The Poetry Store: 5 Questions for Silvi Alcivar

We absolutely love Silvi Alcivar's Poetry Store. What an amazing idea! So we asked our favorite poet to answer 5 questions and tell us a bit more about who she is and what she does. 

 How did you get your start?

I was a writer who wasn’t writing so I set myself to a manageable task: write just three minutes a day. To save myself from distractions, I used my typewriter.  For inspiration I would literally open up the dictionary, pick a word, and write.  I soon realized that in three minutes or less I was able to create a complete little poem. Someone said I should try selling them. So I took my writing desk, some upcycled paper, and my typewriter and wrote and sold poems at an event. People loved it and I loved doing it! It’s been almost 4 years now and what I do and how I do it has just continued to grow. 

What do you love about working with brides?

I’m always honored when brides choose to have the poetry store wedding booth as part of the celebration, especially because of the intimate way I get to be part—listening to stories from the bride’s friends and family and then creating the gift of a poem. What a joy it is to help add a personal touch to an already special day! Plus, brides and I have a lot in common—we’re excited, attentive to details, and wanting to give guests something truly memorable and one of a kind.  

Why green?

Because there are so many things to reuse! And upcycling is fun and rewarding! It feels so good to reuse frames and turn birthday wrapping paper, old greeting cards, or calendars into the paper I use to write poems on. Not only is reusing a great way to reduce waste, the aesthetic result is often quite charming. DIY, shopping local, going green is where it’s at!

Do you only write poems at weddings?

The poetry store loves loves loves weddings and does events of all kinds—bridal and baby showers, birthdays, retirements, memorials, art openings, corporate parties, you name it! Also, I remind brides it’s possible to have poetry at the wedding  via custom gifts and décor, like poem in a bottle favors, poetry art center pieces, poetry necklaces, poetry thank you’s, and more. 

How do you work with the team of Locally Grown Weddings?

We share a passion for weddings that create a personalized experience that’s low on environmental impact and high on fun and memorability.  It’s an ethos of loving what you do, being mindful of the earth, and knowing that little things can give great gifts to those around you. 

Photo credits from the top:

1. Poet at Work by Misti Layne 
2. The Poetry Store's Desk by Meg Perotti
3. Paper by Silvi Alcivar
4. For Sam and Alicia by Silvi Alcivar
 

Gratitude

With Thanksgiving celebrations tomorrow, the Locally Grown Weddings team has been reflecting on all that we have to be thankful for. 

We had a busy wedding season and loved working with all of our couples to create some very unique, creative, and sustainable weddings which we'll be sharing about in the coming weeks. We have also grown our community of Locally Grown partners who not only provide a wide array of services to our couples, but are equally committed to sustainability in their respective industries. Most importantly, we are fortunate to be a team of dedicated professionals who love working together to create beautiful and memorable weddings.

Each of us took a few moments to share what we are grateful for...

Aurora: I am grateful for feeling at home in San Francisco. Living in the Bay Area for the past seven years, I have met so many wonderful people who have helped me grow as a person and a professional. I am surrounded by such an amazing community of people who are working each day to make the world a better place. 

Chef Stephanie: I am thankful to live in a part of the world that produces amazing food for us to enjoy through out the year. As a chef, it is my honor to take the high quality and abundant fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, etc. and transform the ingredients into meals that clients, friends and family can enjoy any time of year. I love my job!

Madeline: I am grateful for all the people I have met this past year who have helped me and my business grow. San Francisco has a strong community of passionate local businesses who are not only dedicated to being successful with their own business but also in helping the community.

Pei-Yee: I am thankful for all things sweet...chocolate, sugar, and beautiful, seasonal fruits...that I can turn into delicious treats that bring smiles to people's faces. Though the best bit of sweetness right now is my little girl, Leona!

Sadie: I'm thankful for our new arrival, Thomas; for the love and support of family and friends; for health and happiness; and for the wonderful group of women I plan weddings with.

Locally Grown Weddings Members:

Event Planning: Sadie Waddington
Catering: Chef Stephanie
Photography: Aurora Meneghello
Flowers and Design: Madeline Trait
Wedding Desserts: Pei-Yee Woo

My Boutique Wedding: 5 Questions for Carissa Zarzosa

How did you start creating Bridal Bouquets?

