Growing up I wasn't all too concerned with the environment--like most of my friends we would recycle if the option presented itself, but we would never go out of our way to reduce, reuse and recycle. As I got older, I started to care more, but it was that general feeling "oh well, I'm only one person...what can I really do to help?"
Then I met Mike.
In college, I was the queen of plastic water bottles...and I probably still would be if it weren't for him! I'll never forget the first time he came over to my dorm room and he was so shocked...no, not because it was a mess (I am such a neat-freak!) but I asked Mike if he would like some water and he, of course, replied yes. I then swing open the door to my mini fridge and there sat a pristine 35 pack of Deer Park water in individual bottles. "Holy cow woman!" Mike could not believe that I consumed that much water-in just a few days.
I drink TONS of water. I stopped drinking soft drinks, etc in high school and I don't drink coffee and I've stopped drinking milk so it's pretty much water for me. So it's no surprise that I was plowing through 70+ bottles of water per week. Mike tried several different tactics with me..."there are chemicals in the plastic...," "do you know how much money you're spending when you could have water for free?" "did you realize that this bottle was shipped all the way from Fiji? FIJI?" "Did you know that there is a huge pile of trash and water bottles floating in the middle of the Pacific the size of Cuba and you're contributing to half of it?"
But I just wouldn't have any of it. It was an addiction...I didn't care about the horrible facts...I just had to have my dasani/smart water/deer park water.
Then I married Mike.
Mike begged and pleaded for the first few months of marriage..."will you consider switching to a reusable bottle?" Eh...I decided to try out a Nalgene bottle, but get this, I didn't like the plastic taste. After trying a few different types I finally settled on Klean Kanteen and I actually like it. I like the fact that it's stainless steel (another addiction of mine) and it doesn't make the water taste weird.
It's safe to say that I care a lot more about the environment now because of Mike and if kicking my water bottle addiction to the curb is helping to reduce the pile of trash in the ocean, then it must be true...one person can make a difference.
A few months ago, I created a green wedding collection (and also a green portrait collection) for my businesses and I am so excited to show you my new eco friendly wedding albums. They are 100% hand made, no trees were cut down to create the albums and they're made locally for me! The selling point for me is there are no chemicals sprayed on the images.
The pictures below seriously do not do this album justice...it's a gorgeous 5x18 album (super unique size!). This is a sample engagement album...enjoy!
The inside of the album is a beautiful print that is a from a plastic bag that has been saved and reused.
Happy Hump Day! :)
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eco friendly wedding albums {charlotte wedding photographer}
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Lots of exciting things happening today on this random day in February! My wedding website launched this morning!!! Please visit www.whitneyelizabethphoto.com to view!
This website has been quite the project over the past year because I started out with a few different ideas and then scrapped those ideas...but eventually an idea was hatched that formed into what my website is today! I am so happy to finally have my portfolio back online!! My blog url will continue to stay www.whitneyelizabethblog.com.
Here is a fun screen shot of my websites homepage:
Also, today is my blog's one year birthday!! I can't thank everyone enough for visiting, commenting and sharing the ride with me this past year! To see my very first blog post one year ago click HERE.
It wouldn't be a birthday celebration without a cupcake and birthday candle! :)
I still make a wish when I blow the candles out :)
Yay! Happy Tuesday!
Heidi says:
The new website looks great...I enjoyed looking through your portfolios this morning! And yay for one year of blogging! Here's to many more. :)
(02.23.10 @ 12:12 PM)
Carol says:
Congratulations on all your hard work! This is a really awesome website - your images are fabulous!!! Best wishes for continuing success in 2010!!!
(02.23.10 @ 07:48 PM)
Julia says:
Whitney, the new website looks fantastic! Congratulations. You are so talented!!
(02.24.10 @ 09:46 AM)
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NEW WEDDING WEBSITE! {and happy birthday!}
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Wow, it's Monday...again. How did that happen?! Apparently my time machine invention didn't work this time...sigh. The good news is that I'm finally back in the groove of blogging consistently so as I mentioned last Friday, be sure to check back often for some fun stuff later this week!
After being on vacation last month, with my NYC trip and cross country adventures, I finally had a chance this past week to sit down and cull through some of my favorites from this past year...flowers always stand out to me because who doesn't love flowers?! Fresh flowers always brighten my mood with their vivid colors and sweet scents, and then of course the excuse to buy fun and unique vases!!
I always love to see what color combinations that my brides and their florists dream up and create...
Happy Monday!!
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floral favorites
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A few months ago I had the pleasure of second shooting with Becker from Orange County and Larry Reeves who is in Arizona. The wedding took place on the beach in Malibu with the reception following at The Sunset Restaurant. It was awesome to meet Becker for the first time--thanks for inviting me to come along and shoot with you!
Enjoy!
Carol says:
What fabulous photography Whitney!! Each shot was so detailed and absolutely beautiful!
(11.19.09 @ 11:34 AM)
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{married} malibu beach wedding sunset restaurant
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A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of second shooting with Leah Lund from NY...this was such a gorgeous wedding with an intimate ceremony. Thom and Jenn were so much fun to be around and this was evident not only through their personalities but through the fact that all their guests flew in from all over the country to witness their marriage.
Their wedding took place at the Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara on the rooftop and it was a super warm beautiful fall day...
Jenn's wedding dress was designed and created by her grandmother!
The Canary Hotel has so many awesome details...
To view a slideshow from this wedding, please click HERE!
Carol says:
Beautiful images!! I love all the different textures in your photography....Each shot is so totally unique!!
(11.11.09 @ 10:03 AM)
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{thom and jenn} canary hotel wedding santa barbara
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you are awesome. i think your eco-friendly books are the heat. can joe and I live close by and let our dogs play together. life would definitely be cooler :)
(03.03.10 @ 07:44 PM)outta sight, Whit!! that's geezer-talk for way cool !! love this idea, and your putting eco in action. love ya
(03.04.10 @ 04:21 AM)these are amazing whitney!!!! what an incredible way for your clients to show off their artwork! i love this post too...b/c i totally relate to you. i just never had much of a clue for a long time. good stuff!
(03.04.10 @ 05:34 AM)What a beautiful, beautiful album and thanks for the tip about Klean Kanteen!!
(03.04.10 @ 02:42 PM)Beautiful album Whitney! And I must check out Kleen Kanteen. Robert thinks my Nalgene bottle is nasty :) And it does seem to leave that plastic aftertaste - yuck!
(03.05.10 @ 12:48 PM)That is a really cool album! I like the size a lot. Hmmm...maybe I should book a photo session...
And I LOVE my Klean Kanteen, too!
(03.05.10 @ 01:13 PM)