Uncommon Goods: The Perfect Cure For The Common Gift

Handmade prints from small design studios, goods produced from recycled materials, and options to personalize gifts are a few things you'll find at Uncommon Goods to inspire your search for the wedding gift that feels just right. In addition to searching by common categories (like glassware, bed and bath) you can refine your search results by choosing categories like recycled and handmade. I quickly discovered playful and thoughtful items like Himalayan Salt Tequila Glasses (carved from the highest quality, food grade, Himalayan pink salt), love letter napkins and vibrant agate coasters. Rather than overwhelming visitors with a sea of bland choices that leave the viewer numb with an oversaturation of choices, uncommon goods presents a carefully curated group of products, likely to suit the modern and style conscious couple. This is the short cut to a lovely gift that will suprise the happy couple.

WNC Love Stories in The Laurel of Asheville

Photo Credit: Sarah Whitmeyer (Asheville, NC), Asheville Real Wedding at Lake Eden

Local Bridal Registry at New Morning Gallery

The Gift and Bridal Registry at New Morning Gallery (in the Biltmore Village) is as varied and non-conventional as their customers. If you're a couple who is looking for handmade dinnerware and serving pieces, this is the place to start. Their artists are from all over the country and they carry many local artisans for couples who want to support our local, creative community.  You'll find an excellent selection of glassware and wooden kitchen items, as well as unique pieces like their infamous “Bacon Cooker”. Their functional and decorative pieces match the indie style and they really have something for everyone. This is also a great place to find one-of-a-kind bridal party gifts.

At the gallery, Jessica Johnson works closely with each couple to create a fully customized registry, and she keeps them updated as their items are purchased. She will tell you who bought what, and when. This information will come in handy once it’s time to write thank you notes. Each registry is posted on their website and is left up for up to one year after the wedding date. As a newlywed herself, Jessica remembers how frustrating parts of wedding planning was, and her goal is to make this part of it as simple and fun as possible.

How to Plan a Locally Inspired, Green Wedding in Asheville

from Jennifer Callahan

Photo taken at the NC Arboretum, by Jennifer Callahan Photography

With more and more couples planning their wedding as a natural extension of how they live their lives, soon to be married couples are asking the question, how can I plan a green wedding? Luckily, Asheville is a town that offers authentic answers for brides with a passion for sustainability. To get organized, connect basic green ideas (reduce, reuse, recycle and go local) to each aspect of the big day.

As a popular location for destination weddings, there are more venues than you could ever really research in western North Carolina, but two eco friendly locations come to mind for couples: The North Carolina Arboretum and Laughing Waters at Hickory Nut Forrest Eco-Community. The Arboretum, which features green buildings, gorgeous landscapes, water conservation and recycling, is a eco-friendly environment for special events. This venue work with each couple to actually plan a wedding that uses organic and natural products as part of the event. Because couples are required to take a pledge to reduce consumable products on their big day, brides can rest assured that not only is their event green, but all of the weddings at the arboretum use green practices. All this begins when couples receive a wedding packet that provides instruction on sustainable practices as it relates to catering, decorations, flowers, gifts, furnishings, transportation and recycling. Another green venue, Laughing Waters, occupies over 200 protected acres and offers a green environment for events which includes organic orchards and a retreat constructed from locally-milled trees, powered by a micro-hydro turbine that produces electricity from the tumbling waterfalls on the creek. The eco-community hosts weddings in a variety of locations (outdoor and indoor): at the organic orchard, by the old farmhouse ruins or inside the retreat. Another perk of both venues is the beauty of the natural landscape, which means couples won't necessarily need to spend as much money on consumable products for wedding décor.

After the wedding venue has been chosen, the next big decisions are catering, photography and flowers. Choosing Asheville vendors keeps money in the local economy, where you'll find an abundance of passion for sustainable practices.