Both Brooch Bouquets and Origami Paper FlowerBouquets are alternative to live flowers. They are created from re-loved, re-cycled or re-used products.  When my husband and I got engaged I turned into a DIY Bride. I instantly fell in love with the concept of carrying a brooch bouquet down the aisle. I loved the idea of carrying something where friends and family could contribute pieces that I could carry with me. We incorporated Origami Paper Flowers into the decorations. I have been creating wedding flowers ever since. 

 

What do you love most about working with Brides?

I love working with Brides and helping them make their big day that much more special. I love being there to help them create their perfect bridal bouquet for their big day. Being able to create something that embodies their personality and that can be put on display or passed down to future generations.

Why Green?

I want to do my part and help reduce the impact of using new materials when sustainable materials can be used instead. I love the idea of helping brides come up with alternatives to live flowers that are often used for a day and tossed away. I not only use post consumed products when possible but I also encourage them to re-love, re-use and re-cycle whenever possible.

Do you only design flowers for weddings?

Wedding flowers are the main focus of my business, however I also create flowers for any occasion including anniversary bouquets (especially for the one year paper anniversary), just because bouquets, get well bouquets, special events etc. I also make bridal jewelry, wedding party jewelry, hair accents, gifts and more.   

What is your role in Locally Grown Weddings?

I love the idea of being able to give the Bride and Groom something they can treasure, something they can take away from the day along with their pictures. We share the same passion for weddings and for the environment. We each have our own creative individual talents and we come together to see to it that the weddings that we help create are unforgettable.

Featured Locally Grown Weddings Partner:

My Boutique Wedding

Blog 

Facebook

Photography by Carissa Zarzosa

Green Business Certification!

The Locally Grown Weddings team is thrilled to announce our newly bestowed Green Business Certification!

It is an honor to be officially recognized by the city of San Francisco for our sustainable and green business practices.

To qualify as a green business, we have met high environmental standards that have the following  impact:

SF Green Businesses reduce the amount the CO₂ they generate, thereby helping tackle the pressing problem of global climate change. Here's how:

• Green Businesses conserve energy by using fluorescent lighting and Energy Star rated equipment
• Green Businesses conserve water through the use of low-flow toilets and water flow restrictors. Energy is needed to deliver water, so every unit of water conserved saves several pounds of CO2
• Green Businesses conserve natural resources by promoting public transit, biking and walking
• Green Businesses reduce waste by recycling and composting and using materials with recycled content. The manufacture, distribution, and use of products - as well as dealing with the resulting waste - all require the use of energy, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions.
• Green Businesses also take steps to ensure a safe and healthy workplace for their employees and customers by using less-toxic products.

Please join us! Whether you run your own business or work for a larger company, we encourage you to look into the green certification program and take steps to reducing your "footprint" at work.

Beautiful Wedding Dress by Adele Wechsler

We can't wait to share many more images form Renee and Sean's Wedding at Campovida!

In the meantime, let us start with a few photos of Renee's beautiful dress designed by Adele Wechsler.

Renee chose to work with Locally Grown Weddings for her green wedding. Being committed to the environment and to sustainable practices, Renee knew that she needed professionals who shared her love of community and nature. 

Adele Wechsler has a line of green wedding dresses, from which Renee chose a classic and romantic piece. It even came with a signed sketch from Adele!

If you are planning your sustainable wedding, don't forget to look for an eco friendly wedding gown. And let us know your favorite green designer, we are always looking for great wedding professionals who share our values and commitment.

Locally Grown Weddings Members:

Event Planning: Sadie Waddington
Catering: Chef Stephanie
Photography: Aurora Meneghello
Flowers and Design: Madeline Trait
Wedding Desserts: Pei-Yee Woo


Venue: Campovida, Hopland, CA

Guest Vendors:

Adele Wechsler for lending us a gorgeous dress from her Eco Couture Collection.

