Brickworks Culinary Wedding

An urban country wedding - thestar.com
[WE had been wondering  about  weddings at the Brickworks, as it's just down the hill from our house.. and lo, it's beginning.....]

".... Streiman, 30, and Epstein, 31, love food. There really is no overstating that. And so, their wedding is about fresh, local food, country living, family, and the Jewish faith, perfectly packaged together in an old industrial building at the Evergreen Brick Works, along the Don Valley.

Birds chirp and bees buzz at the old brickyard, which has been turned into a community environment centre but still has faded bricks and shattered windows. Fruits trees and tomato plants are tagged for sale nearby...(Guests) mingle over bread, cured beef and duck, sheep’s milk cheeses and fruit laid out on tables covered in burlap sacks. They sip beer and water out of mason jars that will later be used for canning... Last December, the couple bought a 40-hectare farm in Maple Valley, not far from renowned chef Michael Stadtlander’s Eigensinn Farm and the town of Creemore. They plan to open a bed and breakfast called Mad Maple Farm, with comfortable suites, farm-to-table brunches, cooking classes and foraging expeditions. Their urban wedding is the beginning of their foray into the country. Roughly 20 chefs are preparing an incredible meal at five stations set up in plain view of the guests.

These are rising stars in Toronto’s restaurant industry, and close friends of Streiman’s, who knows where every ingredient in this feast has come from. The fish was caught the day before the wedding, by Akiwenzie’s Fish & More, a small First Nations fishing company in Georgian Bay. The rainbow carrots, beets, salad greens, fennel, eggs and duck came from a co-op of 20 farms called the Kawartha Ecological Growers, as did the 128 chickens, raised just for today.

The fruit is from Niagara and the water, the Niagara escarpment. The artisanal breads were made at St. John’s bakery, part of St. John’s mission in Toronto. The cheese is from Monforte Dairy in Stratford. The beer from the Steam Whistle brewery. The list could go on. Luis Valenzuela, chef at Torito in Kensington market, admits he pulled an all-nighter because the fresh lamb and baby chickens arrived just before the wedding.

Conscious Food Festival Toronto

Conscious Food Festival Toronto's Blog |
This celebration of local food and sustainability will be held Saturday August 14th and Sunday August 15th, 2010, at Fort York National Historic Site, Toronto.

The Conscious Food Festival is the first ever Canadian collaborative event to help promote the growing sustainable food movement while introducing thousands of people to food that is local, natural, healthy and delicious. The Conscious Food Festival brings city dwellers, rural neighbours and visitors to Fort York National Historic Site to experience a range of activities such as tastings, exhibits, seminars, debates and an urban farm, that will connect local restaurants, local farms and local food suppliers to your table.
One speaker is Jeff Crump, Author of “Earth to Table: Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm” as well as the Executive Chef at Ancaster Old Mill, Jeff is a Canadian Slow Food pioneer and an advocate of local, sustainable gastronomy. Jeff has developed his talents at a number of the world’s top restaurants: Lumeire in Vancouver, Chez Panisse in Berkeley California, and The Fat Duck in the UK.

Foodprint Offers Food for Civic Thought - cupcakes!

Foodprint Offers Food for Civic Thought - Torontoist

Interesting panel on the possibilities of changing urban food patterns ...

"you can trace the progress of gentrification in a city by mapping the spread of its cupcake shops."

Though looking at how cities work solely through their food may seem like an odd, overly specific approach, consider this: according to work done by a Rutgers University researcher, you can trace the progress of gentrification in a city by mapping the spread of its cupcake shops.
It was just that kind of unexpected insight on the relationship between what we eat and urban environments that characterized Foodprint Toronto, the second in an international series of conversations about food and the city. Organized by Nicola Twilley and Sarah Rich and held at the always-great Wychwood Barns, the day-long event was comprised of four panels, each of which gathered a variety of people, from policy makers and academics to writers and suppliers, to discuss how food shapes and influences our city.
What quickly became clear over the course of the day was that how to sustainably and responsibly feed Toronto over the coming years in the face of climate change, shifting market conditions, our diverse population, and sprawling suburbs will—to put it mildly—be a little complicated.

