My Mother used to sew everything when I was growing up, from tablecloths to potholders to the frilly-nilly dresses she made me wear to school. She bought me a sewing machine when I was four, and I think I enjoyed it until I reached an early independent stage around five, and first swore I would never be like My Mother. So, today, I have to rely on my mother-in-law to hem my pants, and spend $20 for a new cushion I should be able to whip up myself. There is so, so much we could do to be a Good... Read Full Story

We came across a new word today - wabi. We searched the internet for the combination "wabi wedding" and found no such references. However, the somewhat difficult-to-interpret Japanese word seems to be a compelling adjective to describe the essence of The Good Bride's perfect wedding. Did I say "perfect"? Ooops, that's rather ironic since wabi refers to the beauty of imperfection. In other words, it is the flaw, the asymetry, and quirkiness of something that gives i... Read Full Story

Elopement is one of the very best and purely romantic ways to save loads of money as well as the terror associated with a traditional wedding. We so, so often hear brides say that if they had to do it all over again, they would not have not allowed someone (like Mom or MIL) to hijack their wedding, and would have escaped to the magical and blissful land of the quick, secret wedding. One of the most exciting days I had was nearly 30 years ago when my mother got married for the second time. It ... Read Full Story

"Yuck, no way am I wearing somebody else dress!" whined the unnamed bride-to-be who happens to be my daughter (and contributor and inspiration for The Good Bride). So, the average retail wedding dress is around $1600 or so. On eBay today there are just under 30,000 wedding dresses list, starting at 58 cents. So let's assume we find a once-worn dress on eBay that originally retailed for $3000 for $300. What can you do with the $1300 you saved, on the wedding dress alone? Here are... Read Full Story

One of the most delicious ways to be an earth-friendly Good Bride is to use locally-grown, organic foods for your reception. For example, for a Georgia wedding, menu items might be Stone Ground Whole Corn Grits, Warm Banana Bread, Tomato Basil Mozarella Salad, Peach Salsa or Chutney to accompany the meat (ham, grilled trout, chicken), and Toasted Pecans. These could be used by a caterer, but we are seeing more and more brides and grooms who are buying their own foods locally and then preparin... Read Full Story

We think we'll be seeing a huge increase in the number of earth-friendly wedding favors over the next months. In the interim, it takes a little more work to find something that is both eco and incredibly cute. We think these seed-paper daisy wedding favors fit the bill, particularly for a spring or summer wedding. Each packet holds 5 seed daisies and they are sold in a lot of 15 packs. The only worry is whether or not your guests will plant them or just hang on to them. The good news is t... Read Full Story

No, white is still the most popular wedding dress color. But having a green wedding is no longer something only associated with being way out of the mainstream, or geeky or hippy. Amazon.com has come up with a whole new green store, and wedding dress designers are lining up like wedding guests at an open bar to get in on the new coolness factor. What's behind all this greening up? Is it that the incredible cost of gas has finally gotten people responding seriously about the depletion of r... Read Full Story

While we like to advocate locally-grown food for your reception (no transportation pollution), every now and then we note something supreme in the way of organic preparation and reception or gift appeal. These Cho-Co Espresso Wedges are 100 percent organic and use fair-trade ingredients. Available from Kaikai YumYum Shop on Etsy. $12.95 for 15. Read Full Story

We think we should strongly consider bringing back the idea of a morning wedding with the breakfast reception. There's no time of day that is sweeter, cleaner and fresher than the morning, and the idea of a new day is in concert with starting a new life. Just glancing at the catering menu of one hotel, popular as a beachside wedding site, we note that the plated dinner meals begin at $31 (for a chicken dish, salad, rolls, and vegetable, tea coffee), while their most expensive breakfast me... Read Full Story

Okay, maybe your initial response is "YES, of course I need a caterer!" The general expectation these is that you will serve some sort of food or meal, and clearly the focus of the Good Bride will not be on garnishing the finger sandwiches and heating up meatballs at the last minute. But let's look back to the weddings of the 50s, 60s, and 70s for a bit. We recall (or have heard about) a time when wedding food usually meant either a buffet of food prepared by various friends and... Read Full Story