There are so many communities of socially and environmentally responsible businesses that constantly inspire us, from our 1% for the Planet community and beyond. We are thrilled to be able to advocate for other businesses focused on introducing eco-friendly thinking and sustainable practices to their respective industries. One business in particular that has been remarkable in transforming it’s industry in a sustainable manner is Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, Inc.

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What do an iPhone, an IKEA lamp, and a napkin have in common? They were all imperative in the creation of Greenvelope.com’s latest wedding imagery.

So how did we do it? With just 5 simple steps, you can go from chaos to chic with minimal investment in both time and money.

Get Inspired.

Gather a wide variety of beautiful things – fresh flowers from the market, gold-rimmed vintage china, art deco-inspired jewelry – with varying yet complementary textures, colors, patterns, luster, sizes, and shapes.

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Greenvelope.com was founded in 2008 as a weddings-only product dedicated to providing couples with a premium digital stationery experience. Since then, we have steadily been adding new features, improving existing features on our website, and tailoring our offerings to match our clients’ needs. What we soon realized was that while customers were coming to Greenvelope.com for the beautiful designs, they were staying for the premium event management functionality. Thus began the fruitful  journey of  evolving from a wedding-specific website to becoming a premier international digital correspondence and event management solution for you, your next door neighbor, that local business down the street, as well as multinational corporations all over the globe. While this journey is never over, with the launch of our new ticketing, donation collection, and integrated event management services, we are thrilled to take this time to solve 4 event planning and management problems for both the professional and everyday event planner.

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From humble beginnings as a weddings-only product in a university dorm room to becoming an international digital correspondence and event marketing solution, Greenvelope.com is, and always has been, dedicated to giving back to our local and global communities. Through the integration of ticketing, registration, and donations alongside our trademark elegant experience, we aim to make it easy for local businesses and nonprofits to standout and get results.

Local businesses and nonprofits are the heart and soul of our communities: helping create opportunities, fueling growth and stimulating economic improvement. This is made possible by being able to connect with advocates, customers, donors, and community members in a meaningful way to build relationships and create value. Greenvelope is here to provide an elegant and eco-friendly way to achieve these goals with ease.

Through our brand new fully-integrated service, you can manage all aspects of your event in one easy-to-use, streamlined system offering:

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Just as we love to celebrate the coming of spring with a garden party, a great way to celebrate the coming of autumn is with seasonal colors and flavors.  In this article we will help you find the perfect balance between simplicity and elegance for all your autumn themed events, starting with table decor.

Let’s talk colors first.  Despite the dip in temperature, autumn is all about warm colors: orange, yellow, red, brown. Warm colored napkins, candles, pumpkins (various colors and sizes), and pinecones are a great starting point for preparing your autumn tablescape. Spread the pumpkins, pinecones and candles across the length of the table or place them on large wood coasters.  You can also add a floral arrangement in a low vase.  My personal favorites are a combination of yellow beech leaves, pale-pink and white dahlias, and gold spider mums or a mixture of pomegranates, red viburnum berries, ranunculus and a couple green leaves to balance out the warm colors. read more…

Lon and Amanda were married on May 3rd at Reyes Winery in Agua Dulce, California. With only 40 guests, they created an intimate atmosphere by choosing neutral tones and textures such as burlap and wood to showcase the natural beautiful vineyard backdrop.   Their centerpieces featured a collection of little things including white hydrangea in a vintage spice tin and cards from a deck of medicinal plants cards. A cigar box was used as the guest book.  They filled the box with blank postcards from their home cities and states and encouraged guests to write them a note.

Of course their wedding wouldn’t be complete without their furbabies! Balloon, the Boston terrier, wore a tie and Peanut, the Jack Russell mix, wore a handmade veil and collar. The officiant included them in the outdoor ceremony as well. read more…

Someone once said to me that the main reason why a couple chooses to have a destination wedding is to keep the wedding small without having to compromise on the guest list. Whether or not you agree with that, here are six things not to do when planning a destination wedding:

1. Inviting people you dislike: Since your guests will be spending money and time to fly to your wedding, they will most likely also turn the trip into their own personal vacation and stay longer than the actual wedding.  So before you send your ex an invite, ask yourself if you really want to see him for more than a day.

2. Sending invitations at the last minute: If you want anyone to show up, you need to send out invitations, or at least save the dates, as soon as possible so your guests can plan ahead. Digital invitations can save you a lot of time!

3. Forgetting to the check the weather: The last thing you want is a hurricane to ruin your wedding day.

4. Forgetting to take care of your guests: Did Sally fly to the wrong airport or Marcus get a sunburn because he forgot to pack sunscreen?  Remember to provide important transportation information on Greenvelope’s details page and welcome baskets with essentials for your guests.

5. Not asking for help:  Planning a wedding at a distance can become overwhelming. Hire a destination wedding planner to help shoulder some of the burden.

6. Underestimating costs: It’s easy to forget to factor in expenses such as welcome bags, unexpected activities, and travel costs.

Did we forget something? Comment below!

Gideon Photography 

Let’s face it.  There is a lot that goes into planning pre-wedding festivities, the wedding and reception, and the honeymoon. Hiring an event planner may be the answer, but remember they want to be your planner, not your personal therapist. So whether you need a shoulder to cry on or just a sounding board, finding the perfect bridesmaid can make all the difference. Here are five signs you found the perfect bridesmaid:

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Gideon Photography

Wedding planning brings with it a never-ending flood of little details and big decisions and oftentimes, amidst all the chaos, being environmentally friendly gets lost in the mix. So we’ve compiled 7 easy (and affordable!) tips that you can use to make your big day green and join us in helping to preserve our world for future generations.

1. Choose a Green Venue: This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to get married in a forest or on the beach (although those weddings are always cool), but when you’re choosing a venue, be sure to ask about the building’s sustainability commitment. The way your venue utilizes its energy for lighting, heating, cooking..etc has a huge impact on the environmental cost of your event. read more…

Bee the Buzz is an award-winning event planning and design company in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area that is obsessed with love…life…and the environment. The company invests in technology that uses less paper, such as emails, phone calls, and Google docs. They say “It is in our DNA to produce an event that leaves the least amount of carbon foot-print without sacrificing style.” To further show their dedication to the environment, they donate a portion of their income from each event to Green Futures by Tree Trust, a non-profit organization that turns charitable donations into trees planted in parks and neighborhoods throughout Twin Cities area.

Bea, the owner and lead planner, shares tidbits about her company and being an event planner.

When and how did you know that you wanted to be an event planner?
I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit within me and I am a people pleaser. My husband and I love to host get-togethers at our house and I love all aspects of making guests happy and comfortable. After I quit my corporate job, I wanted to do something that I love and event planning is one love that I can’t put off. I think we should love what we do, otherwise, life is not going to be as fulfilling as we want it to be. To me, a fulfilled life is to help others and by my vocation, planning parties! The look of happiness and satisfaction in a client’s face says it all. I take pride in what I do and I bend myself backwards for my clients if I have to. read more…