powered by hydro-electricity and propane, a lodge with a fireplace, and a croquet lawn. (Lights were out at 9 p.m., so the night owls in the group huddled around the fire until bedtime.) The ceremony took place at dusk on a misty Saturday in the dining hall. Tables for a three-course, mostly organic meal of roast lamb, Waldorf salad, and berry cups were decorated with pine cones, leaves, and branches that were later returned to the forest. The bride donned golden flip-flops and an off-the-rack, $99 strapless dress with a tulle skirt that made her feel, she says, like the tooth fairy. Haily and Brian offered special vows to each other—his written by the female guests, hers written by the men. Then bride, groom, and best pals all took turns
A plaque commemorating Haily and Brian’s union stays behind at Sturtevant Camp.
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Green Wedding
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after the ceremony flying through the treetops swinging from a zip line, in the dark. For the hike back to their cars the next day, the mules carried trash, which had been separated for recycling by the camp. “The idea of camping gave us three days—a lot more time for all of us to hang out and really get to know each other,” says Haily. “In a hotel, it’s four hours and you’re done, and you’re out $20,000.” Obviously, going off the grid is not for everyone. Did I forget to mention the bears and mountain lions roaming the area? But Haily says her friends declared the experience “the coolest wedding” ever. “It was like being kids again in summer camp,” Haily says. “It was magical.”
Green Buildings Many brides want both magical and elegant, so with the green building trend has come the green formal venue. A good example is Barr Mansion and Artisan Ballroom (www.BarrMansion.com) in Austin, Texas, which bills itself as one of the first green special events venues in the nation. The mansion, which features an organic kitchen certified by Oregon Tilth, one of the organizations that certify vendors meeting United States Department of Agriculture organic standards, is surrounded by gingerbread porches on three sides and has rooms suitable for cocktails and rehearsal dinners. Built in 1898 on seven acres, the property also includes a ballroom with a dramatic 40-foot-high glass facade. Melanie McAfee, who has owned Barr Mansion with her husband, Mark, since 1980, says her biggest worry when she turned the kitchen organic in 2007, stepping up a move to more sustainable practices for the whole property, was perception. “We were worried that people would perceive it as an expensive thing and might not call us,” she says. McAfee’s worries turned out to be unfounded. Demand, she says, has gone nowhere but up. “We’re real competitive,” she says. “We do not hear, ‘Oh, golly, you’re the most expensive place in town.’”
A crowd can spill over onto the grounds of Barr Mansion, a formal green venue in Austin, Texas, which can accommodate up to 800 guests.
the venue
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