Pollen is excited to be a part of the Chicago Green Wedding Alliance‘s workshop on green weddings, being held later this month. Entitled “Eco-Chic Weddings: An Event Planners’ Workshop,” the half-day workshop will highlight achievable ways that wedding planners can incorporate green elements into their weddings. Planners will leave the workshop with real, tangible ways […]

Pollen was lucky enough to be selected to display at Indie Wed not just once, but twice!  I have described last year’s display as “showing off.”  I created a bouquet, centerpiece, and boutonniere for three different looks, showing the range of styles Pollen can do.  Intimidated by a sophomore effort, and no longer feeling the […]

I’m often asked what makes Pollen an eco-friendly florist.  One way we are a green florist is in where we get our flowers from, and, more specifically, how the flowers have been grown.  Locally and organically grown flowers provide the most eco-friendly option, as explained in a previous post.  But being in the Midwest, locally […]

The quest to offer greener options to my clients continues.  Piece by piece, I’m trying to find eco-friendly wedding items as alternatives to  the less eco-friendly ones! Nothing beats the flicker of candles at a table for creating a warm and soothing environment.  For this reason, votive candles are often used as a part of […]

I just finished watching Eco Trip: The Real Cost of Living (a Sundance Channel show, available to stream from Netflix), and–wow–there is so much I didn’t know about gold mining.  In this episode, the host follows the path of production of a gold ring.  A little about what I learned… Most gold mines in the […]

Creating a sustainable event can begin with one of the very first steps of planning a wedding: choosing the wedding date.  The process of selecting a date is a complicated one.  Season, holidays, availability of key people… these all factor into the wedding date selection.  Add one more factor–locally grown product availability–and you’re on your […]

For a greener wedding, skip the aisle runner! The use of an aisle runner, rolled down the aisle of the church before the bridal party processional, is a tradition that has outlived its necessity.   Historically, aisle runners were used before the days of asphalt and concrete to protect the bride’s gown from dirt tracked […]