This Bride knows a thing or two about sustainability and her wedding was no better place to put those practices to work. Loft Photography captured every thought out detail at their gorgeous venue, Ma Maison, and this gallery is not only beautiful, but pretty darn inspiring as well. If this Bride can be this conscientious at her own wedding, I’m motivated to step it up a bit in my own daily life.
From Loft Photography… Ann and Cody had one of the most unique and beautiful weddings that we’ve had the privilege of being a part of it. The couple’s focus on economic sustainability was both intriguing and well done, their love for each other was contagious and inspiring, and their wedding day was as pretty as they come!
From The Bride… As a recent graduate of a Masters program in Sustainability with a personal focus on lifestyle choices, I knew my own wedding was a perfect platform to try and flex my sustainable event planning muscles. As I care deeply for the environment and human well-being within it, I was out to prove that I could have a sustainable wedding without sacrificing the elegance I’d always hoped for. For a year, I worked diligently with my planner and the vendors to identify the parts of the wedding that we could make the most sustainable. This means as little environmental impact as possible, and thinking about lessening the number of “links in the supply chain” that items had to travel to get to our wedding, in addition to the livelihoods and well-being of those providing services to us. That’s a lot to think about, but I believe in the coming years, it will become an easier process as brides demand sustainable elements for their events. The venue we selected is built of reclaimed materials. We used as many local vendors in Austin as we could for food, florals, music, photography and much more. All the florals were of organic origin. Family heirloom candelabras and antique rugs were used for ceremony decor. The potted trees present at the reception were Lacebark Elms and are native to the Austin region. Three were donated to the Girl Scouts to plant, and one was donated to Ma Maison to be planted at the venue. Most of the food was seasonal, USDA-certified organic and locally sourced. By serving seasonal and local veggies as the largest part of the wedding dinner, we prevented shipments having to come from distant regions that subsequently produce huge amounts of carbon. Any leftovers were composted by the caterer at our request. We’d like to highlight that one of the meats served was local Wild Boar. This animal is growing in destructive numbers across the south and is fairly dangerous to people. It has a wonderful rustic flavor, and made quite a tasty ravioli filling at our wedding. There were few, if any disposables at the wedding besides cocktail napkins, and for our grand exit we opted for organic rose petals to be tossed instead of sparklers. Sparklers are made of mined metals that can come from environmentally stressed regions and have dangerous conditions for workers.
Photography: Loft Photography LLC | Cinematography: PhotoVision Prints | Event Planning: Clearly Classy Events | Floral Design: Eco Chic Floral | Wedding Dress: Bridal Beginnings | Cake: Simon Lee Bakery | Stationery: The Inviting Pear | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Lela Rose | Catering: Crave Catering | Hair And Makeup: Beauty Secrets Salon | Lighting: Altared Wedding Productions | Band: Will Taylor & Strings Attached | Groom's Attire: Ted Baker | Groomsmen's Attire: Men's Wearhouse | Wedding Venue: Ma Maison Wedding + Event Venue | Bride's Accessories: BHLDN | Bride's Earrings: Shine Bridal | Groom's Cufflinks: The Lysine Contingency | Rentals: Whim Hospitality | Veil: Brenda's Bridal Veils