As an example, Barbara Emanuel, senior policy adviser at the City's Board of Health and part of Foodprint's first panel, spoke about how she tried to get the City to allocate 10% of its twenty million dollar food budget to local produce. Heading down to the Ontario Food Terminal, however, she discovered that in the face of the $300 million contracts between suppliers and distributor, her $2 million budget could do little to change where produce was sourced from....

Nonetheless, as anyone who has watched The Wire will tell you, cities are incredibly complex places, and although some in government fail to innovate, many others—including those at City Hall—are making things happen. Some of the best examples came from Darren O'Donnell, who has organized dinners between his arty "theatah" friends and recent arrivals to Canada, breaking down the barriers between groups using food. Similarly, Laurel Atkinson of Not Far From the Tree explained how her program gathers people to pick fruit on homeowners' land that would otherwise go to waste, usefully blurring the urban distinction between public and private—not to mention saving about nine thousand pounds of fruit last year.

"Green" wedding locations in Toronto

Most 'wild' locations in Toronto are only suitable for small, informal weddings. For big weddings (over 20 people) you must book the large sites (Botanical Garden, Kortwright@Guelph, Edwards, etc.) as mentioned in the BlogTo article mentioned below.) or places like the Algonquin Island clubhouse/beach, or choose a destination/event location with a garden, such as the Donalda Club, McClean House, various Country Clubs, Sunnyside, the Old Mill, Black Creek Village, etc.

We wrote about smaller green locations HERE, including
parks, the Toronto Islands (wards and hanlans by preference), Allan Gardens, Kew Gardens, the Music Garden (now limited to 20 people), Cherry Beach, the spit, hidden bits of High Park & the Ravines, Ashbridges, Humber, bits of Taylor Creek, the Rouge, and of course the Brick Works - mostly big events, but investigate!

Blog TO; The Best Green Wedding Services in Toronto

The Best Green Wedding Services in Toronto
They say:

"The best green wedding services in Toronto might soon have a little more competition. In a shaky economy and during a surge in environmental awareness, more couples are opting for sustainable and do-it-yourself celebrations. Let's face it - "green" is more than a passing craze ... Shops and services catering to eco-minded brides and grooms are popping up across the city faster than you can say, I do!"

Listed are dresses, caterers, event planner, Mill Street brewery, tux rentals, flowers and venues. Glad to see eco|stems - But would have liked to see a broader range of suppliers. The comments, as usual, offer some other ideas - like The Bride's Project, which we've discussed before, and a new 'locavore/guerilla organic' flower project: my lucious backyard, Etsy, but we would have liked to have seen more vintage, both grooms and brides, or the new or the new Green Wedding Boutique(recycled gowns), and more 'outside the box' ideas .

Also missing - vegan caterers, and lots more green wedding sites. Think I'll blog about that...

Green Bride Guide April campaign

From the Green Bride Guide:
Did you know the average wedding produces 63 tons of CO2 and 400-600 pounds of trash? The impact on the planet is substantial. The goal of the Greener Weddings Awareness campaign in April is to educate engaged couples about the importance of making eco-friendly choices in the planning process to lessen the environmental impact of their wedding.
I like their option of shopping by "Eco Strategy".  Though I wish they had more info about the companies listed - but if you click "Buy", you'll go through to the verification websites (like Veriflora)

SierraEco eco floral organization

Sierra Eco Floral Organization:
ONTARIO FLORISTS who are members of Sierra Eco

Every time you give someone Sierra Eco flowers, you are also giving a family a chance to earn a decent living and provide for their children while preserving the environment for future generations - quality flowers that respect people and the environment!

Sierra Eco is committed to improving and assuring fair living standards for flower farm workers and their families by ensuring worker safety, wage security, education and health care. Farms that carry the Sierra Eco label secure funds for housing, education and recreational programs.

In order to maintain healthy soils and ensure the availability of clean water supplies, flowers with the Sierra Eco seal come from farms that practice environmentally responsible flower growing methods, recycling and waste disposal

eco|stems ~ an environmentally and socially sustainable flower shop in toronto: Vase and Pot Amnesty!

eco|stems ~ an environmentally and socially sustainable flower shop in toronto: Vase and Pot Amnesty!

