Contest Winner Announced!

First I want to say that I am very thankful for all the entries and the finalists. It was not easy to chose, but in the end, I believe all the couples deserve a lot of praise for putting themselves out there and competing for this prize. These socially responsible couples have set great examples to future couples that want to make a difference!

Also, in the end, it was very close and got a little heated. I received some blog comments that were good and not so good. In fairness, I decided not to publish any of them. I just don't believe that these couples deserve anything but support for what they are trying to do. No one planning a wedding deserves to be criticized. If I didn't have the utmost faith in their entry, they wouldn't have been chosen. Thank you to everyone who stepped up to support these couples. Also, rest assured, no one lost and all the couples will be receiving a special consolation for their entry.

So the much anticipated announcement of the winner of the first ever green wedding contest is...

Colleen and Tom! Congratulations you two!!

To review:

Venue: Outdoor ceremony in Lake Tahoe where Tom used to live, reception to follow in NYC (family spread out over 5 states, chose one which will limit the size of the wedding)
Catering: Local organic farmer, no red meat
Flowers: Local and organic flower farmer
Dress and Rings: Tom's grandmothers ring, antique.
Gifts/Registry: Sapling trees for favors supporting the Arbor Day Foundation, looking for sustainable household items for registry such as bamboo, organic cotton, composting bin
Transportation: Not needed for ceremony
Invitations: Recycled paper postcards, with website for rsvp
Honeymoon: Eco-resort desired

Other info shared by Colleen:
First, a little background. I'm a freelance writer, among my gigs is blogging about green and not-so-green celebrities for Plenty magazine. (http://www.plentymag.com/blogs/dirt/)

Tom and I met on MySpace. I wasn't on there for dating; I had given up on Internet dating a good four or five times. And when he found me, he wasn't looking for a date. He and a friend were bored at work, and decided to have a contest to find the biggest loser on MySpace. (Isn't this romantic?!) Tom went with his default search, which was women in my age range in Brooklyn. The thumbnail from my main photo caught his eye; in it, I was wielding a bb gun in a vintage housedress looking like a homicidal maniac. He glanced at my profile and bookmarked it for later, then continued on with his cruel game.

Turns out he's not always so cruel, nor am I a homicidal maniac. We hit it off from our first date, when we went to see the Flaming Lips play, and I fainted. It was still the best concert ever. That was the beginning of our adventures, which have already taken us halfway across the country. We are now living in the Deep South while he attends grad school for landscape architecture. (One of the areas he wants to concentrate on in his future practice is reclaiming neglected urban areas for green space.) On the afternoon of this past New Year's Eve, we were visiting home for the holidays. Tom and I went for a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, where he proposed to me. (Photo attached from right after the proposal.) I know this is going to sound so corny, and especially feels weird to say as a formerly jaded New Yorker, but it was one of the happiest days of my life. When Tom first asked what kind of ring I would want, I made it clear that I didn't want a blood diamond and I'd prefer a vintage ring. So my engagement ring was his grandmother's, and was purchased in the 40s in New Orleans, not so far from where we happen to live now.


I am excited to work with you and be a part of your green wedding!