Category Archives: recaps

Peas and Carrots: Location, Location, Locatio

January 3, 2011 ecothriftymama Leave a comment

When I first started planning our wedding I was torn between a camp wedding and farm wedding. We nixed the farm idea when we couldn’t find a farm that would actually grow our food on-site without costing us an arm and a leg. After some turmoil and a lot of research, we ended up at Indian Head Camp. Are you ready for some knock down gorgeousness?

All photos family photos unless otherwise noted.

And here comes a huge bridal blogging fail. I like to think it is a testament to how much fun everyone was having, but I hardly got any pictures of the venue from anyone during the whole weekend. Lots of pictures of the wedding. Lots of pictures of us having fun. But hardly any of the camp itself. I didn’t even get a picture of the cute sign they made that said “Dani and Nelson’s Wedding” that was waiting for us when we arrived. Sigh.

Well hopefully this hodge-podge will give you an idea of what we saw when we arrived on Thursday afternoon.

The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and an army of staff were waiting to make our weekend incredible. There were cabins waiting to be filled with our guests.

And that one, just there on the lake shore, that one was for me and Mr. Veggie. They had turned it into a cute little honeymoon suite, with a double bed and linen and a minibar with snacks. Of course I didn’t get a picture. Grr.

There was a lake ready to be skied on, canoed on, and swum in.

A field ready for softball.

photo: Indian Head Camp

And another one ready to become our ceremony site.

photo: Indian Head Camp

There were ropes ready to be climbed.

photo: Indian Head Camp

And a dining hall and canteen to decorate.

photos: Indian Head Camp

There was even a wee little tipi and fire pit awaiting some late night shenanigans.

photo: Indian Head Camp

This was the first time Mr. Veggie had ever seen the venue, and only my second time. Before our families arrived we took some time to walk around and get a feel for the place. It was then that we saw people there from the other group. Ummm what?!? Other group?

Yeah, turns out that because we were having very small numbers on Thursday night the camp decided that another group could be booked for that night through lunch the next day. Without letting us know. At first I was annoyed, really annoyed.

But then I just thought, “Whatever. We do have a really small group here tonight, only our immediate families. They wont care that there are other people here. And there’s nothing I can really do about this”. So, I just let it be. And I chose to be happy and indulge myself in the beauty of the place and the fantasticly good vibes that the staff were sending our way.

Were there any unexpected hic-ups when you arrived at your venue?

Camp Wedding, Eco Wedding, recaps, Story, Thrifty Wedding

Peas and Carrots: Our Eco-Thrifty Wedding

December 30, 2010 ecothriftymama Leave a comment

Way way back, at the beginning of this whole process, over nine months ago, I wrote about how our goal was to have an amazing wedding that celebrated us. By celebrating us, I mean celebrating who we are, what we stand for, how we live. Our lifestyle. A lifestyle of living simply and lightly on the planet.

The Veggies on 350 day last year (personal photo).

I’d like to pretend that this was easy, but the pull of the wedding industry is strong. Actually, maybe that’s unfair, because it’s not just the wedding industry. I am a girl who grew up in a state known for its highways and malls, in the highest consuming nation on the planet, during an economic boom. I was given Barbie dolls, and movies starring Disney princesses, and cassette tapes of Debbie Gibson and told by society, that like them, I too could have it all, especially on the biggest day of my life, my wedding day.

A princess bride? (Oh Darling Photography)

So, yes, even though my heart and my head knew the boundaries that I wanted to play within when planning our wedding. And even though I created those boundaries, not anyone else. Even though deep deep down I wanted simple, and thrifty, and eco. Somewhere even deeper, laid a girl ready and waiting to buy into all of the hoopla.

Beautiful hoopla. (Personal Photo)

So, if my recaps seem a bit schizophrenic… If you wonder why we were so staunch about non-paper invitations, and then printed out eight page programs… If you wonder why my dress is re-used but my flowergirls are wearing new Chucks, all I can say is it was a struggle. It was a struggle between us and what we thought our families wanted, between us as a couple, and between myself and my inner diva.

The Veggies de-stress the day before the wedding. That’s some good teamwork. (Photo by Mamma Veggie)

And as I sit here in my gumboots, wiping the baby duck pooh off my workpants, sorting through wedding pictures to put with this post, I am happy with the balance we struck. In the end, I think we came out on top. We didn’t end up with the thriftiest or eco-iest of weddings ever on the whole planet, but we sure gave it a go. And we did end up with a very eco-thrifty wedding, one that was also very us, and made us very happy.

Happy Veggies. (Oh Darling Photography)

I will try to give out any eco and thrifty tips that we picked up along the way as I go through my recaps, and I will definitely give you both and environmental and financial tally of the event at the end.

P.S.- Wanna see a picture of our new baby ducklings?

I thought you might! (Personal Photo)

Did you have battles with yourself or your SO while wedding planning? What were some of the things you got pulled into that you wish you hadn’t? What are some things you were happily able to resist?

Camp Wedding, kiwi as, recaps, Story

Peas and Carrots: The Veggies Get Hitched

December 28, 2010 ecothriftymama Leave a comment

Hi…
My name is Veggie…
And I am a recap slacker.
It has been 85 days since my last post. It has been 129 days since my wedding.

129 days!!! What?!? Come on Veggie. Get crackin’. What are you waiting for, anyway?

Well it’s not like I’ve been slacking. The Veggies have been on the move. Since the end of our stay-cation-moon we have: flown back to New Zealand, moved out of our housetruck, and moved into a 100-year old ~~villa~~ ~~shack~~ work-in-progress about 6 hours down the coast. Oh yeah, and we’ve launched a new project for our non-profit, rebuilt our website, and ran six workshops. Phew.

But hive, I’ve been missing you.

And so, as one of many New Year’s resolutions, I’ve decided to get going on my recaps. I wonder if there might be a few other bees thinking along these lines too.

I leave you today with a little peek and a promise to be writing on a regular basis in the weeks to come. So get ready for some summer campin’, barn dancin’, softball playin’, compost makin’ good times.

Happy Solstice, Happy Holidays, and a very Happy New Year!