From a Sustainable Florist in Toronto (Queen East)
"Here at eco|stems we are always thinking of ways we can lesson our collective impact on the environment and get our customers involved. With that in mind, we wanted everyone to know that we will happily take any used vases and/or pots you've got collecting dust. Bring them in and we'll trade your vase/pot for a flower. Cracks, chips or scratches are no problem, we'll take those too! Metal, glass and ceramic etc. are all accepted.

We'll put them all to good use and keep them out of landfill. Give us a call if you have larger quantities and we'll arrange to pick them up. A big thank-you goes out to those individuals who have already brought in their vases and pots for reuse!"

SeaChoice for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad

SeaChoice for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App StoreSeaChoice for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store This is from David Suzuki's Blog. It's an APP about sustainable seafood. So if you do plan to have a Sushi Station at your reception, at least check what you're eating. Remember that restaurants re-title fish to avoid restrictions (Tilapia/ sea bass, etc.).

Wedding Chairs in Forests - not!

Well, OK, for your granny.  But everyone else can stand. This is from a post about Green Spaces in Toronto, here. But in general, whether it's in national parks, heritage locations, waterfronts, or gardens, an outdoor green ceremony should be simple, short, and respectful of the location.  Which means NO CHAIRS, in Central Park, in Algonquin Park, in the wilderness.

The worms will thank you, too, and the leafcutters.

Gluten Free wedding cakes?

Wild Earth Bakery and Cafe offers "celebration cakes" - and they make extra efforts to avoid contamination:
Our unique line of gluten-free baking is made with non-wheat flours such as potato, tapioca, rice and coconut. Our exclusive line of baked goods is so delicious that you won’t even be able to tell the difference between our organic products and those that are gluten-free.

Cross contamination is a major concern for those that are Wheat intolerant or Celiac. We have taken every precaution possible to prevent this from happening. These steps include separate baking days, separate bakeware, keeping our flours separated and even separate tongs and utensils to ensure that anything that starts out gluten-free remains that way. We would be pleased to answer any questions that you might have about this issue.

Vintage Dresses in Toronto

VintageBride.ca is a tiny boutique tucked into Mirvish Village - an antique, artists and vintage shopping area in Toronto. Vintage is run by the theRefinery.com, a retro and vintage store across the street.

You can make an appointment to view their vintage dresses at vintagebride, or go chat with the lovely person who curates the collection over at The Refinery (where you can enjoy some of the fun things she brought back from Paris).
Be sure to browse bridesmaid dresses and accessories at Refinery - and also bring along your beau for vintage clothes for men - why limit yourself to the save old boring wedding + funeral suits! Linen jackets are so much classier :-)

Here's a post I wrote about Men and Wedding suits after a hot summer of red-faced grooms in black suits .

DIY: Sew your own accesories (or wedding dress!)

Here's The Workroom in Toronto. Bernina equipped, laser cutters, engravers, etc. They warn "You must know how to sew to use our equipment". But if you don't, then take a class! Buy organic fabric, make your dress, table runners, canopy, napkins -- learn something and have a blast!

Not on the wedding menu: Shark fin soup

A bride we know is making wedding donations (instead of table favours) to
StopSharkFinning.net This is particularly appropriate, as "Shark Fin Soup" is a 'traditional' wedding banquet dish. Every year tens of millions of sharks die a slow death because of finning. Finning is the inhumane practice of hacking off the shark's fins and throwing its still living body back into the sea. The sharks either starve to death, are eaten alive by other fish, or drown (if they are not in constant movement their gills cannot extract oxygen from the water). We commend this usual spotlight on a cruel practice, and recommend you see the film Sharkwater

Organic Cotton Fraud

Well, H&M got caught, but that's just the tip of things.

Man, it is so not shaping up to be H&M’s year when it comes to doing the green thing. The Swedish fast-fashion purveyor and other leading European retailers and brands, including C&A and Tchibo, have been hawking certified-organic cotton clothing contaminated with genetically modified cotton from India, according to the German edition of the Financial Times, which is crying fraud—well, alleged fraud—because GMOs are verboten in organic standards.... With the pervasiveness of biotech crops around the world, cross-pollination with their organic counterparts is not unheard of. The fault, however, could lie with with the offending brands and their inadequate monitoring of their overseas supply chains. “The fashion chains were not vigilant enough,” Monika Buening of the Federal Consumer Affairs Agency, told the Frankfurter Rundschau, adding that both H&M and C&A need to act tout de suite to minimize the damage.

