planted, this product line will blossom and bloom into perennial wildflowers which attract and nurture the endangered Honey Bee. The newest product is crafted by hand of 100% recycled cotton, fresh flowers and a Bee-friendly mixture of perennial wildflower seeds. The invitations come in three styles with choice of 6 blooming papers. All papers and products are hand cast and finished in an old world paper mill located in St Louis, Missouri. Envelopes are certified by the major environmental agencies to be 100% post consumer recycled. They are acid-free, lignin-free and archival. Inks used are all water-soluble. Learn more about Linvites on AtlantaBridal.com.

Finally don't forget the calligraphy! Atlanta based Dreamweaver Calligraphy runs an eco-friendly business too! In addition to using natural inks and handmade papers whenever possible, Dreamweaver Calligraphy recycles and reuses old envelopes, placecards and other papers so that nothing goes to waste. Dreamweaver Calligraphy has been an AtlantaBridal.com Preferred Vendor since 2002!

See also: Green Atlanta Weddings, Atlanta Wedding Invitations, Atlanta Calligraphers, Atlanta Wedding Planning: Wedding Invitations