Category Archives: Camp Wedding

Camp Wedding, Farm wedding, venue

Venue Wishlist

1 Comment

At the beginning of our relationship (many moons ago… well about 44 moons ago) Mr. Veggie and I lived on his farm in Andover, New Hampshire. He had a 200 year old farm house on 36 acres of land. The property was at the end of a dirt road and butted up against a few thousand acres of forest. We lived off the grid, with a well for water, composting toilet, and photovoltaic power. We had an acre of cleared land around the house where we would grow veggies while Bruce the dog lazed in the sun and ate raspberries from the bushes.

(Personal Photo)

During this sun-drenched summer we lived in a bubble of new love. We talked about our future plans, our future babies, and even our future wedding. Funny how the wedding conversations tailed off as the prospect of actually getting married started to cross Mr. Veggie’s mind. Hmmm.

But anyway, we had decided that our house would be the perfect spot for a wedding. We could do the ceremony at a nearby lake and the reception at home. We could have people park at the log landing. We could rent out the Inn at the top of the hill. We could plant flowers in the spring that would be ready for late summer. Our best plan was that we would grow all of the food for the wedding ourselves. Heck, maybe even raise some animals for the big day. What better way to spend an engagement than working the land together in preparation for a marriage?

But plans changed. We quit our jobs. Mr. Veggie enrolled in a PhD program. Bruce the dog moved in with an auntie. We sold the farm and moved to New Zealand. Maybe the new owners will still let us have the wedding there? Probably not. We certainly can’t grow all the food anymore.
So, as I started looking for venues I had a rough idea of what I was looking for:
– A beautiful space for an outdoor ceremony.
– Willing to work with our desire for local organic food. Maybe some place that can grow the food, or has contact with a local farmer.
– Since we don’t get to see our family and friends very often, why not make this a full-weekend event. Let’s try to find a place where everyone can hang out all weekend.
– A relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
– A place that would work within our small budget.
What did I find? Stay tuned.
Camp Wedding, kiwi as, venue

Where in the World?

Leave a comment

Most people have a general idea of the wedding location pretty early on. For us it was a bit more difficult.

We are expats, living in New Zealand while Mr. Veggie pursues his PhD. We live in Raglan at an eco retreat. Gorgeous? Absolutely. But the idea of having the wedding here wasn’t really an option for us. The carbon footprint of having even just our immediate families fly around the world was too much to think about. Not to mention the price tag. Also, since we don’t get to see most of our friends very often, we want to be able to include as many people as possible in the wedding. So, New Zealand… out.
Once Mr. Veggie Farmer finishes his PhD we are planning to move to Nicaragua. We have lots of friends there already and just love it. Maybe we could have our wedding there. That’s a lot closer to home for most of our friends and family and would give them a chance to visit our future home. Gorgeous? Ummm, yes. While the flights might be a bit expensive, things are so cheap in Nicaragua, that the overall pricetag might actually be manageable. Oh, but there’s that little problem of malaria. Anti-malaria meds can’t be taken by kids under 5, and we have 3 neices and 2 nephews that fall into that category. Nicaragua… out.

So, we turn to the US. Before we left we lived in New Hampshire. Mr. Veggie’s parents live in Massachussetts and he has other family in Pennsylvania. My parents live in New Jersey and I have tons of family in Washington D.C. If we stick to the mid-atlantic we will be in driving distance for most folks, and possibly bike/bus distance for some. No shots or meds required (well, it might be wise to take some if you’re traveling to NJ -hehe). Gorgeous? Can be (and that picture is in New Jersey!). So that settles it. We will get married somewhere between D.C. and New Hampshire. Now to find a venue.

Things that we kept in mind in terms of the location of our wedding:
– Minimizing the total carbon footprint of travel for our wedding (not just for us, but for guests too). For us this meant finding a location that was drive-able for most guests and hopefully bike-able or bus-able for some. As we start to narrow down venues we will try to choose one that has public bus service.
-Natural beauty. We want an outdoor wedding in a gorgeous setting to celebrate our love for each other, but also to honor the earth.
Camp Wedding, Colors, Eco Wedding, Inspiration Boards, Thrifty Wedding

Have I mentioned…

Leave a comment

…that I love inspiration boards?

This was my first attempt at an inspiration board for our “green” wedding. It was actually the first bit of planning that I did for the wedding. I think I started it about 2 days after Mr. Veggie proposed. He scoffed.Image Credits: Top row (l-r): Bridge, Dresses, Ceremony. Middle Row (l-r): Centerpieces (a la Mrs. Cowboyboot), Tea, Lanterns, Flowergirl, Groom, Bride, Cake Topper, Hankie.

Bottom Row (l-r): Chair, Card Tree, Personal Photo, Birds, Lanterns, Bouquet, Bikes.

I was going for a late summery-rustic-relaxed vibe. We’ll be getting married at a summer camp, but at the time I just knew that we would be outdoors. Colors that have been popping up all over my life lately are saffron/grey/brown. They seem like perfect end of summer colors.

The little one on the trike is my niece Annie. I thought she might have fun riding down the aisle, plus since we are bikers (of the non-motorized variety) it would incorporate biking into our wedding in a interesting way. That was pretty much my only original idea, the rest of these gems were swiped from wedding websites.

Since then some of my ideas have changed a bit. We’ve firmed up a venue and I think I bought a dress (YAY!). Seems like its time to update this board. I think I’ll work on inspiration 2.0 in the next few weeks. Keep your eyes peeled.