5 Questions for Madeline, Florist and Designer

1. How long have you been doing flowers and what is your level of experience.

I am a self taught florist designer and have been working with flowers for as long as I can remember. I began doing it for others in 2007, when I designed the flowers for a friend's wedding. I have always been passionate about art, design and gardening. I went to college for architecture, where I got a degree in creative problem solving. Professionally I gravitated to interior design where I worked as an interior architectural designer learning to arrange and dress a space with different finishes, fabrics and furniture. Combine my knowledge, experience and passion and you get a green flower and event design business, by Madeline Trait.

2. What do you love most about your work?

I get really excited when I meet with my clients to brainstorm about ideas and concepts for their wedding. I love the whole process from beginning to end. From the inception of a unique idea, to figuring out how to make it work and then making it a reality on their wedding day. However, it all seems to rush by so fast, that I really love seeing the amazing pictures from Aurora of what it looked like on film a few weeks after the wedding.

3. Why green?

I can't remember a time when I wasn't telling my family that they needed to recycle or conserve water. I have always had a concern for our environment and for how our actions can affect it. This mindset is not only how I guide my daily decisions but also how I conduct my business. A wedding is a special one day event so it is up to us to make sure it doesn't have a lasting imprint on the environment. I am continually researching and exploring new sustainable flower sources as well as ways in which I can conserve, reuse and recycle. It is also a goal of mine to have all my products be from fair and socially minded companies as well as goods that are locally manufactured. I believe in sustaining our communities in conjunction with our environment.

4. Do you only do weddings?

Weddings are the majority of my work but I have done other private events and want to continue to do so as well as expand into corporate events. I view each event as a design opportunity to create unique, spaces and experiences for my clients and their guests  no matter what the celebration is.

Locally Grown Weddings Featured Members:

Madeline Trait, Florist and Designer

Aurora Meneghello, Photographer

Meet Tammy Foxx, Bridal Fitness Coach

We asked out favorite bridal fitness coach to share a little about herself...here Tammy answers 5 questions about herself and her passion for fitness and weddings.

1. How did you become a Bridal Personal Trainer?

Eating healthy and being fit has been a passion of mine for most of my life.  Like a lot of women, when I hit my 30s I gained a few extra pounds.  I decided to do something about it and hired a personal trainer.  It was such a great experience that I decided if I ever made a career change, I would become a Personal Trainer myself.  The experts always say if you want to go in business for yourself, pick something you enjoy doing.  Well, I love working out and like most women, I LOVE weddings.  At the time I was researching my new career, I discovered there was only one other personal trainer in the entire country who specialized in working with brides, and she was in Detroit.  That’s when I decided to launch Bridal Fitness Coach.

2. What do you love most about bridal fitness?

Brides are great to work with because they have a specific goal in mind…LOOKING BEAUTIFUL ON THEIR WEDDING DAY!  They are perfect clients, because they are committed and focused.  I’ve trained brides solo, brides and grooms and brides with their moms.  Training a bride with a partner is especially rewarding because they keep each other motivated.  Also, working out with a partner is a great way to draw closer together.

Before:

After:

3. Why green?

Being a green business in this day and age is very simple to do.  So, why not do my part?  Some of the ways I do my part are to encourage my clients to eat organic foods and grass fed and pastured meats as much as possible.  Also, I try to run a paperless office by generating as little waste as possible.

4. Do you only train brides and bridal parties?

I work with women in every stage of life…single, dating, getting married, already married, young, middle-age, seniors, fit, plus-size, recovering from injuries, etc.  However, 75% of my client base is brides and bridal parties.

5. What is your role in Locally Grown Weddings and how do you work with the team?

I love Locally Grown Weddings! We share the same passion for what we do, commitment to our brides and the environment. As a bridal fitness coach, I enjoy my role in preparing brides (and grooms!) to look and feel their best on their wedding day. I know that Locally Grown Weddings sees to it that the big day is truly unforgettable.

Featured Locally Grown Weddings Partner:

Fitness: Bridal Fitness Coach

Photography by Milena Velez

Sadie and Pei-Yee, Happy Maternity Leave!

Sadie and Pei-Yee are due to give birth a few days from each other and will go on maternity leave starting tomorrow. We can't wait to visit them and to post pictures of the little ones. We will miss you two (but will visit, of course!).

We are all waiting to meet the two little babies on the way...

