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Community Corner

Attend Sunday's Mid-Atlantic Green Wedding Showcase

Meet local wedding vendors committed to the environment and see an eco-friendly wedding fashion show.

If you are planning an environmentally friendly wedding, don’t miss this Sunday’s Mid-Atlantic Green Wedding Showcase in College Park, Maryland.   Thirty green vendors will have their work on display and more than 20 eco-designers and vintage shops are participating in the green wedding fashion show. 

“How many wedding vendors actually practice sustainability?” asked Lori Hill, one of the executive co-producers of the event.  “The folks on this list get it,” she said, referring to her list of eco-friendly exhibitors and sponsors

If you are planning a green wedding in the Germantown area, “these companies are the ones to talk to,” said Hill.  Green weddings are all about sourcing locally, she said.    

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Hill and her co-producers, Rissa Miller and Nathaniel Corn, met through the Chesapeake Sustainable Business Alliance.  Tired of attending “wasteful wedding shows,” the trio decided to form their own event featuring only green wedding vendors.  This is the second year for the show.

“Every component of the event is as sustainable as possible,” said Hill. 

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Her vendors range from “light green to dark green.”  Some, such as Honest Tea of Bethesda, are highly committed to eco-friendly practices; others are still learning how to lessen their environmental impact.

The wedding fashion show, featuring the work of 22 designers, will include bridal, bridesmaid, and flower girl dresses. Each dress on display contains fibers that are either produced from sustainable materials - such as hemp, silk or organic cotton - or recycled from other dresses. 

“It’s truly a unique bridal fashion show because all of the dresses are eco-friendly,” said Rissa Miller, co-executive producer of the showcase and director of the fashion show. 

Local models will also be wearing environmentally-friendly makeup. Some will be using products from of Gaithersburg.

“All of our jewelry this year is from Eco-Artware, based in Washington, D.C.," said Miller.   Most of the jewelry is made from recycled metals, including alumnium cans.

One of the strongest misconceptions that people have about green wedding attire is that “you kind of end up looking like a dirty hippie,” said Miller.  “But, that’s not true.”  Green bridal fashions are “just as elegant, just as sweet” as conventional attire, she said, but they are produced without the negatives – like unfair labor and toxic materials – that often go along with the mainstream garment industry.

Want to see for yourself?  The Mid-Atlantic Green Wedding Showcase will be held on Sunday, February 27 from 1 to 5 p.m. in the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center of the University of Maryland’s College Park campus.  The $20 entry fee includes six raffle tickets for door prizes.  Attendees can sample food from local green caterers and enjoy complimentary organic beverages, including beer and wine.  The first 100 people through the door will also win a swag bag of wedding-themed goodies.  For more information about the event, contact Lori Hill at 301-549-3249.

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