Buck the diamond trend and go with what you love. Choose a ring that embodies everything unique about you and your special day. Select a ring with a stone you love or one with your favorite color; perhaps your birthstone or a stone that represents the month you will be getting married. Just think of it as the birthstone of your new life together – now how romantic is that?

Whatever you select just remember to ensure the stones and metals are ethically sourced, recycled or vintage.

Here are a few samples of gorgeous non-traditional engagement rings.

From left to right: Estate Aquamarine & 18K White Gold ring from Fay Cullen; Handcrafted Pale Green Sapphire & Recycled 18K White Gold ring from SuLusso Sustainable Jewelry ; Sapphire & Platinum ring from Brilliant Earth; Malawi sapphire & 14K yellow gold ring from SuLusso Sustainable Jewelry; Vintage Tourmaline & Gold from Fay Cullen; Emerald & Recycled 18K White Gold ring from Greenoro; Amethyst & Sterling Silver ring from Turtle Love Committee; Garnet & Sterling Silver ring from Turtle Love Committee; Alexandrite & Recycled 18K White Gold ring by Green Karat

Following my post I received numerous email messages from readers inquiring about ideas for recycled, reusable signs. Well, here are a few ideas I came up with– unique signs that can be incorporated into either your home décor or garden after the wedding. 

When trying to come up with unique sign ideas for your wedding, consider your hobbies — things you and your future hubby enjoy together. If you enjoy outdoor activities such as canoeing, skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing or surfing perhaps consider using vintage oars, skis, snow shoes or snow / surf boards as signs.

If you have a shabby chic wedding theme, look for beautiful vintage distressed white picture frames. A search of local antique and secondhand stores or garage sales should render some fabulous finds. If you can’t find white frames paint them yourself with eco friendly milk paint. Don’t worry if you can’t find matching frames, using mismatched frames painted in the same color adds to the shabby chic charm.

Look for old garden chairs, gates or sections of picket fencing. With a fresh coat of paint, tired and weathered wood products quickly spring back to life. These items would look absolutely stunning in your garden after the wedding day.

Other items to consider are:
Vintage cupboard doors
 Small vintage doors
 Antique window frames
 Old plank flooring
Child’s chalkboard easel
Corkboard with notes tacked on
Vibrantly painted garden chair topped with pillows embroidered with bride & grooms names
Tie line between two trees or fence posts;  using laundry pegs hang crisp white sheets or pillow shams embroidered with bride & grooms names
Hand pennant flags with signs attached

Do you have some more great signage ideas or pictures to share with us? We’d love to see them. Post your ideas under comments or send them to info[at]myecochicwedding.com.

Their 2010 catalogue showcases fun, flirty and fabulous wear-again bridesmaid dresses in luscious eco-friendly fabrics.

Loving the adorable Silk Dupioni Plaid dresses. Who knew plaid could be so pretty. These dazzling designs have inspired me to create a “Pretty in Plaid” wedding inspiration board. Watch for it over the next couple of days.

If it wasn’t for a well manicured friend who strongly urged me to get my nails done the day before my wedding, I probably would have made my debut with nails au naturale.

Half way through our wedding receiving line I was rather thankful my pushy (or persuasive as she calls it) friend dragged me to the nail salon; almost every female in attendance held up my hand to inspect the modest bling that embellished my perfectly polished fingers.

The next morning I remember thinking as I cleaned my nails with the harsh smelling toxic nail polish remover, “I guess this is the price you pay for wedding day perfection”.

Well today’s bride need not compromise her eco values. There are now many environmentally and health friendly nail products on the market. Water based, low odor formulas free of formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate and many other toxic chemicals.

Here are just a few to check out:

http://store.acquarellapolish.com

http://polishedmama.com

http://www.toeshades.com

www.suncoatproducts.com

http://nomiss.com

Handcrafted by Rose Elliot, designer and founder of Lady Bead Jewelry, each piece can be customized to perfectly match your barefoot special occasion.

Select from Lady Bead’s wide assortment of pearls, beads, crystals and silver to coordinate with your wedding colors and jewelry.

These super chic barefoot sandals would make a wonderful bridesmaid gift.

With prices starting at only $32 a pair, there are styles to fit every budget.

These hardy seedlings from Arbor Day Foundation are a wonderful eco friendly wedding favor that will live on for generations as a reminder of your commitment to each other.

Available in a wide variety of species, each seedling comes beautifully packaged in these unique poly tubes made from 50% post consumer content.

Customize the labels to blend in seamlessly with your reception decor using Arbor Day Foundations online customization tool.

Once your guests have planted their trees, they can recycle the tubes or better yet, create bird feeders out of them by following the easy-to-follow instructions below.

Click here for Bird Feed Instructions.

 Made by Angie herself, this stunning recycled 14k yellow and 14k white gold set shows-off beautiful organic shapes and finishes and is topped off with a stunning conflict-free chocolate diamond.

Angie Star Jewelry’s professional designers specialize in custom jewelry handcrafted from recycled and ethically sourced materials.

I was thrilled to read about their new commitment to creating eco friendly wedding pieces in their February 15^th blog post. Can’t wait to see more of their gorgeous wedding creations.

You slip into the dress and zip it up; you inspect yourself in the mirror and to your horror, there are white streaks on the dress. It seems no matter how long you wait or how carefully you slip into the dress the dreaded streaks are always there. Enter Tuck Inz.

These little wonders are the perfect dress saver for both you and your bridesmaids on your wedding day.

Tuck these soft pads over the underarm area of your garment and apply your deodorant. Continue to beautify yourself and just before you are ready to leave, remove the pads. Tuck Inz prevents white stains by allowing the deodorant to dry and absorbing the excess.

Best thing about these pads, they are washable and reusable.

This is a definite bridal dressing room must-have.

If you are looking for a well organized, stylish and eco friendly bag to hold your wedding day emergency items, you may want to check out the Ecotex Toiletry Bag from Heys International.

This fab bag made from six recycled water bottles — how cool is that? — has seven generous compartments which can fit full sized bottles, a detachable hanging hook and waterproof liner.

If you are travelling somewhere for your honeymoon, check out Heys full Eco luggage collection.

Available colors:

Tania and Jeff’s breathtaking lakeside wedding was all about personal touches, from Tania’s dress made by her cousin right down to the flowers and cake made by family and friends.

We love the idea of allowing your bridesmaids to select dresses that complement their figure and style. Create a coordinated look by using the same fabric.