Supplier case studies

Our ethical wedding suppliers are doing some great things so we thought we'd give you the chance to find out a bit more about them and why they think green weddings are the way forward!

VegOut - vegetarian caterers

Pat and Diane started their vegetarian catering business, VegOut in Sussex to provide exclusively veggie food that is both interesting and original, especially for events such as weddings!

As committed vegetarians themselves, they enjoy dealing with likeminded people, and being able to say "yes, we can do that" to couples wanting to offer their wedding guests a range of tasty vegetarian and vegan dishes, rather than just the standard "Vegetarian Option".

The sight and smell of the first English strawberries, boxes of organic tomatoes, and wonderful squashes of all shapes and sizes in Autumn just waiting to be made into an imaginative dish are among Pat and Diane's inspirations...

Leblas - ethical jewellery

Leblas jewellery works with artisans to revive skills that are fast disappearing while at the same time using ethical materials such as recycled gold and platinum.

Arabel and Clare of Leblas are inspired by Lorenzo, their filigree artisan from a small village in Spain who continues to invest huge amounts of passion and care in his work after 40 years of making.

cherrygorgeous - recycled wedding stationery

Dee Grismond set up cherrygorgeous while planning her own wedding to bring a little bit of Indian magic and sustainable style to UK wedding invitations.

Dee loves being part of the 'happy industry' and hopes she helps take a little bit of wedding stress away from the brides who entrust their wedding invites to her. She is passionate about design and enjoys injecting an element of eco-chic into people's weddings with her range of recycled wedding stationery.

Motasem - wear again wedding dresses

Sabina at Motasem designs cocktail-style wedding dresses that can be worn again and again after the big day. She is passionate about creating clothes that flatter women, in styles that are timeliness and elegant, making them feel sexy and comfortable whilst being a little bit different.

In February 2007, Sabina was fortunate enough to spend time with the late Dame Anita Roddick, who advised her on how to develop her ethical ideas for Motasem and was incredibly inspiring and supportive. She is delighted to be now in a position to put these ideas into action. Weddings can be so unnecessarily wasteful and expensive but at Motasem, customers have the option to select organic fabrics, and they are all in styles brides can wear again.

Ethicalsuperstore.com - ethical wedding gifts, stationery, wine & much more

Ethicalsuperstore.com was founded in 2003 by social entrepreneurs Vic Morgan and Andy Redfern, who saw an opportunity to create global change through an ethical consumer revolution.

Committed to helping the ethical consumer to "Buy What You Believe", they have a wide range of the finest quality fair trade, organic, and eco friendly products.

At Ethicalsuperstore.com, they like to think that more and more "traditional" weddings will start to incorporate elements of an ethical wedding and hope that by bringing everything under one roof, they can make it much easier to source and plan your ethical wedding, as well as make it more affordable.

The Organic Chocolate Cake Company

From his first job washing up aged 13, to cheffing with Keith Floyd near Paris, to making his brother's wedding cake, Dominic Vyvvyan-Jones tells how he came to set up The Organic Chocolate Cake Company in Bristol, the UK's first organic chocolate cake specialists, and the longest established organic cake maker in Britain.

Inspired by all things beautiful, Dominic makes sure he keeps his kitchen ship shape and Bristol fashion!

Sweet Loving Flowers - seasonal wedding flowers

Organic gardeners, Sue Harper and her husband Pete started their business, Sweet Loving Flowers, growing and selling seasonal cut flowers two years ago.

Their main inspiration comes from the flowers themselves, never ceasing to be amazed by their intricacy, beauty and variety. Roger MacLennan, gardener at The Centre for Alternative Technology, also played an important role by teaching them how to grow things in the first place!

The RSA - London green wedding venue

The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce) is striving to offer a green wedding venue (for civil ceremonies and receptions) in the heart of London.

From its beginnings in 1754 through to the current day, the RSA has always been about making a difference by encouraging and supporting innovation and creativity throughout society.

Now, in line with one of their five manifesto challenges for the 21st century, 'Moving Towards a Zero-Waste Society', they are trying to make their venue and services as ethical and green as possible, supporting local producers, recycling 75% of their waste and being as energy-efficient as they can - besides which being located in central London with its excellent transport links means it makes sense for wedding guests to leave their cars at home!

Cred Jewellery - ethical wedding & engagement rings

Founded by Greg Valerio, Cred is proud to be the original ethical luxury jeweller. Over the last 10 years, they have pioneered a responsible supply chain so customers can buy products that marry ethics and aesthetics.

Working with small batches of hand-finish metal they create jewellery that combines beauty, grace and timeless style.

Cred is one of the founding members of the Association for Responsible Mining and work as a partner with Oro Verde Mining Corporation who work to improve the wellbeing of communities through social and environmental standards in Columbia.

Vinati’s Paper - recycled & handmade paper wedding stationery

A passion for handmade paper, traditional printing methods, and the environment led Vinati to set up Vinati's Paper in New Delhi in 1998, to design and promote eco-chic recycled paper products.

Vinati's Paper is run on fair trade principles and promote traditional skills such as silk screen printing.

Oxfam Bridal - pre-loved, new & nearly-new wedding dresses

After starting the first Oxfam Bridal Outlet from her spare bedroom in 1985, Barbara Walmsley has seen the initiative grow into a national concern with Oxfam Bridal Shops in 11 towns across the UK.

Motivated by the impact that Oxfam Bridal's profits have on Oxfam's overseas work, Barbara is always on the lookout for new stock - whether from big hearted former brides or designers and bridal shops who change their stock at the end of the season.

Barbara is inspired by Joe Mitty, the Manager of the first ever Oxfam shop who would say you had two kinds of days in Oxfam shops - good and very good!

Give It - charity wedding gift lists

Andy Hickey set up Give It with his partner in 2004. Give It offers a number of charitable gift list services, where instead of toasters and kettles, or pots and pans, all the gifts are donations to a wide variety of different charities - couples pick a group of charities, guests then pick a gift to the charity of their choice from the couple's list.

Andy is inspired by his 3 daughters (and thoughts of their future nuptials!) as well as by his partner and all the other volunteers who have supported what Give It does by offering their help and guidance, and standing for hours upon end at dozens of wedding shows talking to thousands of couples about their services.

While it is a challenge working in an industry where most suppliers encourage couples to spend, spend, spend, Andy says being part of the ‘counter-culture' does feel good!

Our Green Wedding List - green wedding gift lists

Holly runs charity wedding list, Wedding List Giving and green gift list, Our Green Wedding List and has been motivated to make the world a greener place since growing up with Greenpeace HQ in her hometown!

She is inspired by all the people she meets who make an effort to live in a more ethical and environmentally conscious way on a daily basis - from the couples who choose to make a difference through using the charity or green gift list to other green and ethical business pioneers.

Morgan Boszilkov - eco-friendly wedding gowns

Morgan Boszilkov's Natural Bridal Collection is based in Atlanta, Georgia and was born out of her love for fashion, everything green and everything romantic!

Morgan's eco-friendly wedding gowns - hand-crafted locally using sustainable fabrics - are inspired by nature and by the strong, intelligent and beautiful women in her life for whom she names her dresses.

EcoChic - fair trade & ethical gifts, fashion & accessories

Deborah Miarkowska was inspired to start online boutique EcoChic when on a trip to Poland in 2006 she bought a bag in the street and was told that through this simple purchase she had made a difference to a child's life.

EcoChic now works with marginalised groups in the developing world as well as artisans in the UK, offering ethical and fair trade homewares and fashion collections that have been individually handmade, using recycled and organic materials with eco-friendly methods of production.

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