Green Lily Blog

Whether you want a traditional elegant wedding or a simple laid back wedding, there are many things you can do to make it green. Check out this CNN newsclip on green weddings!

- Liz

As Houston’s premier green event planners, Jessica and I do our best to be as green as possible both at home and at work….so, we are proud to announce that Green Lily Event’s website is officially green. We have switched our web hosting provider to DreamHost.

DreamHost has calculated the impact they have on the environment and in turn does whatever they need to ensure they are carbon neutral. For full details on DreamHost’s green initiatives, please visit http://dreamhost.com/aboutus-green.html .

Pretty cool, don’t ya think???

- Liz

We are all aware of Earth day celebrated every April, but many of us are not aware of World Environment Day, so Jessica and I thought we’d share the news with you!

World Environment Day was set by the United Nations in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. World Environment Day is celebrated every year on June 5th.

For 80 Ways to Celebrate World Environment Day, check out the link below:

http://www.unep.org/wed/2008/english/Information_Material/Alphabet.asp

For additional information on World Environment Day, check out their website:

http://www.unep.org/wed/2008/english/

Happy World Environment Day!!!!!

- Liz

While doing my daily web browsing, I came across some interesting facts that I want to share with you all. If you keep these in the back of your mind throughout the day, you can make a difference…remember….the smallest change can have the biggest impact!

• Keep your head out of the refrigerator and the door closed! The refrigerator is the single biggest energy-consuming kitchen appliance, and opening the refrigerator door accounts for between $30 and $60 of a typical family’s electricity bill each year. The amount of energy saved in a year by more efficient refrigerator usage could be enough to light every house in the United States for more than four and a half months straight. (Source: The Green Book)
• If every American replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL), the energy saved could light more than 2.5 million homes for a year. (Source: Energystar.gov)
  
• Microwaves are between 3.5 and 4.8 times more energy efficient than traditional electric ovens. If it costs ten cents to cook one item in a microwave, it would cost forty-eight cents to cook the same item in a standard oven. If everyone in North America cooked exclusively with a microwave for a year, we’d save as much energy as the entire continent of Africa consumes during that same time. (Source: The Green Book)
• If every household in the United States replaced just one package of virgin fiber napkins with 100% recycled ones, we could save 1 million trees. (Source: NRDC)
  
• Americans spend an average of 90% of their time indoors, where indoor air is often 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air. (Source: EPA/USGBC)
• A family of four using low-flow showerheads instead of full-flow models can save about 20,000 gallons of water per year. (Source: NRDC)
  
• Half of the forests that originally covered 48% of the Earth’s land surface are gone. Only 1/5th of the Earth’s original forests remain pristine and undisturbed. (Source: NRDC)
• Though Americans make up just 4% of the world’s population, we produce 25% of the carbon dioxide pollution from fossil-fuel burning — more than China, India and Japan combined, and by far the largest share of any country. (Source: NRDC)
• 55% of our trash goes to landfills, 14% is burned, and 31% is recycled. (Source: Energy Information Administration)

- Liz

We hope you are all enjoying your extended Memorial Day weekend. It’s been a little over a month since our last blog entry…things have been quite busy for us here at Green Lily Events so we haven’t had much time to keep you all updated. We are working on some exciting eco-weddings to be held later this summer and are focusing a lot of time on the corporate front as well!

For those of you who have subscribed to our newsletter, please note that you should be receiving the first edition within the next few weeks. It should have some interesting eco-travel tips and information, so be on the lookout.

As the title of this post indicates, we wanted to tell you all the check us out on the StyleMePretty.com website. It is one of many of our favorite wedding websites. It has great ideas for eco and non-eco brides alike. We have recently partnered with StyleMePretty.com and are now listed in their Little Black Book of wedding vendors. Also, if you get a chance, check out another one of favorite vendors here in the Houston area, Sweet Couture. Holley at Sweet Couture can put together some amazing favors for your next wedding or event! So check us out as soon as you get a chance!

