Category: Green Weddings

Recently, KC and I had the pleasure of visiting Carmel Valley Ranch. It’s a fantastic weekend getaway with a wonderful restaurant, Citronelle, that offers many creative menu choices. The lobby’s rust-brown and burnt orange hues are warm and inviting. The golf clubhouse has shades of lime green, deep chocolate and white, giving it a crisp, modern feel. The pool area is charming without being too fussy, and the staff is so attentive. I can’t remember how many of them remembered my name, “Mrs. Chin!”. The in-room spa service was terrific, and they even honored my request to have my spa services near the pool. I believe I had Carmel Valley Ranch’s very first by-the-pool massage!

Lucky, Bon Appetit, and O At Home are just some of the publications that have sung praise for Rosanna Inc. It’s easy to see why.

My colleague Jan Brenner and I recently combined business with pleasure in Half Moon Bay. With its fun and artsy downtown, exhilarating coastal hikes, and water sports, Half Moon Bay is a day tripper’s delight and a wonderfully easy and rewarding wedding destination—just ask our very own Meredith, who wed her sweetheart on a Half Moon Bay beach!

What do you do after your green wedding? Green honeymoon, of course. Love, Honor, Leave No Carbon Footprint from the New York Times talks about the popularity of eco-friendly honeymoons. The article discusses options like travel with volunteering opportunities, “wwoofing” (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), travel to eco-destinations (some of which are quite luxurious) and of course (very green!) local honeymooning. California couples are especially fortunate in this regard, as there are many honeymoon destinations especially geared to the eco-traveler, such as the Historic Sand Rock Farm, Bear Flag Farm, or Shambhala Ranch.

Brides often forget to add a few essential items with smaller price tags to their registry lists, but including these items is a courtesy to the guests who have already contributed a lot to your wedding (hello maids of honor and in-laws!), or younger family members who don’t want to add her name to her parents’ gift. I was reminded of this when I made my semi-routine visit to Williams-Sonoma a few weeks ago.

In your pre-wedding world, you probably already have the dishes, the towels, and the ubiquitous crock pot that grace most wedding registries.So what do you register for if your cupboards already runneth over? You could succumb to that borderline tacky (okay, really tacky) trend of asking guests to pay for your honeymoon or even help fund your wedding. Or you could help make the world a better place by registering for your wedding at ChangingThePresent.org.

Tarte Cosmetics is one company that has mastered creating products that aren’t tested on animals, are paraben-free (very, very important), and contain botanical nutrients. The makeup comes in attractive, fuss-free packaging, and most importantly, they make you, the wearer, look good. You might have read about Tarte’s world-famous cheek stains in InStyle, Cosmo, and Self magazines. I myself am a fan of the “flush” and “blushing bride” shades.

If you’re getting married, or if you’re just someone with a heart of gold and plenty of it in material form, this is for you.