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...

Great Escape Classic Car Hire

Graham Eason runs Great Escape Classic Car Hire in Worcestershire, providing self drive classic cars - coupes, convertibles and saloons - for weekends and weddings across the UK.

One of the highlights of his work is meeting the couples and seeing the smiles on their faces when they realise that they're about to drive a car they've sometimes dreamt of driving since childhood.

Graham acknowledges the challenge in balancing economic and ethical demands. He believes that customers should have the option to use a classic car for their wedding but in doing so there is a responsibility to the environment. Carbon emissions from every hire are offset.

Wholly Jo’s - ethical wedding dresses

Joanne Mackin runs Wholly Jo's in West London, an ethical wedding dress design company.

Using a range of fabrics including fair trade, organic, peace silks and hemp, Joanne takes her inspiration from the bride herself to create unique ethical wedding dresses that celebrate the bride's feminine curves.

Joanne is keen to spread the word about ethical and eco weddings and regularly supports eco fashion shows around the country, as well as supporting organizations such as the Ethical Fashion Forum and Make Poverty History.

Fifi Bijoux - luxury ethical jewellery

Vivien Johnston launched Fifi Bijoux in 2006 to offer people an ethical jewellery option, sourcing gold and precious stones from fair trade small scale artisanal mines.

The environmental impact of mining is also a big concern for Vivien who feels that the most sustainable solution to the extreme poverty which is suffered by the artisanal miners is to manage the land without the use of chemicals and to regenerate mined land by replacing topsoil and promoting re-growth of indigenous plants and trees.

Fifi Bijoux offers a bespoke engagement and wedding ring design service to make sure that each couple gets their perfect ring, within their budget.

Vivien says: "I still get the jitters the day I know someone is being proposed to and it's a surprise. But as soon as I get the call ‘SHE SAID YES!' I have a glass of champagne and go about grinning for the next 3 days...To have played a little part in the romance of surprise proposals and wedding days is a real treat! "

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.

Conscious Elegance - eco-friendly wedding dresses

Third-generation dressmaker, Lori del Genis, wanted to give women and children an alternative to the chemically-laden, assembly-line, factory created gowns that were available only in limited sizes. Lori's eco-friendly wedding dresses help brides feel fabulous inside and out!

Lori is inspired by visits to historical costume museums and the imagination of little girls at play. As a result, her wedding dresses are beautiful, comfortable and provide plenty of freedom to move, or run!

Ingle & Rhode - ethical jewellery designers

Ethical jewellery designers, Ingle & Rhode create engagement rings and wedding bands from fairly traded gold produced without cyanide or mercury.

As a symbol of love that should last a lifetime, they feel it is important that couples know where their wedding jewellery has come from.

They are inspired by the people of the EcoAndina Foundation in Argentina who work on mining projects that minimise environmental impact and from whom they source their gold.

Ingle & Rhode are optimistic about the future of the ethical wedding movement and are determined to challenge the common misconception that being ethical means compromising on quality or price.

utani-uk

Supplier of ethical wedding dresses.

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