Once again, we’re truly amazed at the generosity toward our Eco-friendly wedding and, much to our surprise, many people have donated with NOTHING to gain…just to show their support of the importance of saving our Planet!         

Our photographer, Mandie Haberman of Red Gecko Studio, attended a conference in Las Vegas a couple of months ago.  While at a presentation, Mandie met a wonderful woman named Roxanne who donated a beautiful canvas to Isthmus for presentation at our Eco-friendly Wedding.  Mandie chose this photo and displayed it proudly…just one of the many beautiful photos she captured of us.  Isn’t it absolutely gorgeous?           

Our BEAUTIFUL DONATED CANVAS! Call Mandie at Red Gecko Studio (608-669-1268) to get yours!

Eco-friendly information: The dyes & inks used are OBA (oil-based-additive??) free and the wood is reforested right here in the US. The ink/printable surface is akin to Elmer’s Glue…nontoxic!         

One more HUGE THANKS to Isthmus, Mandie and Roxanne…we’re so blessed! 

Before venturing out to the second-hand stores, Kelly found a beautiful black suit coat, which had belonged to her Father so I’ll be wearing that. Then, we got some black pants, a shirt, and a pair of shoes at a second-hand store. The pants and shirt looked great, but they would look much better after a trip to the dry cleaners. Kelly did a Google search to find an eco-friendly dry cleaner, and the only one we found was Best Cleaners.

When you walk in the door of Best Cleaners, you don’t smell that dry cleaning odor. John Whitley, the owner since 1996,  explained that they use Green Earth Cleaning solvent, rather than PERC, the petroleum-based solvent used by other dry cleaners. Green Earth is safer for the environment, customers, and John’s employees. It’s also better for your clothes.

When you pick up your clothes, they are in Degradable Poly bags, which look and feel like normal plastic garment bags, but they breakdown naturally in the environment in about two years. Normal plastic dry cleaning bags take approximately 400 years to breakdown in a landfill.

Our experience at Best Cleaners, made us realize that we all need to be more aware of the impact something like dry cleaning has on our environment. For more information about eco-friendly dry cleaning, go to Best Cleaners website or just stop in…John and his staff are very friendly!

Photos compliments of the AMAZING Mandie @ Red Gecko Studio!

Last week, Mike, Mandie  (our photographer) and I met with Jane at J. Kinney, Floral for our engagement photo shoot and what a beautiful shop Jane has on Monroe Street!  Jane has connected with local growers so she always has a great selection of gorgeous flowers and they are truly the ultimate in fresh.  As luck would have it,  April is a perfect month for flower options for us because of the 4 varieties Jane listed, the last was my favorite…freesia!  All of Jane’s flower options are beautiful this time of year…here are some she has in stock now.

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Now, back to my absolute favorite…while we were visiting Jane, she had two types of freesia in stock.  One from her local supplier and the other had been shipped from California.  There was NO COMPARISON between the two.  The colors of the  locally grown freesia totally POP and the petals seemed much more dense, where the California freesia was beautiful in its own way but more muted in color and much thinner petals…almost see through.  The scent was not to be compared either and I wondered if that had to do with how long ago each had been picked.  Again, the local freesia won out with an amazing fragrance.  Here’s a photo of Jane’s locally grown freesia…unreal! 

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Jane and I talked about any possible way to incorporate something live into our flower arrangements that our wedding party can plant afterward for years of enjoyment.  I think we’ve settled on weaving willow through the arrangements as they can be planted later.  Perhaps some sprigs from our beautiful weeping willow tree in our backyard?  We’ll see…

If we can find a way to use willow sprigs from our tree in the floral arrangements, in a few years, our wedding party could be resting under a tree like ours in THEIR backyard!

 ♥   ♥   ♥

Photo compliments of Jewelers Workshop.

So last month on February 9th, Mike planned a surprise engagement proposal…until then, he hadn’t “officially” proposed.  Their secret plan was for my Mom to get me to The Mariner’s Inn by 6:00, which ended up a challenge due to a snowstorm.  Originally, I was  booked with my last Evening Social as Chair of Dane Buy Local, from 4:30-7:00 pm so it was a good thing Mother Nature intervened, cancelling that event.

We made it  by 6:00 and because of the weather, we had the whole Mariner’s Inn all to ourselves.  The following people (again, the only people in the whole place) helped make it a night to remember!

1. Jack von Rutenberg (Mariner’s Inn owner & family friend)
2. Donna (server/bartender)
3. A Chef (maybe…or was it Jack back there?)
4. My sister, Kim (videographer)
5. My mom, Leanne (said she was taking me to The Mariner’s Inn because she was craving Mariner’s Inn TO-DIE-FOR hash browns)
6. Lucas Cates (the most talented local musician EVER)
7. Mike (love of my life)
8. Me (TOTALLY surprised!)