Here are a couple of images from our last field trip together to Pie Ranch, a sustainable farm in the shape of a slice of pie, whose mission is to help create a healthy sustainable food system. One of the best things about Locally Grown Weddings is that we are building a community of creative experts who share the same values: a strong passion for the environment and a love of romance.

When together, we can do so much more than we can as individuals: we are in sync with each other and that helps us relax and think outside the box.

And of course, one of the perks of being in the same group with Pei-Yee and Chef Stephanie is not only to visit local organic farms on a work day...but the chance to take yummy fresh vegetables home!

Locally Grown Weddings Members:

Event Planning: Sadie Waddington

Catering: Chef Stephanie

Photography: Aurora Meneghello

Flowers and Design: Madeline Trait

Wedding Desserts: Pei-Yee Woo

Make Up Artistry: Angela LaFlamme

Venue: Pie Ranch

Meet D&H Sustainable Jewelers

We absolutely love D&H Sustainable Jewelers, the greenest jewellery store in San Francisco (and the country, we suspect). They are hosting an event to meet Anne Sportun from Toronto, Canada. Her line has a heavy focus on bridal/engagement but she will also be showing her complete collection. Her work could be described as contemporary classic. The show dates are September 23rd 11am-8pm, 24th 11am-8pm, and 25th 11am-5pm. We are going to check it out, join us!

We asked Lindsay to tell us a bit about her company. 

1. How did D&H Sustainable Jewelers start? 

Shawn and I have both worked many years in the jewelry industry. After working together for several years at another company, we began to see a demand from our clients for jewelry that's sourced and made in an ethical manner-- conflict free diamonds and precious metals that were not mined in a way that negatively impacts the environment and social climate.  This was a concept that he and I had both already felt strongly about, so we began to talk about opening as sustainable jewelry store.  We began planning and one year later it all fell into place. D&H Sustainable Jewelers opened its doors in January 2011.

2. What do you love most about working with jewelry?

The obvious answer is being able to design and work in a creative environment. The not so obvious answer is that it gives us great joy to be part of significant moments in people's lives. Jewelry often commemorates an anniversary, an engagement, a wedding and so on.

3. Why green?

Over 20 tons of toxic waste is generated in order to mine enough gold to make one simple wedding band. The technology and resources exist today for us to recycle and re-use precious metals without any sacrifice to quality and design. So, why not?

4. Do you only sell engagement and wedding rings?

Though our business focuses largely on bridal jewelry, we also carry necklaces, earrings, and bracelets in a variety of styles. We feature the work of fifteen different jewelry artists as well as pieces that we design and make in house. All items are carefully crafted using recycled precious metals and ethically sourced gemstones. 80% of our designers are local artists.
 

5. How do you work with the team of Locally Grown Weddings?

Both the wedding and jewelry industries traditionally come with a certain level of environmental impact. I see the partnership between Locally Grown Weddings and D&H as a way to expand the new philosophy of sustainability in business. Both companies work hand in hand to promote our ideals in fun and meaningful ways. Be it through photo shoots, happy hours, or wedding workshops, we all work to get our message out to as many people as possible.



Featured Locally Grown Weddings Members:

Photography: Aurora Meneghello
Flowers and Design: Madeline Trait

Featured Locally Grown Weddings Partner:

Jewelry: D&H Sustainable Jewelers

Renee and Sean's Engagement

We are getting ready for Renee and Sean's wedding at the end of the month at Campovida in Hopland, we can't wait!

While each and every wedding is unique (of course!), this wedding is particularly special because of a personal connection we have to the couple.  Renee and Sean are longtime friends with Chef Stephanie. In fact, it was working in the kitchen at Millennium Restaurant that the 3 chefs met each other and 2 of them fell in love! Sean is now the award winning executive chef at Gather in Berkeley and Renee is the personal chef to one very lucky Bay Area family.

This wedding promises to be really really cool! The theme is healthy, luscious, organic, yummy wedding, but we won't say anything more about it. Sadie, Madeline and Pei-Yee are working hard to make this a very special day. You will have to wait and look for the pictures on this blog some time in the Fall.

In the meantime, Aurora went to Ben Lomond, near Santa Cruz, to take pictures at Lindencroft Farm, a special place for Sean and Renee both.

Featured Locally Grown Weddings Member:

Photography: Aurora Meneghello