Let the Registry Begin!

Call me crazy, but I've been putting off registering. Picking out nice things that I will want to use for the rest of my life and be able to incorporate into my ever-changing style ideas is daunting. But nevertheless, the fact that people WANT to buy me nice stuff is awesome, so I decided to man up and get started.
So far we've found a few ways to green up this process.

1. Adam and I have decided to register mainly at local businesses as they will probably benefit from and appreciate our patronage more than the big box stores. This creates a challenge for out-of-town guests to purchase these items. To combat this, we're going to make a custom combined registry at myregistry.com (don't go there yet, it's not ready!) that allows us to pull items from any store and provide phone numbers if they do not have an online purchase option. Pretty nifty, eh?

2. I found some cool green options in my first outing. Most notably, Cuisinart now has a non-stick "Green Gourmet" line. There list of greeness is awesome including low carbon manufacturing, recycled aluminum, petroleum-free surface, and recycled packaging. Kudos to Cuisinart!

3. Other products I registered for were from the Totally Bamboo line. Bamboo is a great choice for wood as it is super strong, lighter than other hardwoods, and is a very renewable resource. Bamboo grows so quickly and has such an expansive root system, that it does not need replanting to regenerate itself. Plus, the type of bamboo that this company uses is not the same that pandas eat, so they're not taking away a food source. Yay!

4. In instances where a eco-friendly product was not available or the best option for us, I chose super durable, high-quality products. I'm hoping to reduce our carbon footprint with these options by never having to throw them away and buy new. (or at least not for a LONG time)

That's as far as I got in the first 2 hours (and about 20 items). I'll keep you posted on other cool finds!

Bridesmaid dresses are in!

Designer's Website
After a brief hiatus for some intense house hunting (we have an offer in on a short sale and hope to have word by then end of this week), wedding planning is back in motion.
Since the last post I have picked up my wedding dress (yay!) and have picked out the bridesmaid dresses! Thanks to two lovely, patient models/bridesmaids, Sara and Amanda Suiter, we found a dress that I really like. (and hope everyone else does too!)
My green effort in this case was reusability... Let's pause for the 27 dresses scene where the bride thinks her hideous dress choice can "totally be cut short and worn again!" I hope I'm not so blind! ...Good-looking, affordable dresses are difficult enough to find. Adding organic hemp fabric from a fair trade company was asking a bit much. Instead, we found an "ink" colored cocktail dress, by Donna Ricco, at a local shop in downtown Charleston that can double for bridesmaid apparel. I'm hoping the girls can rewear these dresses to future events or at least consign or donate them after the wedding.
I'm hoping to find some great jewelery and shoes to complete the ensemble with equal reusable potential.
Here's a pic! (My unbiased opinion: MY bridesmaids look WAY better in this dress than this model...)