Green weddings have become a hot trend that the wedding industry has embraced whole heartedly. With the growing awareness of global warming, the green movement may become much more than just a trend.
Many couples are increasingly adding eco-friendly elements to their weddings and want to learn more about their green options. Brides especially want to be green…without giving up style.
Are you one of those brides that want to have a green wedding but you hesitate when it comes to the dress? You’ve heard about wearing heirloom, pre-owned (used), or vintage (still used) gowns being great green options but do you cringe at the thought of wearing someone else’s dream?
Don’t worry there are many earth friendly bridal gown options out there today. From simply sustainable to eco-couture chances are you can find the gown of your dreams in an eco-friendly fabric.
Eco-friendly wedding gowns have come a long way from the scratchy hemp sacks and plain organic cotton hippie dresses that were once available. Today’s sustainable fabrics are soft, lush, and totally luxurious with blends of silk, hemp, bamboo, organic cotton, lyocell…even milk and soy are being spun into eco-wonderful fabrics.
So where can you find these eco-fabulous gowns?
They might be waiting for you in a local bridal shop. Many stores are now carrying eco-friendly sample gowns by top designers like Deborah Lindquist, Rene Geneva and Chris Kole. If your local bridal shop doesn’t carry any eco-choices you can check out the designers websites and online stores to see if you find something that fits your taste and style.
Here are several of the most popular eco-conscious designers of green wedding gowns:
- Conscious Clothing is one of the first green wedding designers around. They originally started as a conscious clothing line in 1995 but decided to focus on couture quality hemp bridal wear in 1999.
- Tara Lynn in Vermont has also been designing hemp wedding gowns since 1999. Her gowns are custom made to order and can be shipped anywhere. Tara Lynn’s current bridal collection includes silk, hemp, and luxurious bamboo fabrics.
- Rene Geneva is a self taught seamstress and designer that opened her corset shop, Faernyn’s Grove, in 1997. She is completely immersed in being socially and environmentally conscious and dedicated to ethical business practices. She actively supports fair trade. A top eco-couture designer, her silk and hemp gowns have been featured at Mercedes Benz Fashion week, on television shows (WE TV’s Wedding Central - Amazing Wedding Gowns) and in numerous magazines.
- Designer Anna Mkhitarian’s company Annatarian creates beautiful eco-bridal gowns from “vintage and remnant fabrics, along with the latest in eco-tech fabrics.” She will even incorporate sentimental pieces like beads and fabric from heirloom gowns and jewelry into the perfect wedding gown created just for you. Her gowns are one of a kind and sold exclusively online and at special events. Annatarian is self-labeled as an “eco-effective design company” her mission…“is to promote peace, love and understanding through fashion, art and beauty.” Her beautiful gowns and cradle to cradle approach may do just that.
- Deborah Lindquist is the green designer to the stars. She is one of LA’s most sought after eco-designers. Her creations have been worn by Sharon Stone, Demi Moore, and Charlize Theron just to name a few. Deborah reuses, repurposes, and recycles vintage fabrics and blends them with new sustainable fabrics in her designs. Her Green Wedding Collection showcases her creativity and combines couture elegance with eco-conscience… and the results are stunning. Deborah Lindquist’s wedding gowns are available in top bridal shops around the United States.
- Chris Kole’s Cotton Bride Collection is a collection of simple and classic bridal gowns made from natural cotton and linen fabrics. Each gown is hand sewn and completely beautiful. The collections feature gowns that are classic, understated, light and breezy. Perfect for the beach bride, the simple bride or the understatedly elegant bride.
- Threadhead Creations beautiful bridal fashions are handmade in Tennessee with bamboo, hemp, silk, and organic cotton fabrics. You can purchase an off the rack gown, help design your own gown online, or work one on one with designer Rai-Lynne to design your one of a kind eco-couture creation, the wedding gown of your dreams.
- Olivia Luca creates stunning bridal gowns from organic cotton, silk blends, and other sustainable fabrics. You can design a gown of your own in one of many eco-friendly and fair trade fabric choices with the help of her online design studio. You can have the perfect “green” wedding gown, created by you, just for you. Perfect for the inspired bride that can’t sew a stitch.
- Morgan Boszilkov is a newcomer to the green wedding scene with her Natural Bridal Collection. The Natural collection is a designer line made of eco-friendly fabrics handcrafted in the United States with 5% of profits donated to environmental causes.
- Not only are Morgan’s gowns classically beautiful, elegant and eco-friendly some of them are convertible, which really ups them on the green scale. The bottom of the dress is detachable, so if you want to ditch the long skirt for the reception you can…no need to buy a second dress for the reception or the old bridal getaway outfit.
- Rawganique’s organic hemp designs are sustainable simplicity at its best… beautiful, classic, and totally green. If you want a simple yet elegant gown at a very affordable price this is the site to check out. They also carry hemp wedding attire for the groom…even eco-friendly hemp shoes.
With all the eco-friendly options available there is no need to sacrifice your style to be sustainable, it is possible to be glamorously green.
Wenona Napolitano - Wenona Napolitano is a freelance writer, poet and mother of three. She writes everything from articles to web content. She is a trained ...
