Archives for December 2015

BRIDESMAIDS GIFTS FROM ETHIOPIA

Dec 30, 2015

A series of fortunate events landed us the opportunity to work with bride, now newlywed Kedist! I’m thrilled to share the details behind her gorgeous gifts and thankful for the uber talented Adriana Klas who couldn’t have done a better job documenting this day!

Kedist has forever embodied a timeless, natural and effortless sense of style. Her Ethiopian background means she’s drawn to linens and leather, has a taste that is both worldly and wonderfully preppy – the latter being a byproduct of her St. Louis upbringing.

With that said, when Kedist chose to work with us I was thrilled to be able to bring her strong sense of culture, heart for others and aesthetic into something her dearests could touch, feel and experience in the ultimate moment of gratitude.

Kedist’s desire was to positively impact the country of Ethiopia while giving gifts that her friends would love, appreciate and hold on to for years to come.

A beautiful scarf is a staple in her wardrobe (no matter the season) and we agreed that it would be the perfect throw-on as the sun set over the day’s festivities. FashionABLE’s selection was the perfect fit. Each girl received a scarf to fit their aesthetic. What I love is that each scarf is also named after the Ethiopian woman who lovingly made it – bridging the gap in a most special way.

The Fortuned Culture leather bracelet had the most vibrant red color, and a lovely engraved pendant clasp with the Ethiopian symbol for love. It’s casually cool, and provides six months of salary for a teacher in Ethiopia. Too perfect right? Oh, and I couldn’t help but to top it off with one of our LOVE postcard sets.

Design wise – I created a mood board of dreamy neutrals, olive branches, fine (recycled) papers, soft woods and full florals. A long olive branch accompanied by springs of lavender, was enveloped on the very top of the box by thin leather cord. A handwritten linen name tag, and a personalized card welcomed each bridesmaid to their present. I got to work with my good friend and illustrator Kaitlin Cullum to customize a drawing of Triunfo Creek Vineyards, the couple’s picturesque wedding venue – for the top of each card.

For more on Kedist’s elegant yet winsome wedding (and adorable hubby) check out her feature in Green Wedding Shoes!

REAL WEDDING FEATURING THE HARMONY PROJECT

Dec 23, 2015

Claire and Dan were a couple of a special kind. Claire is in the nonprofit world spent years in Africa educating citizens on sexual health and protection, Dan a school teacher in the Los Angeles school district…When they started planning their wedding, they wanted to give back both financially and by bringing awareness to projects they found uplifting. Enter The Harmony Project.

The Harmony Project is a non profit dedicated to music education for low-income youth. They spend Saturdays practicing and performing orchestra style in a group of 30 plus students and were thrilled to be a part of the day. Here’s a little more from the bride:

HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THE HARMONY PROJECT?

Dan is a teacher so we are always interested in investing in education, particularly the arts. We have followed El Sistema and Gustavo Dudamel’s work in bringing the program to inner city schools in the United States for a long time. We talked with Beth Helmstetter, our wedding planner, and she found the Harmony Project, a local non-profit that invests in children and LA communities through music.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO HIRE THEM?

Although the Harmony Project had not done anything like this before, they were open to the idea and allowed us to meet the kids and watch them practice. We loved how excited and devoted not only the kids were, but their parents, and the instructors. It was a no brainer for us to support such a beautiful intervention that has been shown to make a huge difference in children’s educational attainment.

WHAT DID IT MEAN TO YOU TO HAVE THE GROUP PERFORM AT YOUR WEDDING?

The kids were so excited to perform and had practiced an impressive 8 song repertoire and it sounded beautiful the day of the wedding. It was important to us to not only have this memorable weekend surrounded by those we love, but also to be able to dedicate some of our time and resources to something we truly believe in as a couple.

Images by Steve Steinhardt

Have an idea of how to incorporate giving back into the wedding day? Or better yet, were you a socially conscious couple? Email your story to editor@thegoodbeginning.com

DRESSING CONSCIOUSLY ON YOUR WEDDING DAY

Dec 22, 2015

Written by Johanna Tropiano

Weddings are one of the most joyous occasions we will experience in our lives. There is so much joy in choosing the perfect dress for you and your bridesmaids. One way to make that choice even more joyful is to know that the dress choices you make can be one that brings not just joy to you, but to every single hand that touched the dresses from design all the way to final product.