As we (Mike, Mom & me) sat alone in the cocktail lounge enjoying the fireplace and the beautiful snowfall, I looked up and was totally surprised to see my sister, Kim, walk in the cocktail lounge with a red blinking light on a camcorder.  Then, Lucas Cates walked in with his guitar…my first thought was “Cool, Lucas is playing here tonight!”.  But then I realized this was something more when Lucas walked up to our table and began strumming his guitar.  Only when Lucas started singing did I realize that, upon Mike’s request, Lucas had learned ”our song” for this occasion. 

 Lucas Cates

You can see the performance and proposal on this video…maybe.  It’s a pretty dark video BUT, for sure, you’ll be able to hear Lucas Cates loud and clear followed by Mike getting down on one knee and saying “Kelly, I was wondering if you would spend the rest of your life making memories with me?”.  I said “Yes, I would Honey” then Mike put the ring on my finger and I said “You’re amazing!”

Again, it was a bit dark in the lounge but thanks to Jeremy from Moonstruck Media, our wedding videographer, he lightened it up…ENJOY the beautiful voice of Lucas Cates singing Keith Urban’s Memories of Us!

OK…Mandie is THE GREATEST!  She has such a good eye and an awareness of everything around her and that makes for excellent photos.  When we first made plans for our engagement photo shoot, Mandie had some great suggestions but we had to change course on the day we were supposed to meet.  Mandie handled the news of the reschedule like a champ.  She always finds the positive in every situation and you gotta love that type of photographer.  Just look how great she made us look!

Some of the things that make Mandie @ Red Gecko Studio eco-friendly is how she uses the power of technology when it comes to running her business.  She does EVERYTHING on-line and has mastered things like blogging, facebook, proofing on-line, etc.  She is also home-based so she does not use resources for a retail location or travel to work.  Oh my God…the money we would save in gas alone these days!  Mandie also provides eco-friendly album options.

The day of our engagement shoot, we took some photos at J. Kinney, Floral (above) then went next door for a glass of wine (below).  Notice the beautiful window behind us as we checked out the latest Isthmus and sipped our wine?

 As the wine warmed us inside and out, we realized we had better get home or we would miss the sunset we’ve been waiting for.  Our home atop a hill on Madison’s west side is surrounded daily by colors that are truly Heaven sent, as the sun falls below the horizon…another quick kiss and we hit the road!

And THIS is the kind of thing that makes Mandie special…notice my wedding ring perched on the bird’s nest?  Just another creative idea Mandie came up with while walking through the Nature Conservancy across the street from our home.

One more quick shot before we head back home and yes…it’s’ getting very cold as the sun goes down!

 Last but not least, Mandie takes one more shot as we walk back toward the comfort and warmth of our own home.

OK…this eco-friendly idea is THE BEST we’ve learned so far in our adventure!  I’ll start by explaining that our ceremony will be held in a private area that only seats 52 family & close friends.  For all others, Jeremy will have 3 cameras covering our entire ceremony with a live feed on a big screen in the expo hall.

Now, here’s the REALLY COOL part!  Jeremy from Moonstruck Media specializes in STREAMING LIVE ON LINE.  This means that GG (Great Grandma) in the assisted living home, Aunt Mary on Maui, Brother Steve in Ft. Lauderdale, Brother Jay in Charlotte, Uncle Steve in Tampa and possibly Mom & Dad Drake in northern Wisconsin will all be able to be part of our experience right along with us.  All without increasing their carbon footprint by traveling to Madison.  Just imagine the positive affect this will have on the preservation of our Earth if this concept catches on…loved ones can celebrate WHEREVER they are!

Recently, Kelly and I took the first step in our Eco-friendly wedding adventure, meeting with the wonderful people at The Jewelers Workshop on Sherman Avenue. Linda, the store manager, welcomed us in, and showed us around the store. We told her that we didn’t have any idea where to begin, and she told us not to worry.   

Linda then introduced us to Jackie, who would be creating our wedding rings. Jackie took the time to find out more about us, before she showed us any rings. We told her that this is a great opportunity for us to learn how we can live greener, and help others become more aware of their carbon footprint. If each one of us makes a few changes in the way we live, it will have a dramatic effect on helping to sustain our environment.  Jackie explained that they use recycled metals when they create their jewelry, and they send all their used metals back to the refiner to be recycled.   

We told Jackie that we are very fortunate to have a beautiful nature conservancy right out our front window, which is why we call our home Isle View.  As a result of our conversation, Jackie asked if we would like her to work the letters IV into the ring design.  She drew a design on a piece of paper, and we knew that she would create something beautiful, as well as meaningful.  