With over thirty years of experience, husband and wife team, Greg and Miki Kilpatrick, created Saffron Fine Foods (they also own the popular, north Asheville eatery, Homegrown). Catering weddings, they offer recycling and composting during the reception and base their business on relationships with local farms like Ashley Farm, Hickory Nut Gap Farm, New River Organic Growers and other local food producers. Ask them about their “100 Mile Menu” which offers specific options for each of the four seasons, all sourced from local farms within one hundred miles of Asheville.

When planning the wedding flowers there are several green approaches one can implement. As their life continues well after the day of the event, potted plants are a great alternative to cut flowers. Gift the potted plants to family and the wedding party, which will reduce the use of consumable products in the wedding. Vendors pride themselves on tailoring their services to each event–communicate your green perspective to the florist and see what ideas they bring to the table. “Use other elements such as branches, moss, wheatgrass, stones, pods, soy candles, mixed with paper or fabric flowers which you keep after the wedding,” suggests local florist Jessica Gregory of Aria Floral. Western North Carolina is also rich with flower farms (for example, Lady Luck Flower Farm, Fisher Branch Farm, and Sweet Earth Flower Farm to name just a few) which are a source for DIY brides, but these farms also create flower arrangements for events and you can request that your florist source your flowers from a local farm and use natural plants that will safely compost. You'll also find your florist can be your event stylist, and with that in mind you can draw from your personal resources and include things already significant to you as a couple in your decor. Local florists are well versed in incorporating things from the bride and groom which hold significance into the wedding design.

With digital photography the new standard for weddings, photography has become greener in the absence of chemical processing. Past that, couples can request green practices be used by their photographer as they can choose local bookmakers as a source for custom wedding albums, opting for digital proofs to reduce the use of paper and ordering prints made on recycled materials. Asheville is also home to one of just four certified green photographers in the entire state of North Carolina. Jesse Kitt's passion for sustainability in her personal life spilled over into her business life as a wedding photography. While many photographers will tailor green packages, Jesse took it a big step further, with certification from Greener Photography. "My shipping supplies are made from recycled materials, I'm 90% paper free and used double-sided printing on recycled paper, I recyled all batteries that are not rechargable and focus on online marketing so I produce less paper waste," explains Kitt.

For wedding attire, brides can go green keeping their money in the local economy with designers like Brooke Priddy of Ship to Shore. Another option is to go vintage. This popular wedding trend dovetails beautifully with the principle of reduce and reuse. Downtown vintage clothing stores and antique businesses are a great source for dresses with warmth and charm that are unmatched.

While those are ideas for some of your big wedding decisions, you'll find small ideas (like using lavender in place of confetti to throw at the end of the night or making your wedding gift a donation made to an environmentally friendly cause in the name of your guests) complete the wedding celebration. Always keep in mind the transportation of consumer products is a major source of damage to the natural environment. With each decision you make consider from how far away something traveling, and evaluate it's potential to become waste–use that as a guide to make your wedding's carbon footprint as small as possible.

ASHEVILLE'S TOP GREEN WEDDING VENDORS:

The North Carolina Arboretum

Laughing Waters at Hickory Nut Forrest Eco-Community

Saffron Fine Foods (also known at Homegrown, a popular spot on Merrimon Ave.)

Aria Floral

Lady Luck Flower Farm

Fisher Branch Farm

Sweet Earth Flower Farm

Jesse Kitt

Ship to Shore

The Big Day: Advance Tickets Now For Sale Online

Join us Saturday, March 30 at the Asheville Art Museum 

Online tickets for The Big Day, Indie Weddings & Celebrations Fair are now availabe on the website. When you buy your ticket in advance on the website for $10.00 you receive a discount (as tickets purchased at the door on the day of the event are $15.00). The first 100 couples through the door will recieve swag bags full of unique discounts and promos from some of your favorite local busniesses and wedding vendors.

The Big Day will also include a raffle. When you purchase a $5.00 raffle ticket on the website, you are eligible to win great prizes, including photography packages, floral centerpieces, locally crafted art and jewelry and even a stay at a local inn. The day's fun also includes modeled wedding attire, DIY demos, live music, local brews. Join us on The Big Day!

LINK LOVE: GET YOUR TICKETS HERE