With an estimated 37 million men, women, and children enslaved in the world today, there couldn’t be a more beautiful way to start your wedding out right than dressing consciously on your wedding day.

One of my favorite things about conscious styling, is getting super creative when it comes to incorporating ethical clothing into not only your every day lift but also a wedding day. Here are just a few suggestions on how to do just that:

Wear vintage. Dressing your bridesmaids in beautiful and unique vintage dresses can be super chic and also unique. I love the subtle differences in bridesmaid dresses that vintage brings, yet it also keeps it unified, especially if you keep it in the same style or decade. There are some incredible vintage shops you can check out like Adored Vintage and that even specialize in vintage weddings.
Thrift. A good way to find brands that aren’t necessarily ethical but look great is to shop at high end thrift stores. They have beautiful dresses there for any occasion. Picking a theme for your bridesmaids and then letting them thrift for their dresses can be a great option.
Shop Small. Check out brands like The Reformation and Elizabeth Suzann for simple, elegant and ethically made styles that your bridal party could actually wear over and over again. Shopping small and American Made is a good way to keep your bridal party stunning and ethical!
Shop Couture. There are a number of wedding designers that make all their dresses in the US. Check out Amsale, Lela Rose and Claire Pettibone, just to name a few.

I hope this is a helpful guide for you as you begin your wedding journey. If making more conscious decisions with your wedding day is something you decide to do, I’d love to see your creativity at work! Tag your photos at #consciousclosets and #thegoodbeginning.

WHY IT’S GOOD TO BRAG ABOUT YOUR GIVING

Dec 21, 2015

I know, I know. It’s so so tacky to brag about your charity work and donations. I mean, how altruistic is it, if you tell everyone about it? And further more, if you need the validation of the kind act, can you really make a difference? The answer is absolutely! While bragging about your giving practices is often frowned about, I say, who cares if you brag about it?I If you actually did the act, and even if you ONLY did it so you could brag, you still did a good thing. A very good thing.

Often we get so hung up on intention rather than action. But we all know, good intentions are only good if they are followed by action. So personally, I don’t care if you’re the most self centered person in the world and the only reason you give back is so you can brag, get a tax break or whatever other “lame” reason there is out there. The truth is, you still gave. And, that’s more than a lot of people can say, which is why I suspect they like to attack those who talk about their acts of generosity. And, guess what, telling everyone about your good deed will not only give your chosen cause that much more exposure, but it just might challenge that super competitive and annoyed friend of yours to do some giving themselves. So, don’t listen to those people who say you’re doing it for the wrong reasons if you feel the need to tell everyone. I say brag away. And then give some more and brag about that too. Go ahead, tell the world, you, giver, you.

By the way, that’s me below, playing with a beautiful little lady in Haiti where I spent my new year volunteering and giving away lots of money. And now, because I told the world, I have several friends that have made donations and are in the process of planning volunteer trips of their own. So there. Judge away.

International Justice Mission

Dec 20, 2015

Photography & Writing by Brian Tropiano

Several years ago, when I first became a photographer, I had the opportunity to travel to a number of the international field offices of International Justice Mission (IJM) and document stories of the lives that had been rescued through the courageous work. IJM is a human-rights organization that partners with local authorities to rescue victims of violence, bring criminals to justice, restore survivors, and strengthen justice systems and these experiences were some of the most formative for me, discovering the power of a photograph and storytelling.

On my first trip to the field with IJM, I traveled to Guatemala City with IJM’s Founder and President Gary Haugen to document the casework being done. One story from this trip was particularly horrifying, and exposed me to the cruelty happening everyday amongst our world’s poor.

An old woman had developed a friendship with a young pregnant women with a learning disability. It became known that the little girl had been raped and there would be no father in the picture. Several months into the pregnancy, this older woman convinced this little girl that she probably wouldn’t be able to take care of the child alone, and that this older woman would be happy to “adopt” the child, and promise her a better future. Sure enough, once the baby was born, the exchange was made between the two women. This entire exchange was unbeknownst to the little girls parents.

It was later discovered that this older woman had actually hired the man to rape and impregnate this young disabled girl, and was profiteering off situations like this by selling the babies to adoption agencies. However, thanks to the intervention of IJM, this particular attempt was stopped and the baby was able to be returned to her young mother. Today, the baby is being raised by proud grandparents and her proper mother, and even more incredibly, this old woman is behind bars.