Also see:  Why does organic cotton matter, if we don't eat it?

Kate McGarrigle

We thank her for everything she gave us.

eco-underwear

An interesting post on Grist discusses organic underwear, including bras and soy panties!  Yes!  The soy pantie brand is - Uranus Apparel (amazing) "Our soyshorts are colored with 100% natural vegetable dye and packaged in burlap drawstring sacks that are 100% biodegradable. We encourage you to compost your burlap bag or reuse it as a pouch to hold your most valuable treasures".  The problem with the bras is that most need to be fitted, and UMBRA suggests you learn to make your own underwear  - or, of course browse Etsy.  So for all you spring brides, here's a good winter research project:  eco bra sewing....

EcoArt

Running the Numbers looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 32,000 breast augmentation surgeries in the U.S. every month.  (thanks to my daughter for this facebook link)

Sustainable Wedding Florists

I spend most of my time between Toronto and Manhattan.  Its interesting to compare the two cities, and what type of green services are available.  Here is a great florist, located in a 'gentrifying' area of Toronto known as Corktown:

 Eco|Stems :

"We are an environmentally and socially sustainable flower shop located in downtown Toronto. Our award-winning designs use only local, organic, and fair trade flowers to create unique and beautiful floral arrangements that are available for delivery throughout Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area.

We strive to minimize our impact on the environment.  We limit our water use, reduce emissions from cars by delivering by bicycle, reduce energy consumption, and use green electricity.  We reuse and repurpose floral containers and materials, and we buy used before new.  Our packaging is biodegradable, made from recycled materials and is recyclable.  Finally, we donate old flowers so they don't go to waste."

Lovely website, and their comprehensive approach to sustainability is impressive - because it also includes fair trade flowers - and here is an essay from the website discussing labour exploitation and other issues:

eco|stems offers local, organic and fair trade flowers, plants and accessories because we know the truth about the cut-flower industry. The majority of cut flowers bought in Canada are grown overseas, usually in Columbia or Ecuador. Workplace legislation in these countries offers little protection for workers. In the cut-flower industry, workers are paid less than a living wage, forced to work overtime without pay, exposed to hundreds of toxic chemicals, deprived of the right to unionize, and subject to harassment and violence.

Environmental issues also abound. The cut-flower industries in these countries use toxic chemicals that have been banned in North America. Some of these chemicals leech off of the flowers and contaminate the subsoil and water table where they are grown, but some remains on the flowers and end up in your home. The cut-flower industry also contributes to water and soil depletion by placing unsustainable demands on the local biosphere. When the flowers are fully grown and ready to be sent to Canada for you to enjoy, they are flown. Emitting 1.48 tons of carbon dioxide and contributing to global warming.

These are a few of the reasons why eco|stems chooses local, organic and fair trade flowers. To learn more about the cut-flower industry, please visit the International Labour Rights Forum's Fairness in Flowers campaign website.

Candles and aspirin and face cream, oh my

Candles - a ubiquitous wedding item. Are made from petroleum, of course. Unless they're made from beeswax or soywax. Here is a helpful (though distressing) website from PlanetGreen helping you to free yourself from oil dependency.
and then there's hairspray, body lotion, and even aspirin - who knew? Don't obsess, but consider alternatives to some items for your green wedding.

Red Mango, Red Velvet

We had a great wedding this week at the Hotel on Rivington - (on the penthouse floor, with a great view of the fireworks for the Manhattan bridge!) And yummy wedding cupcakes from Red Mango - red velvet and double chocolate vegan, with cream cheese icing. Red Mango is located in Brooklyn, on Albany, but they are wholesale, and you can pick them up many places.

Checklist for a green wedding from the Toronto Botanical Garden

I found this nice green wedding article on the frugalbride.com. It was written by Kristin Campbell at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Botanical Gardens are great location for weddings & receptions, if they have the facilities. It would be an interesting task to see if weddings at Botanical Gardens, or City or National Parks are actually -- GREEN! Take this list to YOUR Botanical Garden and see what they say...

Here are a few criteria: Facility on public transit. Bike racks! Green roofs, green cleaning products, WATERLESS URINALS (!), green caterers, local sourcing, no disposable items, etc.