- Liz

Jessica and I would like to wish you all a Happy Earth Day today! In honor of Earth Day we want to share some interesting websites with you. When you get a chance visit the sites to see what you can do to make our planet a better place!

Earth Day Network: http://ww2.earthday.net/
Earth Day on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day
The U.S. Government’s Earth Day Portal: http://www.earthday.gov
The Official Site of International Earth Day: http://www.earthsite.org
The EPA’s Earth Day Site: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/
The EnviroLink Network: http://earthday.envirolink.org

Enjoy!

- Liz

The Houston Chronicle puts out their Green Living section approximately twice a year. This past Sunday (April 20th), they published their first edition for the 2008 to correspond with Earth Day which lands on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Jessica and I are proud to say that Green Lily Events was one of the green businesses in Houston that was featured.

You can see the article by going to: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/side/5709710.html .

There are several articles so be sure to scroll half way down to see the article on Green Lily Events.

Take a peek when you get a chance!

- Liz

Many of you may have been hearing the buzz about the new Discovery Green Park in downtown Houston; and since it is our intention to keep you abreast of some of the local happenings here in town, I would like to share with you some of the upcoming events at Discovery Green Park.

This weekend, on April 13^th, is the perfect opportunity for you and your family to get out and discover what Discovery Green is all about. Take the time this Sunday to explore the 12 acres of urban green space that includes a lake, playground, dog runs, art, restaurants and much more. From 12 noon until 9 there will be plenty of free activities and performances for the entire family to enjoy.

You can also enjoy Discovery Green during the week by attending some of the various exercise classes they offer at Flores Terrace. Classes include Zumba, Pilates, Jogging for Moms and Babes, and Yoga. There is also the Green market central city co-op and plenty of other interesting activities and performances. Check out the entire list of events at the Discovery Green Website (www.discoverygreen.com ).

We hope you make it to the park to enjoy a “green” day!

- Liz

I try my best to be green whenever I can. I have replaced all my light bulbs at home with compact fluorescent light bulbs. I separate my garbage at home and drop off my recyclables at the recycle center. I have put up recycle bins in our office and personally take all the paper, cardboard, plastic, and cans to the recycle center as well. Now that I am nearly 7 months pregnant, I have realized going green is more than just a trend, it’s a lifestyle that even babies can live.

With the increased awareness of the impact each of us has on our environment, many parents are now exploring Earth friendly options for their babies. As I began to do research on diapering options for our dear daughter (to arrive in June), I came across several cloth diaper options. When I was telling my sister about them, she referred to me to gdiapers. What an amazing product!!! gdiapers are Flushable, compostable, eco-friendly diapers that were made famous by Julia Roberts. Can you imagine how much landfill space can be saved by using gdiapers?

Today, there are so many options out there for parents choosing to live an eco-friendly lifestyle. There are flushable wipes, BPA free bottles, organic foods, clothes, linens, and many other products to choose from! While we know it’s not always possible to live a completely green lifestyle, we can do what we can and teach our children to do the same!

To find out more about babies going green I urge you to do a simple google search for “green baby.”

I hope you enjoy!

- Liz

Wow! 2008 has been off to a good start for Green Lily Events! Jessica and I are excited about all that is going on and how green events are the buzz right now within our industry. I believe that green, eco-friendly events are more than just a trend and will be sustainable for all those involved (no pun intended) !

As the first quarter of 2008 is wrapping up, Jessica and I have some exciting news. Green Lily Events has been chosen to plan the Knot’s 2008 market party here in Houston to be held later this summer. This year’s theme will be none other than Green Weddings! This is a great opportunity for us to show others what we can do and to continue to break the barriers for future green events in the Houston area.

I also just wanted to let you all know to check our website frequently as we are working on some interesting press opportunities that should be posted in our newsroom shortly (the newsroom page will be up soon)!

- Liz