Traditional Ceilidh Dancing at a Scottish Wedding


A traditional Scottish wedding, held at Blair Castle in Blair Atholl in the midlands of Scotland.Not only do most of the men wear kilts, they participate in traditional Ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) dances. A Gaelic word for a casual party with music, dancing and entertainment, Ceilidh is the term commonly used to refer to Scottish country dancing. Many of the intricate steps, including the do-si-do and swing-your-partner moves are reminiscent of those performed in American square dancing. To read more about my round-the-world travels, visit my blog, holeinthedonut.com.

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8 Tips To Having An Eco-Friendly, Green Wedding!

Having a wedding? Join the band of celebrities like Alicia Silverstone and Ashlee Simpson to recreate the perfect wedding, eco-friendly style! Here are some ways you can go green on your wedding day.


Eco-friendly invites: You can use recycled paper to print out invites. Make sure the paper hasn’t been through any bleaching process. Try using cotton or even hemp to create a unique invite. Soy based inks are good choices for printing purposes.


Your wedding dress: You could get a wedding gown made of organic silk, cotton, hemp etc. Try to avoid using materials manufactured out of acetate or polyester. These send out static electricity, consume a lot of energy and cause out-gassing as well.


Wedding ring material: Most people prefer gold as the metal of choice in their wedding ring. However, silver represents a better choice. A lot of unethical practices happen in gold mining. By not buying such rings you are showing your solidarity against such practices. Try to avoid using diamonds and use some other gemstone instead. However, if a diamond is a must make sure it is certified to ensure there are no blood-diamonds involved. You could also use a vintage, heirloom ring as you will be reusing it.

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How To Have A “Green” Wedding

A wedding can be an ultimate exercise in overindulgence. We spare no expense, or assault on the environment, to ensure that our wedding day is perfect. More and more, we are becoming aware of how our actions can effect the environment and more brides are looking for ways to have their perfect day while still demonstrating environmental and social consciousness. Here are few ways to make your wedding “green.”

The Venue

The venue is one of the easiest and more obvious ways to go green – marry outdoors!! This eliminates the need for electricity and allows you and your guests to appreciate the beauty of natural surroundings. To make this comfortable for your guests, you should consider marrying during a time of year when the climate is comfortable. No matter the time of year, nature provides the perfect backdrop for a wedding. In the spring, you have beautiful new blooms and in the fall, you have an array of oranges, reds, and browns to work with.

If outdoors is not an option, choose a site that will benefit from your event rental fee such as a nature sanctuary, museum, art gallery or school.

The Dress

Thanks to designers like Adele Wechsler, even your wedding dress can be green!! The gowns are made with organic hemp and silk materials and will be available in Fall 2008. The Olivia Luca Design Studio, where YOU design your own dress, also offers organic fabrics.

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Green Weddings: Couples Say “I Do” To Conflict-Free Wedding Jewelry And Earth-Friendly Nuptials

In the world of engagements and wedding planning, green is the new white. From conflict-free wedding jewelry, to an environmentally-conscientious reception, with an eco-friendly honeymoon to round out the nuptials, couples are throwing out the era of Bridezilla and ushering in the age of green weddings. And it all starts with that oh-so-special wedding jewelry.

Choosing a diamond engagement ring (http://www.danforthdiamond.com) and wedding bands are incredibly personal decisions that are also becoming ethical decisions. Socially aware couples now want to ensure that their wedding jewelry selections are not linked to human rights abuses or have not negatively impacted the environment.

Conflict-free Diamonds
Until recent years, newly engaged couples were blissfully unaware that an untold number of corrupt organizations in African countries were illegally mining diamonds that are directly linked to human rights abuses.

The good news is that more than 40 nations worldwide, including the United States, now voluntarily participate in the Kimberly Process, a system that imposes stringent requirements on imports to certify that diamonds are free from conflict. 99.8% of the global production of rough diamonds is now accounted for through the Kimberly Process.

Reputable engagement and wedding jewelry retailers readily confirm the origin of any stone. Online retailers are particularly sensitive to consumer concerns regarding the genesis of their diamonds. Leading online retailers, such as Danforth Diamond, My Solitaire, and Brilliant Earth actively educate consumers by providing helpful information on their websites to ensure that accurate information is easily accessible.

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