Eating Green To reduce your wedding day carbon footprint; create an eco-friendlier wedding reception with ‘green‘ food options. Whether your venue provides catering or you plan on hiring your own, inquire about each businesses’ wholesalers, food distributers, forms of transportation; and focus on any service providers with a history of environmental awareness. Chances are, with a little bit of research, you can find caterers  who use locally sourced, locally grown and organic ingredients. Consider asking potential catering companies how waste—primarily food waste—is disposed, how it is minimized,  whether it is recycled, composted or whether you have the option of donating leftovers to local food...

If you and your partner don’t already have a favorite song together, now is the perfect time to start looking for a tune that symbolizes your relationship. Start listening to your favorite bands and genres of music together to find songs that reflect your own love. Ask yourselves what kind of couple you are: Adventurous? Romantic? Laid-back? Are you nature-lovers or sports fans? Are you season-ticket holders for the symphony or regulars at a punk club? Are you the type to put on a Fleetwood Mac record and tend your garden or blast AC/DC when you wash your car? A little bit country or a little bit rock ‘n’ roll?The music that will represent your relationship best is the music that you actually listen to and love the most. One of the easiest ways to find a perfect first-dance song is to listen to the lyrics of great love songs and choose songs that you can relate to as a couple.Before choosing your song, listen carefully to the words and  and the underlying meanings each song represents. There are plenty of songs that have romantic melodies, but they may not always promote healthy, loving relationship behaviors. For starters, here are nine worthy songs that reflect true love with non-traditional love-song melodies. 1. “I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash What it’s About: This simple love song is about a man who cannot contain his love for his special lady. Cash himself “walked the line” for a woman he credits for getting him off the wrong tracks of life and onto the right ones. Coincidentally, the rhythm of this song is very much like the rhythm of a train rollicking along the tracks. 2. “Umbrella” by Rihanna, featuring Jay Z What it’s About: Standing up for the one you love and sharing the burdens of life, no matter how big or small. Rihanna sings about inspiration and motivation: “You raise me up so I can stand on mountains, you raise me up to walk on stormy seas, I am strong when I am on your shoulders, you raise me up to more than I can be.” And the chorus of the song—“You can stand under my umbrella”—symbolizes how a couple shelters each other and the strength they have together. 3. “Changes” by David Bowie  What it’s About: This classic tells the tale of how you fall in love and go through changes together, how each of you will have to roll with the punches, good or bad, for a lifetime together. As you ‘turn the face of time,’ you’ll grow together, evolve together and share the years together. 4. “Faith” by George Michael What it’s About: Having faith in love, in each other, and in your love....

The Path to Success: Making it to the Top in the Wedding Industry Wednesday, June 19 at 2pm ET / 11am PT Register to participate live or purchase the recording.   Presented by  Kate L. Harrison, Green Bride Guide  Jane Dayus-Hinch, JDH Weddings  Milena Santoro, CMP, CMM, PIDP, MS Productions, Inc.   Join Milena at Experience! 2013 this July for her session “Leader or Manager – Which One Are You?”   photo credit: pkphoto.com Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a star in the wedding industry? Learn from a driven panel of veterans who have each created a phenomenally successful name for themselves. Join us for an interview with this exciting global panel and find out how to transform their stories into your path to success. You will learn: The top 3 strategies to build a solid business foundationthrough networking, education and partnerships How to develop a niche marketing strategy and build a robust product base around your wedding business How to develop a media strategy to take your wedding business to the top   Gain 1 contact hour toward your initial certification or recertification. Learn more at the CPCE page! Participate on-the-go! Download the GoToMeeting app and participate from your mobile device when you’re...