Here's another post with even more ideas

Piezo-electric sustainable wedding dress?

For the ultimate in a sustainable wedding - why not wear a stylish ENERGY-GENERATING piezo-electric dress? This model is by Amanda Parkes. (Of course you could wear a solar dress as well, perhaps for the ceremony) but you could change to this for the reception. It generates energy AS YOU MOVE, so charge your removable battery with your first dance! Gives a new meaning to kinetic energy.
(and a little more romantic than this equally stylish POLLUTION-sensitive dress).

Etsy - vintage wedding dress and 'not so vintage'

As a granny, I have a little trouble with dresses from the '80s listed as "vintage" - (heck, I have difficulty with my own wardrobe from the 60s listed as vintage :-) But Etsy vintage sellers are a great resource for wedding accessories, not to mention spectacular finds that surprise you. Here's a lace blouse with rhinestones from the '30s - which, as the seller Posies for Lulu suggests - "would look gorgeous with a full or slinky cream skirt for a wedding ensemble!". Very reasonable at $38!

Wedding hats: Vintage hats for men!

Of course weddings tend to focus on style for the BRIDE. But we're starting to get some better marketing for the GROOM's side, especially on places like Etsy. However, it still seems to be a case of 'treasures among the weeds'

"....etsy has lots of men's vintage hats, if you can luck into the right size -- not so many on the handmade side, plus you have to wade through acres of knits..."

WeddingCo. and the Wedding Crane Chandelier Project

The WeddingCo.com, based in Canada, is one of the sponsors of the BrooklynPopUp Wedding chapel They are creating the CRANE CHANDELIER PROJECT.

This is a "wonderful way for brides and grooms to become part of an international community that is fighting for cancer victims and research". The Crane Chandelier is being constructed with the cranes that you send in with you and your fiance's signature, where you're getting married, and your wedding date. For each crane that is sent in, The Wedding Company is donating $.50 for cancer research. Their goal is to reach 10,000 cranes that will be displayed on a chandelier which will not only serve as a representation of the fight against cancer, but you're also part of your own art installation. You can see their world map of where the cranes have 'flown in' from here. You can request a crane HERE, mail your own crane (they fold flat) to:

The Wedding Co.
110 Givins St.
Toronto, ON M6J 2X

Get Married at the PopUP Wedding Chapel in Brooklyn

Last night we married the winning couple in the Brooklyn "Martha Stewart PopUP Wedding Chapel" in Williamsburg. ABCNews came to film the wedding. You can read about the fun and get super 'low impact', but trendy and charming wedding ideas on their blog and see vendors on FACEBOOK. Paper decorations, hand-made items, fun ideas. And lots of great weddings!

the weirdness of googleads

Interesting. I posted a notice about organizations working to fight trafficking (below), and all the GoogleAds turns to "find sex offenders" and "become a detective". The tags are "Human Rights". Funny how the ads didn't turn to: "help fight trafficking", eh?

Human Rights, Human Trafficking, and nice necklaces as an ethical gift.

I just posted a short article on a successful campaign at Change.org to stop the Diners Club from trafficking brides on the installment plan by credit card - incredible, but real. Here are some lovely handmade bracelets and necklaces made by trafficking survivors - by recycling magazines into beads. Quite inexpensive, and profits support trafficking victims, women and children.

Green Bride in Toronto

Here is a beautiful Toronto bride on her way to her wedding on Algonquin Island for a lovely outdoor wedding. My daughter alerted me to this week's article in the Toronto Globe and Mail on green and diy weddings, as she knew the lovely bride. Sarah mentioned in the paper's blog that they forgot to credit her photographer: Derek Wuenschirs, so please go look at his site!

There are some good links in the article, including TheWeddingCo.com, a Toronto-based group who are also a sponsor of the Martha Stewart PopUP Wedding Chapel in Brooklyn - where we're going to marry a few lucky couples at the end of June. The WeddingCo people are sponsoring a global DIY wedding project called The Crane Chandelier Project they are collecting 5000 origami cranes from engaged couples, and donating $.50 per crane to cancer research. More info soon.

I'll also add Winnipeg's BotanicalPaperworksto our paper suppliers, and some of the other links on this Globe article to our various categories.