Wedding ring designs

Jackie introduced us to Richard, the store owner. Richard showed us several different stones, and gave us a quick course in gemology. We decided on a beautiful pre-owned diamond, which we discovered is over 100 years old. Jackie, Richard, and Linda were very excited about being a part of our eco-friendly wedding, and as we left The Jewelers Workshop, we knew that we had found the right place.

POST-WEDDING BLOG   

OK…so here is the wedding gown we finally decided on.  It only took 3 weeks for 7 of us to narrow down my choices to this gorgeous gown.  In the end, there is no doubt in my mind that my family and friends all agreed on the perfect one for me.  It fit like a glove and I truly felt like a Princess for my wedding day!  It’s hard to believe that this perfect condition, beautiful gown was once worn….so Eco-friendly.  Let us know what you think!   

I could not have been happier and I’m pretty sure Mike was pleased too…he’ll have to comment later.  Anyway, the day was filled with compliments, and many were by total strangers.  By far, the BEST compliment was one caught by my daughter, Krista.  Apparently, as I was waiting for my turn to walk down the aisle, a little boy walked by, then tugged on his mom’s arm and asked, “Mommy, where’s the Prince?”…how cute is THAT?!?    

PRE-WEDDING BLOG    

Halter wedding gown front

 Hmmm…what does an eco-friendly bride wear?  Turns out there’s many options if you want to buy something new.  My thought was there’s probably many beautiful
once-worn gowns around and why add more waste to our earth if I can find one…but WHERE?         

 We were a couple weeks into our wedding planning when I was emcee at a Dane Buy Local Member Breakfast.  Colin Murray of Isthmus Publishing asked to give an update on their upcoming 2010 Isthmus Green Day and announced the plans of our eco-friendly wedding being part of this year’s event.  Colin explained the opportunity for businesses to donate in exchange for recognition of their eco-friendly ways.  As luck would have it,  Dane Buy Local member/photographer (AWESOME photographer at that) Shannon McMahan was in the crowd and suggested a once-worn wedding gown from her cousin Bev’s store which is just a short drive away in Verona, WI.       

(The dress you see here IS NOT the gown I’ll be wearing but isn’t it beautiful?)       

Well, one visit to Bev’s store, Just For You, and all my dreams came true…and then some!  Bev looked at my shape, then asked a few questions and put me in 7 different gowns.  Only one wasn’t me and I loved all others.  I brought my Mom to help me decide the next day and she’s just as torn as me.  I have narrowed it down to 3 and am now taking votes.  Again, the gown you see here in our blog is beautiful but  is the only one that I DIDN’T feel was me.  Stop in to see Bev if you like it!         

Bev is in the process of getting a website so you can’t look her up on-line, but I highly recommend a visit.  She is a one person shop so be ready to wait if she’s busy with another bride.  The good news is that Bev’s store is literally surrounded by LOCAL businesses for unique, eco-friendly shopping experiences.  Across the street is Miller’s Supermarket and Tuvalu Coffeehouse & Gallery and just a block away is Avanti, a wonderful Italian restaurant…perfect for waiting.

YIPEE…back on 12.23.09, we got an email from Rachel at Isthmus Publishing telling us we’re the lucky recipients of  their 2010 Isthmus Green Day Eco-friendly Wedding Give Away!  It will actually be held at the 3rd annual Isthmus Green Day on April 17, 2010. When I got the news, I was with my kids, Krista and Gary, and being as Mike & I had not discussed when or how we would tell our kids that we’re getting married, I had to pretend nothing was up…a hard chore for me!

Our first meeting was with Colin and Rachel at Isthmus Publishing in Madison, Wisconsin.  We discussed exactly what this would mean in expectations on both parts.  We were also given a listing of their clients who had agreed to donate items or services to our wedding.  Each donor practices eco-friendly ways in their business and we’ve already learned lots in meeting with them.  We’ve listed them individually on our front page under “Our Eco-friendly Donors” so you can pull them up individually to find out more about them.  All donors are simply AMAZING and I can honestly say that we’ve  met some new friends for life.

Kelly Starr-King & Mike Drake 2009

OH MY GOD…WE DID IT!  A big HELLO from Kelly Starr-King and Mike Drake who are total rookies at this thing called blogging.

Mike and I live in Madison, WI in our beautiful home we refer to as Isle View.  The view out our front door is a nature conservancy and out our back door is our BEAUTIFUL willow tree…the centerpiece of our neighborhood.

We’ve been blessed with great family and friends who will be along for the ride with us for the next 3 months…on April 17, 2010, we’ll all be celebrating at our Eco-friendly wedding given to us by the very generous people @ Isthmus Publishing and their clients.

Stay tuned as we learn all about what makes a wedding eco-friendly…we’ve learned TONS already!